Glasgow 2014 - sustainability and sporting events

Seems ages ago since the Commonwealth Games, right?  That sense of it all rushing by and being over is exactly why we always need to think about sustainability – to make sure that it’s not just a big flash in pan.  The athletes know that the actual race day is just one small part of a continuous effort - training, keeping fit - and so it should be for all of us in environmental planning too.

Environmentally you’ll be pleased to know that there were lots of actions to make the Glasgow Games sustainable:

• Solar panels were installed on more than 700 homes in the athletes’ village producing 60% less carbon than the average house.

• 260,000 items of furniture, fittings and equipment were recycled from the London 2012 Olympics.

• Public transport was provided free of charge to all ticket holders on the day.

• Volunteers known as ‘Recycling Ambassadors’ were on-site to help visitors ensure their waste was disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.

• Almost 50,000 tonnes of food and garden waste, collected from households in Glasgow over recent years, was recycled into rich compost, and some of it was used in the construction of turf in the Athletes Village.

We’ve had our own summer of fun at WasteSolve with special events to boost participation and recycling on our clients sites, so it may look like all fun and games with us but I promise there’s a hard business case for it all too!