Sustainability Case studies

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) developed an innovative process to deal with complaints and grievances related to the application of its Sustainable Sourcing Code by commercial partners, particularly in relation to labour conditions...

The transport challenge was to move all visitors to the London 2012 Games while keeping London and the UK moving. A fundamental principle of the Olympic Park planning and design process was to enable access via low carbon, sustainable and...

London 2012 proposed to host the Games using a significant amount of temporary venues and infrastructure. It was important to ensure that the sustainability objectives of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) were adopted...

Each Games is required to deliver a consistent Olympic and Paralympic Games ‘Look and Feel’ across the host nation. The key objective of the programme is to leverage and build upon the pre-Games brand identity to create a distinct and...

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) aimed to significantly reduce the air emissions produced from the diesel engines of temporary power generators which were required to meet the energy supply needs to operate venues and...

Hosting a low carbon Games and achieving a 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption across the event was an ambitious target. The final result was a significant reduction in demand achieved by reducing overlay and unnecessaryequipment in the design...

This paper looks at the innovative concept of Sustainability Partners, a special commercial designation and activation programme created by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). It examines the rationale behind creating a group of...

In its commitment to deliver a truly sustainable Torch Relay, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) developed a Torch Relay Sustainability Strategy in collaboration with its commercial Partners. LOCOG set sustainability as one of...

London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd (L2012C) was formed in 2010 for the sole purpose of producing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic Games which mark the official beginning and ending of each Games. They involve music, dance...

Transport played a crucial role in delivering the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The challenge was to ensure reliable, safe and accessible transport for athletes, officials, media, staff, volunteers and spectators alongside the rest of London’s travellers every day...

Biodiversity is one of the five priority themes that make up the London 2012 Sustainability Plan. Habitat protection was of critical importance in ensuring continued and enhanced biodiversity. This case study sets out the approach the London Organising Committee of...

Procurement was one of the critical elements for delivering the sustainability strategy of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). LOCOG attempted to draw on best practices from existing organisations and build them into a...

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) recognised that it needed an effective management framework in place to enable it to deliver on its sustainability commitments. It developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) which evolved...

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) set high expectations for waste and resource management during the Games. This paper focuses mainly on how waste was managed during the operational period of the Games, including...

As part of London 2012’s commitment to operating a sustainable Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) established a Sustainable Sourcing Code, which all its suppliers and licensees were expected to follow. The Code included...

As the Official Communications Services Partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and one of six Sustainability Partners, BT played a significant role in achieving the ambitious sustainability targets set by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic...

London 2012 aimed to host the first zero waste to landfill Games, and to reuse, recycle and compost an ambitious 70 per cent of Games event waste. This case study looks at the aims and implementation of the London 2012...

The London 2012 Changing Places programme was created to extend the regeneration being undertaken in the Olympic Park for London 2012 into the neighbouring communities, by focusing the efforts of a wide range of stakeholders and, crucially, local volunteers to...

One of LOCOG’s drivers for certification was its desire to progress the event industry and certification bodies’ knowledge and understanding of the standard through appropriate knowledge transfer.This case study explains how certification works in a typical organisation and how it...

London 2012 set up an independent body to carry out assurance over its sustainability programme and examines lessons for future major projects and events. This case study examines how the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 was established and fulfilled...

This case study looks at a number of initiatives during the period from 2007 until mid-2011 related to the procurement and construction of the sporting facilities, the ’Park‘, and also the Olympic and Paralympic Village; with the aim of providing...

The combination of a tight construction programme, the importance of a reliable supply and the opportunity to maximise the sustainability credentials, led to the procurement of a single ready-mix concrete batching plant to provide concrete to all projects on the...

This case study focuses on the strategic green infrastructure planning, design, implementation and management of the Parklands that will deliver a new suite of ecosystem services.

Prior to the construction of the Olympic Parklands, 246 hectares of land had to be cleared. The translocation of habitats and species was a vital part of the ecological mitigation strategy, involving protection, mitigation and enhancement of various species and...

London 2012 has developed a carbon footprint methodology which will provide for a benchmark in measuring the full project carbon footprint of a major event. This paper reviews the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA’s) approach to reducing the carbon impact of...

In support of London 2012’s commitment to deliver a low carbon Games, it was essential to try and predict where significant emissions would arise and seek to avoid, reduce, replace or otherwise compensate for them. Existing carbon accounting and reporting...

The Aquatics Centre, developed as an architectural icon, was the most complex venue constructed on the Olympic Park. This case study explores the integration of sustainability into the Aquatics Centre, providing a balanced view of the venue’s sustainability credentials and...

London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games set out to create the most sustainable Olympic Park ever and deliver a lasting legacy of regeneration for east London. The principles of sustainable development were embedded in the planning, design and construction...

This Learning Legacy paper outlines the key processes implemented to deliver sustainability objectives on the Olympic Park and explains the activities undertaken by different parts of the supply chain to help deliver these goals.

This case study provides an overview of the collaborative efforts made by the ODA, its Delivery Partner (DP), contractors and environmental regulators. It also considers the achievements realised as a result of these arrangements and the lessons that can be...

The Old Ford Water Recycling Plant (WRP), located next to the main site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is the UK’s largest community wastewater recycling scheme. It treats wastewater from the Northern Outfall Sewer and feeds in...

Increasing consumption of water is placing greater demands on London’s water supply and the Environment Agency has identified many parts of the South East as being under water stress. Furthermore the treatment and supply of drinking water has a high...

This paper looks at the lessons learned and recommendations for future projects and programmes include the need for targeting and implementing the highest levels of the waste hierarchy – minimisation, then re-use, then recycling and then recovery.

A robust demolition methodology and process was developed which took account of health and safety, sustainability, stringent timescales and immovable programme (affecting time available for reclamation surveys), budget, storage space, and lack of existing buildings designed for deconstruction. This paper...

The construction industry is the UK’s largest consumer of natural resources, using 400 million tonnes of material per year. Minimising waste was therefore a key objective of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA’s) Sustainable Development Strategy. Designing out Waste was a...

Managing waste sustainably, legally, efficiently and cost-effectively during the construction of the Olympic Park was a complex challenge. The impact of the cost of waste on the site’s operations and the effect on the reuse/recycling/recovery rate are highlighted in this...

This case study focuses on the processes and techniques to protect and enhance biodiversity, ensuring that it has become a central component of this new urban landscape.

This case study describes the context for the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), its content and influence on design development.

This case study describes the energy strategy implemented on the Park and emphasises the importance of developing a project-specific energy strategy that optimises energy demand and carbon reduction, while being cognisant of the rapidly changing policies, technologies, economics and regulation...

As the operational carbon emissions from buildings are reduced through energy efficiency measures, the embodied carbon emissions in construction materials become more significant. Two key strategies were used at the Park to reduce the embodied carbon of venues and infrastructure....