Summer Olympic Games 2012 London

The 2012 edition of the Summer Olympic Games will be held in London and from the outset the organizers are concerned with sustainability as an important theme for the event. The candidature file for London's bid focused on sport, health and crucially, environment; organizers had completed full environmental impact assessments for its venues early, putting it ahead of all the other candidates (Sustainable Plan, 2007). According to the bid report the London 2012 will be 'The first sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games.' This was the vision and promise made to the IOC by the London 2012 Games bid.

The London Olympics 2012 will be first of its kind of mega sporting event where a comprehensive carbon management strategy has being placed. Although, in Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010, a GHG inventory for the overall games was carried out but a comprehensive Carbon Management Plan was not done.

For London 2012 Olympics, efforts have been made to define and measure the CO2 footprint of the Games along with efforts to reduce the footprint through innovation in technologies and best practices. The London Olympic Authority has stated that they are aiming to make London 2012 the greenest Olympics ever, setting a precedent for future events (Sustainable Plan, 2007).

My aim in this case study is to get a detailed analysis of the holistic carbon management strategy for the London Olympics. One of the caveats of this case study is that most of the commitments made by the Organizers are under process and the results of their ambitious commitments are yet unknown. However, this is a first event which has incorporated the idea of 'One Planet Living' as a guiding principle for successful staging of the event. The different themes London 2012 Sustainability Plan are illustrated in Figure-29. My research will analyze these themes and based on these learning experiences, various strategies in context of Pan-American Games will be suggested.