Sustainability at the London 2012 Olympics

The Olympic Stadium, London, under construction. Photo by tompagenet . 

I listened to Peter Bonfield, the chief executive of the Building Research Establishment, talking in Dublin last year about sustainability at the now-under-construction Olympic park in London. He was speaking at the annual conference of the BRE's Irish arm, and two aspects in particular impressed me: the amount of material being recycled, and the genuine efforts being made to ensure the facilities will benefit local communities in the long term - social sustainability, you might call it. For example, the upper half of the main stadium (above) is a temporary structure that will be removed after the games, ensuring it's not out of place in the surrounding community and that local people will feel comfortable using it.

Which brings me to an interesting video from the Guardian on the sustainable features of the Olympic park facilities.

If you want an alternative take on the social impact of the Olympics, read George Monbiot here and here .