Executive summary

London 2012 set out to deliver the most sustainable eventin the history of Olympic Games. Making the promise was easy, but delivering the sustainability was not that easy. Sustainability is not easy to achieve, especially in a one – off event like the London 2012 games. The organizers of the London 2012, LOCOG, event were fully aware of this but since they had integrated sustainability as a core aspect of the event, they had to find ways and means of achieving it. This was in line with International Olympics Committee (IOC) guidelines.

By the end of the event, the organizers with support of partners managed to achieve unprecedented levels of sustainability. To achieve the elusive sustainability the organizers came up with an elaborate plan in which they divided sustainability into five key aspects. The aspects were then developed making them better defined, achievable and taking into account the need to include the surrounding East London community

Being the first of its kind sustainability plans in Olympic Games, the plan ran into quite a number of challenges. For those challenges that were unique to the London sustainability plan, the organizers developed own solutions that not only solved the problems but can also be used in future endeavors.

London 2012 managed to ensure that 70% of landfill was recycled. This is no mean feat considering that the average games achieve only 15%.By the end of it all the organizers managed to come up with an event that was not only sustainable but also lived to their strap line “inspire a generation.” The London 2012 event ended up being a good example of how seriously future Olympic Gamesorganizers should take sustainability .

Just like any other project undertaken by humans, there are a few things in the London 2012 that could have done with a little more improvement. But all admit that the 2012 games set the sustainability bar very high. For instance, the event reached very high levels of water and energy efficiency but still there is more that can be done. Water was not only recycled but was gotten from sustainable sources.

Water and energy were not the only resources that saw sustainability efforts focused on during the London 2012 games. A lot of effort was also directed towards linking Olympic park, which was the main venue for the events with the rest of London. This included creating a rail road that linked the Olympic park to London’s underground rail system. The organizers set out to make the park the most connected Sports Park, something they achieved.

Food being one of the factors that affect sustainability in a big was given a lot of attention during the organizing of the London 2012 event.Despite the high number of athletes and spectators, the organizers to a large extent managed to host an event with unprecedented sustainability.

Sustainability can simply be defined as the ability to endure. In regard to a project, this simply means that it should be possible for one to carry out the project to completion without depleting all the available resources.

The London 2012 sustainability plan was pegged on five major themes. These are food vision, active transport, waste management, biodiversity, and inclusion. The organizers intended to ensure that there was sustainability right from the beginning of the event to the end of it. This was monitored by the organizers themselves.

In terms of food, London 2012 set out to ensure that people who attended the event got to taste food from the whole of the Britain. The food served was checked to ensurethat it was not only healthy but it was also affordable to all attending the event, both foreigners and locals.On climate change, the London 2012 games aimed to showcase sustainable solutions in terms of food production, preparation and even distribution.The food served during the London 2012 events, was produced through a mutually beneficial cooperation between educational institutions and commercial institutions.

London 2012 sought to not only provide the spectators and the athletes with healthy nourishment but to also create sustainable food production practices throughout the food chain.As Department of Culture and Sports (2011) reported, Food for the event was sourced from suppliers who adhered to the best practices as set by the various agencies that check on quality. The catering staff was required to adhere to proper food production standards that meet international standards. All venues that served food in the Olympic park had to have tickets of compliance with the set guidelines (DCMS, 2011, p3).

All food served at the Olympic park had to be fresh and provide a variety of healthy options to the athletes and spectators. There was food for everyone including vegetarians and those who wanted food exotic to England like sushi and Mexican dishes. The prices of food were fair with a wide range to cater for people of all economic abilities. For the first few days of the event, the event food was not evenly available owing to some logistic problems but this was quickly solved.

The second sustainability aspect was active transport. The Olympic park required a very elaborate public transport system.The economic and social report council (2010) reported that Goods were delivered to the venue using the more sustainable modes such as water transport and electric vehicles(ESRC, 2010, p4). This also served t shield the environment from pollution. In buying and hiring equipment and fixtures, London 2012 stuck to the LOCOG code which clearly outlined the guidelines to be followed to ensure sustainability

London 2012 sought ways to come up with more sustainable transport systems. These included freight telematics, biodiesel trucks as well as electric vehicles. The organizing committee, LOCOG even managed to use two water barges for transport of heavy goods(DCS, 2011). Other than the eco friendliness of the vehicles used sustainability in regard to the efficient use of time was also factored in. unnecessary trips were avoided and the smaller parcels distributed in the electric vehicles

Movement of people in and around the Olympic park as well as London as a whole was made very easy during the London 2012 games. All movement for the spectators was by public transport. The only people who had a parking were the disabled. The rest had to use public transport. The public transport system moving people to and from London was effective and available at all times for people of all abilities. The venues themselves were designed with ease of movement in mind.

Games time mobility services for the London 2012 OlympicGames was also provided. The organizers even came up with a program to encourage walking and cycling on the Olympic park. New rail networks were constructed linking the Olympic park with the mainstream London transport system.

The third aspect of sustainability in the London 2012 sustainability plan was waste management. The organizers aimed to use the games to help come up with new ways to fast track development of new structure to manage waste in that area of London. They borrowed from best waste management practices which included minimizing the amount of waste produced right at the source(LOCOG, 2011, p.6). To facilitate long term waste management, the London 2012 games organizers laid plans to encourage the environment friendly slogan of reduce, reuse, and recycle

Right from the beginning the organizers of the event had resolved that no waste from the 77 day games would be sent directly to the land fill. Processes were put into place to ensure that the food packaging was disposed off in the appropriate way. Reuse and recycling were encouraged as key components of the sustainability plan. The organizing committee settled for the three bin system whereby recyclables, residual and compostable went into different bins. This made it easy to dispose each in the most appropriate way.

The fourth sustainability aspect of the London 2012 games was biodiversity. Concerning biodiversity, the organizing committee sought to improve the fauna and flora of the lower Lea Valley(IOC, 2012, p7).They organizers also wanted to bring people closer to the environment and encourage them to support environmental conservation efforts in their areas. To achieve this, the committee ensured the park was planted with various species of trees and plants

The committee aimed to achieve what they referred to as green games. This meant taking care of environment in terms of reducing carbon emissions as well as literally covering large parts of the Olympic park with flowers, plants, trees and other greenery.

The fifth sustainability aspect of the London 2012 games was inclusion. London hosted the most inclusive games that encouraged all people from all walks of life to participate. This also included facilitating the socio- economic regeneration of the lower Lea valley and the communities living in the surrounding areas(ESRC, 2010, p4). The sustainability plan included encouraging people in the United Kingdom and world over to adopt healthy living as well as take up sporting activities since they too contributed to that. This included eating well, living in a healthy environment, and engaging in healthy physical activity

 

Inclusion meant that the venues themselves had to be designed to be accommodative to all,considering the fact that the event was attended by people from all corners of the earth.As Committee for Sustainable London (2012, p11) explained, Food served at the event had to cater for the dietary needs of diverse cultures from all over the world.

Travel and accommodations offered to the athletes as well as the spectators was made affordable to cater for all economic categories(CSL, 2012, p. 9). There was even free drinking water for all. The result of all these efforts was that more people both from London and upcountry participated in the games

Looking at Climate change one, of the key aspects of sustainability of the London 2012 games, one realizes the approach taken towards achieving it was comprehensive (LOCOG, 2011, p. 56). The venue itself was designed in a way that it would reduce the carbon footprint. The venue was supplied with energy that was generated using low carbon emitting technologies

The organizers of the event set out to reduce the carbon emissions emanating from the built environment by 50%(IOC, 2012, p12). To achieve this they ensured that the materials for tracks and other permanent venues was eco-friendly. Over 20% of all energy required for the games was generated from renewable energy. Athlete villages for the participants were carefully designed to comply with good environmental practices and required amount of carbon emissions

One important step that the organizers of the London 2012 games took was the decision to embed sustainability principles into the games. The Olympic park, which served as the centre of the games was created from what was previously a highly polluted and inaccessible area(LOCOG, 2011, p. 21). The area was transformed to become what is now the largest park site in Europe in the last one and a half centuries. The London 2012 organizing committee termed this transformation as a large scale sustainable project

Unlike previous Olympic Games held elsewhere, the London 2012 games paid a lot of attention to details on sourcing of equipment and materials used during the games.As Committee for Sustainable London ( 2012, p. 14) reported,Building materials, food and all other equipment needed were selected with sustainability in mind. The organizing committee went as far as developing a methodology to help them determine the amount of carbon emissions emitted from the games and associated equipment (IOC, 2012, p.13).

The methodology developed at the London 2012 games to check carbon emissions help not only report on the emissions but actually reduce them. Better still; the methodology can be easily used in several other situations other than the London 2012 games. The sustainability plan was to ensure that during the games carbon footprint was reduced and energy was used as efficiently as possible (LOCOG 2011, p. 17). The organizers of the games emphasized on use of energy sources that emitted less carbon and especially use of renewable energy sources.

One of the biggest challenges the London 2012 games faced in making the project sustainable was the little time within which they had to complete all the activities (LOCOG, 2011, p. 19). This called for sustained intensive labor which translated to higher costs.The high amount of public and stakeholder interest did not make it any easier on the organizers either

I carried out a survey to find out what were the opinions of GSM London students on how sustainably London 2012 handled climate change. A representative sample of 5 students was picked out of a class of 40 students. The five students were then asked to fill a questionnaire regarding how sustainably they think London 2012 tackled climate change. Of theOf the 5 GSM London students sampled, 80%, (Four students) were of the opinion that that the London 2012 games achieved high levels of sustainability while the remaining 20% responded that the level attained was low.

They pointed out at the amount of effort applied to reduce carbon emissions during the event, use of sustainable renewable energy to power most of the event, and the deliberate efforts to reduce number of cars used during the event as some of the areas the event scored big on sustainable climate change efforts. The use of electric train for the event as opposed to petrol powered ones was also another score.The waste management system where over 75% of the waste was processed before being taken to the land fill as a major achievement of the London 2012 sustainability plan. 20% of the respondents however feel that the efforts were still not sufficient. They felt that further sensitization would have achieved much better (LOCOG, 2011)

Another great challenge for the London 2012 games was keeping up with the pace. Maintaining the sustainability standards, while at the same time adhering to IOC timetable, was a great challenge (DCMS, 2012, p.22). In the last minutes of organizing the London 20112 even the organizing committee was greatly tempted to sacrifice quality to keep up with time but managed to overcome the urge

In conclusion, the organizers of the London 2012 games laid out an ambitious sustainability plan which was to a large extent achievable. Compared to other previous Olympics games, for instance Sydney Olympics games, the London Olympic Games achieved high levels of sustainability especially on environment and climate change. The structures and the methodologies developed during the games will endure for generations to come and can easily be adapted for use in other places.

Other than delivering the sustainability promise, London 2012 also delivered on the radical proposals they made to the International Olympics Committee when they were bidding to host the games. They promised that the games would leave a lasting impression in the city which they were held, and it achieved exactly that for London. The games changed East London forever. One only needs to have a closer look at how they tackled climate change to understand how well they scored on sustainability. Balancing use of large amounts of resources and sustainability was never easy but London 2012 to a large extent delivered very sustainable games

Works cited

Economic and social research council 2010, Olympic Games Impact Study – London 2012 Pre-

Games Report,Retrieved from http://www.uel.ac.uk/geo-information/documents/UEL_TGIfS_PreGames_OGI_Release.pdf. accessed August 22 2014

Commission for a sustainable London, 2012, From vision to reality. Retrieved from

http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf accessed on August 22 2014

Commission for a sustainable London, 2012,A legacy of change. Retrieved from

http://learninglegacy.independent.gov.uk/documents/pdfs/sustainability/5-london-2012-post-games-sustainability-report-interactive-12-12-12.pdf. Accessed on August 22 2014

Department for culture media and sports, 2011,Government Olympic Executive London 2012

Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report retrieved. from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/77633/DCMS_GOE_annual_report_february_2011.pdf . August 22 2014

London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, 2011, Towards one planet. Retrieved

from,http://www.olympic.org/documents/commissionsPDFfiles/SportsAndEnvironment/sustainability through sport.pdfAccessed on August 22 2014

 

International Olympics Committee, 2012, A blueprint for change. Retrieved from

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/sustainability/ Accessed on August 22 2014

Department of Culture Media and Sports, 2012, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics games

quarterly report June 2012.retrieved fromhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78228/DCMS_GOE_QR_JUNE-2012.pdf accessed August 22 2014

Effectiveness of the GLA and the Mayor of London in Tackling Key Issues that Relate to the Environment

Executive summary

The mayor of London has the role to promote London economically, socially as well as maintaining the environment. The Greater London Authority, GLA, has the responsibility to formulate policies and procedures aimed at improving the general well being of Londoners. Its policies too have a great impact on the environment and the social life of the people of London. Over the last years, GLA has achieved a lot over the last few years. It has managed to develop a number of plans and services that have contributed a long way in making London a better living place.

GLA policies are geared towards achieving sustainability, equality good health and development. They have also come up with policies to deal with congestion, especially in Central London. GLA and the office of the mayor of London have to work closely together to ensure that the people of London live in an environment where they can carry out their day to day activities and grow economically.

The mayor of London and the GLA has been quite effective in tackling several issues related to environment. These include waste and water management, land management, air management as well as reduction of carbon emissions. This has come at a cost. In the process of maintain a sustainable environment, the office lifted the living standards of Londoners especially those of people living near the venues where the London 2012 Olympic Games were held.

The office mayor of London has a vision to make London, a world class city that has a strong economic base, one that allows all the residents of the city to share in the success of the city (Poynter & MacRury, 2012, p. 121). The mayor’s office also has the vision of ensuring proper utilization of resources in the city as well as proper management of the city environment. The mayor is the head of GLA and is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the city achieves its dreams.

Over the years the mayor of London and GLA has always used its influence to push for policies that support environmental conservation and social integration among the people of London (Poynter & MacRury, 2012, p. 121). Another important factor that GLA considers in formulation of its policies is value for money. It ensures that London residents get value for their money in whatever projects the city of London carries out on its behalf. Greater London has a population of over 7 million people and GLA and the mayor of London have the responsibility to ensure that London becomes an international business centre which supports its people economically and socially.

Over the last 5 years the mayors of London and GLA have laid down several policies that relate to the environment. His was clearly visible in 2012 London Olympic Games. They came up with a budget and programmes (Commission for a Sustainable London, 2012, p. 7). They came up with plans to bring to live the legacy action plan initiated by the government. They also had to provide other significant inputs related to the London 2012 Olympic Games. In building of the stadia required for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the structure of the buildings required was carefully assessed to ensure that negative impact of the new structures and the entire games on the environment were minimized.

Although there is a gap between development of policy and implementation of the same, the mayor of London and GLA have made great strides in preserving the environment of London. United Kingdom is among the top emitters of green house gases. London contributes about ten percent of the carbon dioxide emitted in the United Kingdom. This has forced the office of mayor of London in collaboration with GLA to come up with policies to reduce carbon emissions in both the greater London area as well as the in Central London (Rogan & Rogan, 2011, p. 123). Without serious policy intervention, the carbon dioxide emissions from the city would have increased to about 50 million tones by the year 2025. In response to this the mayor came up with a climate change action plan in which he seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city by over 60% by the year 2025. The city developed a waste management system that recycles about 9 tonnes of waste per year. This waste management system has proved very effective despite the fact that it requires a lot of improvement.

Since its coming into existence in the year 2000, GLA has come up with policies to ease congestion in central London among other policies. This involved renovating old infrastructure, building new ones, expanding old roads and even introduction of environment conscious vehicles. There have also been other programs to promote sustainable health, as well as the various ethnicities living in London.

Some of the projects the office of the Mayor of London has carried out in the recent past include delivering sustainable London 2012 Olympic Games and developing sustainable communities in London (Thornley, 2013, p. 18). This involved reusing construction waste and ensuring that emission of pollutant gases was reduced to bare minimum. They aimed to create a healthy natural environment that could stand the test of time. The quality of and the biodiversity were preserved in the construction.

The mayor had identified the main priorities, as initiating strong economic growth in the town, ensuring social inclusivity in the activities in London, environmental management as well as proper management of other natural resources (Commission for a Sustainable London, 2012, p. 7). So far London has witnessed several changes in these areas although there still needs a lot of improvement. The policies laid down by the mayor and GLA have led to improved air and water quality, as well and sustainable land utilization. The city has also witnessed a reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. Studies show that the London 2012 Olympic games for instance managed to achieve high levels of sustainability.

I carried out a survey to find out what were the opinions of GSM London students on how effective GLA and mayor were in tackling climate change. A representative sample of 10 students was picked out of a class of 50 students. The 10 students were then asked to fill a questionnaire regarding how effective they think GLA and the mayor of London were in tackling key issues related to environment. Of the Of the 10 GSM London students sampled, 80%, (8 students) were of the opinion that that the mayor of London and GLA were effective in tackling key issues that relate to environment while the remaining 20% responded that the level of effectiveness attained was low.

In conclusion, the mayor of London and The GLA have achieved quite a lot in their effort to tackle key issues relating to the environment. The sustainability levels witnessed during the London 2012 Olympic Games serves as an example of how effective the two have been. The policies were geared towards environmental improvement, social inclusivity and creating a strong and diverse economic base for Londoners. To a large extent, GLA and the mayor of London have been largely successful in tackling key issues related to the environment.

Works cited

Gavin Poynter, & Iain MacRury 2009, Olympic cities: 2012 and the remaking of London Sport

in the global society, Publisher, Routledge.

Matt Rogan & Martin Rogan, 2011, Britain and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Legacy.

Publisher, Troubador Publishing Ltd.

Commission for a sustainable London, 2012, From vision to reality. Retrieved from

http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf accessed on August 22 2014

Andy Thornley, 2013, The search for an effective metropolitan government for London –

reflections on the Greater London Authority, London: LSE Press.