ENVIRONMENT AGENCY HELPING 2012 GAMES TO LEAVE AN
‘OUTSTANDING GREEN LEGACY’



Lord Chris Smith and the Environment Agency Board on Wednesday19th of May visited the Lower Lea Valley, home to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to learn of its transformation from a heavily polluted industrial area into a haven for communities and wildlife.

During the visit the group saw first hand how close working between the Environment Agency and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is transforming the Olympic Park, which is a major catalyst for regeneration in the Lower Lea Valley.

With expert support and guidance from the Environment Agency, the ODA has been able to reuse over 95% of demolition material in construction and recover over 90% (1.5 million tonnes) of contaminated soil for re-use. This work will help to ensure a rich environmental legacy is left to millions of Londoners.

The partnership has also been instrumental in helping to transform the lower reaches of the River Lee, historically one of the most polluted rivers in the country. Last year, as of a clean up, the Environment Agency funded work to remove 30,000 tonnes of oxygen-depleting sediment, including three tonnes of tyres, three cars, 40 motorbikes and 120 shopping trolleys, from the river.

Within the Olympic Park itself, one kilometre of natural river habitat is being reclaimed from what were previously vertical sheet walls. New wetlands are also being created as part of work to establish a corridor of green parkland along the Lower Lee River.

Lord Chris Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency is right behind the ODA in its mission to create an outstanding green Olympic legacy in east London.

“This is an unique opportunity for sustainable development and I have every confidence that the 2012 Games will set a new environmental precedent in the development of Olympic Parks. I would like to congratulate everyone working on this exceptional project.

“This has by no means been an easy achievement. The Olympic Park is not only one of the largest construction sites in Europe, it is also criss-crossed by eight kilometres of waterways and has an industrial history resulting in land contamination, water pollution, illegal waste sites, poor public access and flooding.

“The ODA has embraced the gargantuan task of unpicking decades of industrialisation to return the area to a refuge for communities and wildlife. By working alongside the Environment Agency, the ODA has been able to ensure that the development goes beyond complying with environmental legislation to achieve the accolade of the ‘greenest games’ in history.”

John Armitt, Chair of the ODA said: “We are delivering one of the UK’s most complex clean-up operations and transforming previously contaminated industrial land into a green back-drop for the 2012 Games and the UK’s largest new urban park. “We have worked closely with the regulatory bodies and local authorities, including the Environment Agency, to safely clean and recycle more than one million tonnes of contaminated material to help create the foundation for the venues, parklands and homes that will transform this part of east London.”

Key environmental achievements on the River Lee and London 2012 Olympic site include*:

• In total around 280 hectares of brownfield land will be regenerated;





• 4,000 homes are no longer at risk of flooding as a result of river management work;





• Around 30,000 tonnes of oxygen depleting sediment, including three tonnes of tyres, three cars, 40 motorbikes and 120 shopping trolleys, has been removed from the Lower Lee River;





• 800m of natural river bank has been reclaimed from vertical sheet walls. The new reed-fringed sloping banks will provide valuable habitat to fish, animals, insects and plants;
  100 hectares of green space with around three hectares of reed beds and wet woodland will be created in the Olympic Park;





• Real-time water quality monitoring stations have been installed in the Park allowing rapid response to pollution incidents;





• Sewage treatment works are being improved to provide a larger storm tank capacity, phosphate removal plant and hydrogen peroxide dosing facility;





• The Lee Tunnel is being built by Thames Water to intercept storm overflows from Abbey Mills pumping station in Stratford and transfer it to Beckton sewage treatment works. This work will prevent sewage from overflowing into the river during periods of intense rainfall;





• Over 95% of demolition material has been recycled in construction on the site;





• Over 1.5 million tonnes of contaminated soil has been cleaned with 90% of contaminated soil being reused on the site;

• The Lea River Park will form a green corridor along the River Lee. It is hoped that the park will stretch from Hertfordshire all the way to the River Thames, allowing walkers and cyclists to enjoy 26 miles of open and accessible space park land.

As well as giving advice and guidance throughout the development of Olympic Park site and legacy planning, the Environment Agency has provided a dedicated team to work with the ODA and contractors to ensure that they comply with environmental regulations. This tailored approach is reducing administrative burden allowing contractors to meet tight deadlines.

Martin Baggs, Chief Executive of Thames Water, and Simon Bamford Waterway Manager of British Waterways (London), two essential partners in the transformation of the River Lee, met Lord Smith and the Environment Agency Board on the visit to discuss progress in the clean up. John Armitt, Chairman of the ODA, also joined the Board as they saw more about the achievements in improving the environment on the Olympic Park.

Siemens plc launches Sustainability Month

Siemens plc has launched its inaugural 'Sustainability Month' across the company in the UK, with all energy savings made converted to donations for local community and environmental programmes.

 

Taking place in May and supporting the Prince's May Day Network and World Environment Day, the month aims to encourage Siemens' employees to be involved in energy saving and environmental programmes and to take small personal actions that, although simple, can make a real difference.

 

It is estimated that tens of thousands of pounds could be saved across the company during the month - which will be donated to local environmental causes chosen by employees themselves.

 

Andreas J. Goss, Chief Executive at Siemens plc, said: "Sustainability is a central tenet of our business, both in terms of what we deliver to our customers and how our company operates. Through Sustainability Month we will build upon existing practices and policies, encouraging our employees to take actions that will also benefit worthwhile causes across the country. Creating a sustainable future means minimising our impact on the environment - we all have a personal stake and a part to play."

 

Ian Bowman, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Siemens plc, said: "The month is focused on stepping up and further embedding our energy reduction practices and will highlight how all our employees can contribute in small ways to make a big difference. If every Siemens employee makes just one small energy saving this can have a big impact and raise money for local causes at the same time."

 

The key areas to be focused on during Siemens' Sustainability Month are electricity, waste and travel, with employees being provided with tips on some of the best ways to save power, reduce the impact of travel and cut waste. Employees will be encouraged to focus on simple things, such as switching off their PC monitor at the socket at night, setting printers to double sided and using desktop conferencing rather than travelling to meetings.

 

Each week during the month all Siemens sites across the UK will get an ongoing update of their carbon footprint savings.

 

Globally, Siemens has set itself ambitious internal ecological targets. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 20 percent in relationship to revenue by the year 2011. In the UK, in 2007, Siemens plc moved into its 'low carbon' headquarters at Frimley, which is a showcase of Siemens' state of the art technology. The company now uses 30 percent less electricity on this site than at the previous headquarters. Siemens reduced its CO2 footprint in the UK last year by 10 percent.