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The 2009 Annual Review of the body set up to monitor and assure the sustainability of the 2012 London Olympic Games, published last week, upholds that the event will deliver in terms of sustainability. However, the body remains doubtful as of whether the Games will inspire further sustainable behaviour.

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, the body set up to monitor and assure the sustainability of the London Olympics has published its 2009 Annual Review, praising the work conducted so far by the two main bodies delivering the London 2012 Games, namely the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

Recommendations on sustainability

The report provides several recommendations, including:

• That the London 2012 Sustainability Group establish a timely, clear, co-ordinated, funded, independent work programme to capture sustainability lessons learned and to set new standards of sustainability.
• That LOCOG identify partner organisations with significant sustainability impacts and establish an engagement programme to ensure consistency.
• That the London 2012 Sustainability Group, with input from relevant stakeholders, define the meaning of a “blueprint for sustainable living” and develop a work plan to deliver it.
• That the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) work with the rest of DCMS to develop a consistent and effective approach to carbon management for major sporting events.
• That GOE work with the rest of Government to ensure that the construction industry develops a consistent and effective approach to carbon management that includes embodied impacts.
• That the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) work with partners in the local community to ensure the Olympic Park is able to deliver zero carbon energy by 2016.

Use of HFCs

The document welcomes the personal contributions of the Minister for the Olympics, the Mayor and other members of the Olympic Board to address the controversial issue related to the use of HFCs in cooling equipment. Subsequently, a policy position was established for the use of HFC refrigerants, which advocates for their elimination “unless it can be demonstrated that they are the most sustainable option”.

As a result, about 90% of the permanent cooling of the London Olympic site will be HFC-free, with the Energy Centre and the Aquatics Centre featuring ammonia chillers.

Inspiring sustainability

According to the ‘Raising the bar’ review, the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will launch initiatives in 2010 under a programme aimed to “inspire sustainable living”, an area where otherwise progress so far was found poor by the reviewing body.

Between 4 to 8 projects will be funded with a minimum of £100,000 (maximum of £200,000) in order to put in place projects designed to encourage and enable individuals and communities to adopt more sustainable behaviours to 2012 and beyond – using the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games as a way of reaching hard to engage groups.