BP Target Neutral seeks world record in carbon offset
September 30, 2011 | Posted by Jemma Percy
BP Target Neutral has announced that all London 2012 ticketholders from across the world will be invited to attempt the setting of a new world record for the most number of people offsetting their travel carbon to a single event. The scheme aims to create awareness of the environmental impact of their journeys, and will invite ticketholders to sign up to have their travel carbon footprint offset at no cost to themselves. As London 2012′s official Carbon Offset Partner, BP Target Neutral will be providing the administration and funding to offset carbon emissions from the Games-related travel of ticketholders. LOCOG will be emailing all ticketholders on Monday 3rd October with a personal invitation to participate in the world record attempt. Further information can be found via this link
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Love over gold
March 28, 2011 | Posted by Shaun McCarthy
The energy efficiency medal table? It is a great privilege to be Chair of CSL. I see all aspects of sustainability for the Games and meet everybody involved with the agenda. This is quite a unique perspective and gets me involved with many different government bodies, NGOs, political leaders and more. This has been a steep learning curve for me as I come from a mostly corporate background and I have had to learn several new cultures and ways of working over the past four years. It is always good to return to my roots and meet with LOCOG’s commercial partners to understand what they are doing. It must be a bit like doing a job in a second language that you speak fluently and then returning home to converse in your mother tongue. I met recently with Coca-Cola to understand what they are doing to reduce the carbon footprint of their product and operation, including their plans for recycling and HFC free cooling. This is the first time they have invested substantial resources into using their brand value and sponsorship of the Games to really push sustainability hard and it is very impressive. The project that most intrigued me …
Bicycle race
February 22, 2011 | Posted by Jonathan Turner
I attended the opening ceremony for the velodrome today. The velodrome is a venue we are particularly pleased with as a commission as it is a real sustainability success story. One of my roles in the Commission is to track all the commitments that the delivery bodies have made to ensure they are progressing against them. This has meant I have been able to see how all the venues have developed throughout their design and build. The velodrome has consistently stood out as its innovative design has helped it meet or exceed all the targets set for it. For example, the ODA required all the venues to be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than standard venues. The velodrome is over 30 percent more efficient, doubling the target set. Its rainwater harvesting system means it also nearly doubles the 40 per cent target for reduction in potable water use. I was also pleased to see the sustainably sourced timber track that Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and other members of Team GB were cycling round today. The velodrome is also a great example of carbon efficient design. Using a lightweight structure with a timber clad cable net roof, the …
Olympic wind turbine cancelled
June 8, 2010 | Posted by Shaun McCarthy
Gone when the morning comes… Like a bat out of hell it was gone when the morning comes. On 3 June 2010, the ODA announced the cancellation of their proposed wind turbine for the Olympic Park. With it came a little media storm with headlines such as “what hope now for the Green Games?” and “Olympic chiefs scrap wind power plan”. The first question I was asked by one journalist was “What other environmental targets are the ODA going to ditch?” Words like “scrap”, “ditch” and “abandon” appeared in most headlines. The fact is, the ODA are ditching nothing and we expect them to honour the commitment they made to deliver 50% carbon reduction and 20% energy from renewable sources. In the face of increasing challenges with wind power, they have now chosen to deliver their 20% renewable energy commitment using biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system and other renewables, not a wind turbine. Biomass is the ugly duckling to the wind turbine’s beautiful swan. Whether you like them or not, wind turbines take a great picture against a background of a crisp blue sky, a spectacular sunset, or even a thunderstorm. They look good in PowerPoint presentations, on …