Special attention was given to sustainability for the 2012 Olympic Games happening in London, as the world’s prime sporting event attempts to steer the Games toward «green» principles.
«Every Olympic Games represents unique challenges and opportunities in terms of raising the bar of the third pillar of Olympism – namely the environment – and London is no exception,» said United Nations undersecretary general and U.N. Environment Programme executive director Achim Steiner.
Mr. Steiner noted «this body of ‘lessons learnt…’ is the blueprint and guide to each successive host city,» adding that the London Games «will leave a lasting legacy for the U.K. and the Olympic movement.»
The London 2012 is the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to adopt a carbon footprint monitoring system that will be in effect until the event ends in August.
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It is also the first to commit itself to a zero-waste-to-landfill scheme by reusing and recycling more than 98 percent of waste in the demolition period.
A number of measures have been taken. According to a pre-Games sustainability report, the Olympic Park, the Games’ centerpiece venue, rehabilitated a once-contaminated industrial land. Its lightest-weight stadium to date was completed with mostly old gas pipes used for its construction.
«London 2012’s relentless pursuit of sustainability has been part of every bold and challenging decision we have made, in the development of the Olympic Park and the staging of the Games,» said Sebastian Coe, who heads the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games.
The committee said it will deliver a public transport system at the Games which aims to engage 1 million participants in walking and cycling in every day of the activities.
To track the Games’ environmental impact, the committee will be using a new «sustainability assessment guide» by the Global Reporting Initiative, a partner of the U.N.E.P.
The UNEP said it has been involved in making sustainable Games like Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010, in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee.
But London 2012 is said to be bringing sustainable efforts and measures that will make it «the greenest games ever.» – C. Dominguez
