Not just buildings: Sustainability and the London 2012 Olympics
In a few weeks’ time, “the least unsustainable Olympic Games yet” will climax in two weeks of sporting events, watched – overwhelmingly via global television – by an estimated four billion of the world’s population. It will also be a watershed moment for London’s 2012 organising body, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), who, after seven years, will hand over responsibilities to its successor, the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC). This will include the responsibility for the emphatic ‘greenest ever Olympics’ focus on sustainability, which was at the heart of the original bid. Back in 2005, a central part of London’s surprise win to host the Olympics was in its marriage of regeneration and sustainability. Now that the time is nigh, the question of whether it has met these aspirations hangs over the entire venture.
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