Tower Bridge at night

As the dust settles we can begin to judge whether the London 2012 Olympics were the greenest games ever.

I have been scouting around for information on the subject; the article best put together is the one below.

I love the idea of awarding medals for the categories they succeeded in: share your thoughts below.

London 2012 Olympics: How green are the ‘most sustainable Olympics ever?’
By Louise Gray.

The London Olympics has vowed to be the most sustainable games ever. So how are they doing so far?

Buildings – GOLD
Instead of being made of virgin steel, the circle around the stadium consists of old, abandoned gas pipes. Two thirds of the steel used in the entire roof is recycled, cutting construction costs by a cool half a million quid. Overall a tenth as much steel was used as its equivalent in Beijing four years ago. The velodrome used sustainably sourced timber and natural light and ventilation. But the aquatics centre is all concrete and steel and just passed sustainability standards.

Sponsorship – BRONZE
The Games could not happen at such scale without the sponsorship of big corporations like Coca-Cola and BP. But many believe taking money from businesses involved in oil, nuclear power, sugary drinks, or any one of a number of other controversial area tarnishes the spirit of the Games.It is certainly true that many companies, like Dow chemicals and Adidas, have been accused of human rights abuses. But many have used the Games to show big corporations can lead the way in terms of cutting energy, for example the hybrid BMWs used to ferry athletes around.

Recycling – SILVER
Some 97 per cent of waste from construction was diverted from landfill. For the Games itself, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have a zero waste to landfill policy and aim to recycle, re-use of compost 70 per cent of that. At the moment they are achieving 73 per cent, which if true is very good, especially when you consider that most events have a recycling rate of about 15 per cent.

Renewable energy – DISQUALIFIED
LOCOG said they would deliver 20 per cent of electricity during the Games from new local renewable sources, but have delivered very little.

Carbon emissions – SILVER
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) set a target of 50 per cent cut in carbon emissions compared to if the Olympics was built business as usual. This has been achieved to 47 per cent through a combination of energy conservation and using green electricity suppliers.

Transport – SILVER
As the first public transport games, London is doing pretty well so far with the Tube, trains and buses all running smoothly. The active travel programme is also encouraging people to walk and cycle as much as possible.

Food – SILVER

Wildlife – GOLD

Water – SILVER

Legacy – GOLD
The London Olympics is the first to set up a Legacy Development Corporation right from the start. A key part of this is to continue the commitment to sustainability in buildings, business and transport.

For the complete article see … Telegraph

I think it is obvious that we have achieved a great deal through these 2012 Olympic Games by concentrating on green issues and sustainability, there is still a huge amount to be done globally but that shouldn’t stop us trying to improve things as we move along.

Next up we have the Paralympic Games starting on the 29th August – let’s hope for more of the same great entertainment as at the London 2012 Olympics.

London 2012 Olympics Green Games – do you think fact or fiction, share your thoughts by commenting below, many thanks.

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On a personal note, I have found the 2012 London Olympic Games an absolute pleasure to watch.

Olympic games 2012 – the greenest ever?

The whole world coming together to witness awe-inspiring feats from the finest athletes, from most of the nations on our planet.

I actually forgot for a few weeks the problems that exist in our daily life.

The news programs being positive about events in our world instead of the daily grind of doom and gloom.

It’s so refreshing to see what can be accomplished when people of all nations work together!

Below is an article from H.M. Government Olympic Communication Newsroom:

12 reasons why London 2012 has been a GREAT Olympic Games

A Torch Relay which touched and inspired the whole country, with more than 14.6 million people seeing the Olympic Flame on its journey across every nation and region of the UK, passing within easy reach of 95% of the population.

Team GB’s most successful Games in more than a century, finishing third in the medal table and exceeding the target of winning more medals in more sports than in Beijing, breaking four World Records in the process. Highlights included: the greatest 45mins in our athletics history thanks to Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford; Sir Chris Hoy becoming the most successful British Olympian ever with 6 gold medals; Team GB’s first 2 medals in Taekwondo courtesy of Jade Jones and Lutalo Muhammad; and Nicola Adams becoming the first woman ever to win boxing gold.

Some of the most iconic moments in Olympic history, including: Usain Bolt’s “double triple” – retaining his 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles; Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals (18 gold); David Rudisha becoming the first athlete to run the 800m inside 1m 41s; and Mo Farah winning double Olympic gold at his home Games in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

Record numbers of spectators at Olympic venues, with over 7.4 million people visiting venues across the UK. Over 2.4 million alone visited the Olympic park in Stratford. Outside the Olympic venues, more than four million people saw the Games at the Live Sites, over one million lined the streets for the men’s and women’s road cycling and 12 million people attended London 2012 Festival events.

Record numbers of TV viewers. With a global potential reach of 4.8bn, up to 1 billion people worldwide watched the opening ceremony alone, with an average UK audience of 22.4 million, the biggest BBC One audience since the 1996 Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses. The International Olympic Committee said that almost nine out of 10 people in the UK have watched some coverage of the London 2012 Games.

Breaking new ground for sporting equality, with London 2012 being the first Olympic Games where every single country had female athletes competing. Meanwhile, women’s boxing became an Olympic sport for the first time and more than 80,000 spectators watched the women’s football final at Wembley, a record breaking crowd for a women’s fixture.

Record numbers of passengers using public transport. Over 4.5 million people travelled on the Tube on Thursday 9 August, the most passengers in one day in London Undergrounds history. During the Games, the Tube carried over 60 million passengers, up 30 per cent on the same time last year. The Docklands Light Railway saw over 500,000 passengers for the first time ever on Friday 3 August. There were 46,000 Barclays Cycle hires on 26 July – the highest ever daily total.

A record-breaking period for Heathrow, with the airport handling around 237,000 passengers on 16 July, with the figure rising still higher on 26 July – the eve of the Opening Ceremony of the Games – and visitors passing through immigration and security controls smoothly and quickly.

A spending and tourism boost in 2012, with Visa announcing that spend in London restaurants is up 20% on a year ago, nightclub spending is up 24% and spend on theatre and other tickets has doubled. Intercontinental hotels have talked of 90% occupancy across their properties, while many other London hoteliers report they were at least 80% full. Retailers in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street all reported a surge in sales and footfall during ‘Super Saturday’ weekend.

Olympic Games 2012 – olympic torch

A huge boost for the UK economy, with London 2012 set to generate around £13bn of economic benefits for the country in terms of trade, investment and tourism in the years ahead, in addition to around £7bn worth of contracts that were opened up to businesses from every nation and region of the UK as part of building and staging the Games.

The greenest ever Games, according to the Independent Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 who praised the phenomenal generation of the Olympic Park site.

Now we are on track for the most successful Paralympics ever, with sales of Paralympic tickets hitting record levels and more than 2 million already sold.

Obviously the real work begins now, as to how GREEN the Olympic games 2012 actually were, when the clean-up operation begins in earnest – an absolutely gigantic task of herculean proportions – we watch with interest; any comments below please, many thanks.

I hope you have found this article – Olympic Games 2012 – informative, and you will share your own experiences below in the comment box and please take the time to click on the share button, many thanks; see more articles on The Daily Green Post home page.

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A look at the green side of the London 2012 Olympic Park.

CNN’s Erin McLaughlin reports.

CNN

Have you ever wondered while waching and enjoying everything the 2012 Olympic Games has shown us so far: what the original vision of the organizing committee was, and how it convinced the powers that be to award the Olympic Games to Great Britain?

Here is a brief  look at the arguments that won the votes.

Sustainability London 2012 Olympics

When we bid to host the 2012 Games, we made a radical proposal to the International Organising Committee.
We weren’t only going to put on the biggest sporting event in the world; we were going to hold the world’s first truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games, leaving a legacy far beyond the departure of the Olympic Flame.

Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible

Working in partnership with BioRegional and WWF, we developed Towards a One Planet 2012  – a sustainable Games guided by the principle that the world should live within its means.

We recognise that with over four billion people watching and over 200 countries involved, the Games are an unrivalled catalyst for sustainable change.

Planning and delivering is a complex process and we have continued to learn and improve as we go.

Together we have strived to prove that there is a different way of hosting the Games, a way that provides the best experience for athletes and spectators alongside the best outcome for the community and the environment.

Venues

All our venues are designed to ensure that all the athletes perform to the best of their ability whilst pushing the boundaries of sustainability knowledge and design.

Travel

With millions of people on the move at the same time and extra people travelling each day in and around London alone, it is imperative to get everyone to their venues on time. We have been working with Transport for London and many other partners to ensure that London’s public transport is ready.

We have also used this opportunity to remind everyone that London is a great city for walking and cycling.

Food
We have worked with the food industry to bring you fantastic food that is ethically and sustainably sourced.

Waste

With so many people descending on London and the UK at the same time, we have thought long and hard about managing all that extra waste.  We’re excited about the revolutionary new system we have created for the Games, which will make it easier for us to ensure that no waste is sent to landfill during Games-time.

Full article at … London2012

I am hugely impressed with everything I have seen so far at the – sustainability London 2012 Olympics Games – the organisers appear to be delivering on their promises, we will find out for sure in the aftermath of the games.

If you would like to comment on this article ‘sustainability London 2012 Olympics Games’ – please do so below, many thanks for taking the time to visit our site.

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