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Annual Review 2010
April 2011
The Commission published its fourth Annual Review on 11th April 2011. It looks at the governance arrangements of each of the delivery bodies for the London 2012 Games and reports progress in delivering a sustainable Games and legacy.
Key findings from the Commission’s Annual Review include:
Carbon Emissions: The Commission is reasonably confident that the carbon targets will be achieved but this will not be through renewable energy production at the Park. The Commission supports the ODA and LOCOG’s alternative plans to meet their carbon reduction targets; however, there are lessons to be learnt regarding the viability of urban renewable electricity generation and the need for long-term planning when contracting for energy infrastructure.
Sustainable Community: Good community initiatives are in place but the Commission has concerns that these may wither away after the Games unless the momentum is continued. The ODA and LOCOG remain committed to tackling equality and diversity in their workforces but will need government-funded employment and skills initiatives to continue.
Making a difference: The Commission has seen good progress from the ODA on the learning legacy of the Games. We are delighted to see that the ODA’s procurement standards will be adopted by government. The Commission has recommended that BS 8901, which was inspired by London 2012, should be adopted for all public events to make them more sustainable.
Sustainable Infrastructure: The Commission is pleased to see that a sustainable legacy is being supported via green space, transport, walking and cycling routes. The energy infrastructure is good by today’s standards, but is not future-proof. The OPLC needs to continue to take up the challenge to provide sustainable infrastructure for the future.
Green Space: The ODA is on course to deliver the amount of biodiverse habitat promised. The Olympic Board has confirmed its commitment to green space commitments as outlined in the bid in regard to legacy, but the Commission recognises the challenges, such as the pressures on land use. Therefore the Commission will be scrutinising the OPLC to ensure it continues to deliver on the commitments.
Sustainable Construction: The ODA has set new built environment standards that other construction clients should follow. By delivering multiple projects on-time and on-budget, the ODA has proven that it is possible to deliver both sustainability and value.
Sustainable Games: LOCOG have responded to the recommendations made by the Commission last year and have consequently set challenging targets. The Commission has planned a Games Operations review to see how these targets will be delivered on the ground.
Recommendations
- That the London 2012 Sustainability Group should provide clear leadership over all aspects of sustainability (including health) and establish a mechanism to engage effectively with the SRO Group and Olympic Board.
- That City Operations urgently develop a clear set of targets, objectives, plans and procedures to comply with BS 8901 and to meet LOCOG’s sustainability standards. If it is not practicable to meet specific targets this should be clearly justified and an alternative, suitably challenging target should be set.
- That the London 2012 Sustainability Group addresses delivery of the sustainability aspects of the Government legacy plan published in December 2010.
- That the ODA evaluate the “as built” carbon footprints of at least two venues to include the Velodrome and the Aquatic Centre and publish the lessons learned as part of their learning legacy work.
- That the ODA, working with relevant government departments, gather evidence of the linkage between productivity, health, safety and sustainability and publish their findings as part of the learning legacy.
- That the OPLC confirm their commitment to maintain 45 hectares of habitat that can mature into a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) of at least Borough Grade 1 status and base their planning considerations on this assumption.
- That LOCOG calculates the carbon that would have been saved through the renewable energy target and demonstrates how this carbon will be saved through reducing Games time energy use.
- That the GLA Group resolves the issue of resources available to support CompeteFor, Diversity Works for London and job brokerage as soon as possible to ensure that the good performance in local employment continues.
- That the OPLC use the LMF protocol, developed in 2008, as a starting point for work to develop the sustainability objectives and plans for legacy and use the legacy column of the Towards a One Planet Olympics bid document – http://assets.panda.org/downloads/opl_olympics_brochure.pdf
- That government and the GLA mandate certification to BS 8901 for all official events.
