An Olympic sustainability watchdog has urged 2012 organisers to cut the carbon produced during building work
The call is contained in the annual report by the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (CSL), and follows a report that found that more carbon will be emitted during the construction of the venues than the Games themselves.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), which carried out the carbon footprint tests, said 60% of the 3.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted between London winning the bid and the closing ceremony would come from making and transporting building materials.
The remaining 40% would come from running the venues and transporting visitors and participants during the six weeks of the Games.
Shaun McCarthy, the chair of CSL, said: “It’s a question of mitigating the carbon, installing energy meters or using the inspiration power of the Games to encourage energy efficiency.”
Meanwhile, CSL gave LOCOG a summer deadline to prepare a strategy to dispose of temporary structures after the Games.
It would be tragic if, after the closing ceremony, stuff just got dumped
Shaun McCarthy, CSL
“There’ll be a lot of waste such as the winners rostrums and stuff ripped out of the Olympic village when we turn it into housing,” said McCarthy. “They haven’t addressed what they will do with it yet.
“It would be tragic if, after the closing ceremony, a lot of stuff got ripped out and just dumped.”
An ODA spokesperson said: “We are delivering on sustainability standards that have never been achieved before on a development of this scale.”
The ODA and LOCOG are aiming to send no waste to landfill during construction.
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