London 2012 has ‘sustainability in its DNA’ says IOC

London 2012 will be the first Olympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term and the first to commit to a zero waste to landfill target according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).


Launching its new ‘Sustainability through Sport’ agenda this week, the IOC said sustainability considerations have increasingly become an integral part of Olympic Games preparations with London 2012 having sustainability in its DNA.

Major London 2012 achievements, they claim, include the creation of the Olympic Park; the largest new urban parkland created in Europe for 150 years, and the construction of the most sustainable Olympic stadium in history; completed on time, on budget and to high sustainability standards.

The IOC’s ‘Sustainability through Sport’ agenda is a 103-page commitment to the promotion of a positive environmental legacy from the Olympic Games to all host cities and countries.

On London 2012 itself, the IOC reports that although initial plans to generate 20% of all venues’ energy from renewable sources have not proved possible, a 50% reduction in emissions will be delivered via a range of low-carbon measures.

These include efficient building design with significant cement substitutions being used. In addition, 50% of all construction materials have been delivered to the Olympic Park by sustainable transport while 90% of all cooling systems will be free of hydro-fluorocarbons.

It’s also claimed that London 2012 is on track to reuse and recycle 90% of all materials generated by demolition prior to building the Olympic Park, through the diverting of construction waste from landfill to reuse, recycling and recovery.

edie staff

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