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INTRODUCTION TO THE PRIORITY SUSTAINABILITY THEMES OF THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAME

When London won the right in 2005 to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the bid team pledged to set the highest possible standards in sustainability. This is the first summer Games to seek to map its complete carbon footprint over the entire project.

The London Games' mission statement is: ‘To minimise the carbon footprint of the Games and provide a platform for demonstrating long-term solutions for energy and water resource management, infrastructure development, transport, local and seasonal food production and carbon impact mitigation and adaptation.'

To help it deliver on its pledge, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) adopted the principles of ‘One Planet Living' as the basis for its London 2012 Sustainability Plan (‘Towards a One Planet 2012'). The ‘One Planet Living' approach was developed by green campaign groups BioRegional and WWF and is based on the efficient use of natural resources.

Construction activity for the 2012 Games (Figure 1) was guided by six core priority sustainability themes: reducing carbon emissions; minimising water use; minimising waste; sourcing sustainable materials; retaining biodiversity and enhancing it where possible; and minimising overall environmental impact. These principles were applied across the Games' landmark venues and all other development, including the Olympic and Paralympic Village that will house athletes and officials, the 30 bridges and other infrastructure provided, and the landscaping.

For the Olympic Park site in Stratford, east London, the ODA made specific commitments to:

• achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from permanent buildings on the Olympic Park (compared with notional buildings built to the Building Regulations 2000, as amended^[1]) by 2013

• supply 20% of the energy used on the Olympic Park after the Games from on-site renewable sources

• achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4[2] for the Olympic and Paralympic Village dwellings, resulting in a 44% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions relative to the requirements of the 2006 version of Approved Document L of the Building Regulations^[3]

• freight 50%, by weight, of construction materials for the Olympic Park by rail or water

• reduce the amount of potable water used in new permanent venues by 40% (compared with notional buildings built to the Building Regulations 2000, as amended) by using water-efficient appliances and nonpotable water for irrigation.

The ODA also made a commitment that permanent buildings would achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM; see www.breeam.org) ‘Excellent' rating, after the Games^{[4, 5]}. To take this forward it was necessary for the ODA and BRE to work together to develop a bespoke version of BREEAM that could be applied to both the sport venues and the Park itself.

The ODA's delivery against its objectives has been monitored by an independent body, The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, which reports on a regular basis (see http://www.cslondon.org).