2 Year Countdown to London 2012 started on the 27th of July

In two years the London 2012 Olympic Games will open. Populous, the global architecture and design practice, is delighted to provide an update on the progress being made on the site, including the completion of the roof and progression of the installation of the stadium’s black and white seating.

Populous is the architect for the stadium as well as being responsible for the 2012 Olympic Games overlay. The stadium's seating configuration, arranged in a elliptical bowl form, has been designed to enable the spectators to be as close to the action as possible, making the 80,000 seat stadium feel compact for an intense experience. The black and white spectator seats provide a neutral backdrop for the colours that the spectators will bring from around the world, and the track will be highlighted in a striking colour which will reflect the vibrancy of our city in 2012.

Rod Sheard, Senior Principal at Populous said:
“We are extremely excited that the opening of the 2012 Stadium and Olympic Games is gradually becoming a reality. The greatest sporting event in the world is now only two years away and our stadium will be complete, tested and ready for its debut.”

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.

‘Culture of food’ to be part of the Olympic legacy

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, the independent body established to assure and monitor the sustainability of the London 2012 Games, has today published its review of food and catering across the London 2012 programme. The food review, titled On your marks, get set, grow, praises the work done by London 2012 in linking food and sustainability. This is the first Summer Games to make such a connection.

The Commission has identified a number of positive food achievements such as LOCOG’s Food Vision, which sets out plans to provide healthy, affordable and sustainable food during the Games and to celebrate of the diversity of British cuisine through on-site catering. In the review, the Commission now sets LOCOG the challenge of ensuring that these aspirations are delivered.

The ODA is also commended for improving catering standards for the Olympic construction and infrastructure workers, including the promotion of seasonal fruit and vegetables, Fairtrade products and meat from welfare-conscious sources. The Commission calls for this success to be translated into a template that can be used on any large UK construction site.

The Commission recommends exploring greater opportunities for growing food on the Olympic Park after the Games end. The OPLC should follow the example set by the Athletes Village by implementing a food strategy that would enable the Park to be ‘retrofitted’ for food-growing, making it easy for residents and businesses to access healthy and sustainable food.

Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Commission, said: “During the London Games, around 14 million meals will be served. The challenge is not just one of scale. We must foster a culture of food that embeds sustainable practices into every link of the supply chain, thinking about health, employment and welfare, not just whether food is ‘green’. Needless to say, the food should taste great too. The ODA has already successfully tackled the ‘burgers or nothing’ option at their construction sites, and this is the kind of progress that will create a sustainable food culture that lives on after the Games come to an end.”

As an International Olympic Committee sponsor, McDonalds will provide around 20% of Games-time meals for the general public in the Olympic Park. Coca Cola and Cadbury, as sponsors, will also have a major presence at the London 2012 venues. All three companies have made considerable efforts to reduce the social and environmental impacts of their products and all three have also signed up to the LOCOG Food Vision. Given the link between sport and health, during the Games, the sponsors, along with LOCOG, will need to consider how best to address popular perception of their products.

The Commission will continue to monitor food as part of its remit and looks forward to seeing evidence of the Food Vision being delivered through the procurement process for caterers, continued activity of LOCOG’s Food Advisory Group in supporting delivery of the Food Vision, and the development and launch of the London 2012 Food Charter.

Corporate carbon reduction efforts put at risk by climate scepticism, finds new report

The past year has seen an upsurge in public scepticism about climate change, following the perceived failures of December’s Copenhagen summit and rising concerns about the accuracy of climate science. This is one of several factors that has stalled corporate progress on carbon reduction over the past year, as highlighted in After Copenhagen: Business and climate change, the latest in an annual sustainability research series from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report was sponsored by the Carbon Trust, Hitachi and IBM, with supporting sponsorship from 1E.

This new report shows that the rise in scepticism is strongly echoed in the business world. More than one-half (52%) of executives agree that conflicting evidence on climate change means the jury is still out on how serious this issue is. Just 31% disagree.

Roughly as many "sceptics" (those who doubt the science on climate change) as "believers" say their companies have implemented energy efficiency initiatives—not surprising given the potential cost benefits to businesses. But far more companies with believers have actually developed new “green” products and services—and more than twice as many have improved the environmental footprint of existing products and services.

“There’s essentially a divide in the marketplace,” says James Watson, the editor of the report. “One group of companies is actively moving further along the carbon journey we outlined, while another group is unsure whether this should be a key focus. This rise in scepticism means a tougher sell when trying to make the case for environmental projects within a business.”

Other key findings include:

Efforts on climate change have stalled over the past year, neither advancing nor retreating. One in two companies (49%) globally has a coherent strategy to address issues related to climate change, slightly down on the proportion from a year ago (54%). However, the proportion of firms that are also engaging both their external partners and their supply chains in this strategy shows a starker decline, at 10% in 2010 compared with 17% the previous year. Those acting on climate change tend to be larger, publicly-listed firms.

Executives remain convinced, however, that there are significant business benefits to be gained. Nearly half (45%) of executives agree that their companies see carbon emission reduction as a way to gain competitive advantage by cutting costs. The economic downturn has not materially damaged these efforts: of those who made a change to their existing focus (if any) on carbon reduction, 26% are doing more, especially in terms of energy efficiency, compared with 11% that are doing less. Fifty-nine per cent say their companies see carbon reduction as a way to obtain advantage through new products and services.

Business has less confidence than ever in the ability of governments to deliver a level regulatory playing field. Nearly one-half (46%) of those polled are now more pessimistic about the ability of their government to deal with climate change, especially in an international context.

PR considerations are still the most common driver of carbon reduction efforts. More than one-third (35%) of executives say that climate change is always taken into account in public relations (PR) efforts.

In addition, highlighted within the report are a set of scenarios that explore potential policy and economic outcomes over the medium term. Rather than seeking to predict where carbon policy is going, they aim to provide business leaders with a set of potential environments they might find themselves operating in and some associated implications.

A greener and environmentally aware tournament

In 2008 Scotland hosted the Home Internationals for the first time in four years at the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Muirfield, East Lothian. The event is one of the most prestigious and high profile in the UK amateur golf calendar, attracting the best of amateur golfers from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. Prior to the event the SGU was awarded £5,000 from EventScotland to support the costs of an Environmental Event Plan.


The aim was for the 2008 Home Internationals to become the Scottish Golf Union’s (SGU) first ever official ‘Green’ event, where they would deliver a greener and environmentally aware tournament and create a template and guidelines which both they, and other golf organisations, could follow for future events. Working in partnership with EventScotland and the Scottish Golf Environment Group (SGEG), the SGU was able to deliver a number of key initiatives which would change the way they would run their events in the future.


As a result of the extensive work undertaken by the SGU and SGEG during the planning stages for the 2008 Home Internationals, the SGU Green Event Guidelines were produced. These guidelines have been prepared to help SGU event organisers host environmentally responsible golfing events in the future. These simple steps towards sustainability can equally assist venue managers and event organisers for other sporting events.

Fore more detail click here.

Why don’t we consider hosting Winter Olympics in warmer climes

As Linda Coady, Vice President of sustainability for VANOC said "If we used helicopters every day from this point until the end of February for eight hours a day, it would increase our carbon footprint by less than one per cent……". Coady further commented "Similarly, with the trucking [of] snow, if we trucked in 100 tonnes, it would only increase our carbon footprint by about three or 4,000 tonnes.". If this is the case why don’t we consider hosting Winter Olympics in warmer climes if trucking/airlifting in snow really does have such a ‘minimal’ impact? If we use this calculus, surely Organising Committees and Delivery Authorities of hot countries could build this into their overall carbon budget and still beat the likes of Turin’s carbon impact!