WASTE MANAGEMENT was one of the areas in which the London 2012 Games performed better than any other Olympics. The food was pretty good too.
Thats according to an in-depth review looking at whether the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games truly delivered the promised levels of sustainability.
The report, London 2012 From Vision to Reality, concludes that the event broadly delivered against its sustainability objectives, and highlights several examples of leading practice which future Olympic and Paralympic organisers should follow.
I have no hesitation in confirming that London 2012 has delivered the most sustainable Games ever, said Shaun McCarthy, chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, which carried out the review. But we mustnt rest on our laurels more could be achieved if Londons lessons, both the good and the challenging, are heeded by others.
Indeed, other reports, such as one published by WWF-UK in July, also found that there is still much to learn to achieve truly sustainable events.
Food, for example, was a success story, concluded the Commissions report, with a wide variety of healthy, sustainably-sourced, affordable meals available at most London 2012 venues, driven from the start by the development of the London 2012 Food Vision a first for major event catering. However, the Commission was disappointed that many of the so-called live sites refused to allow the public to bring in their own food this compromised affordability and the principle of creating an event for all budgets.
Ambitious sustainability targets such as zero waste to landfill and 70% waste to be re-used, recycled or composted are all on track thanks to efforts such as meticulous attention to packaging and the effective use of the colour coded three-bin system. However, there were allegations that catering staff for some firms were ordered to throw away food immediately after it was cooked and some reports of the bin system proving to be too confusing.
The Commission will be hosting a series of roundtables in January 2013 called Beyond 2012 which will bring together sector leaders from the UK and international guests to address a select number of issues and to identify a roadmap for the sector and future events. The roundtables will focus on construction and infrastructure, supply chains, volunteering, corporate sponsorship and food. The outcomes will be published in the Commissions final report in February 2013.
