BSI British Standards welcomes London 2012 use of sustainability standard

London 2012 was instrumental in developing the BS 8901, published in November 2007. It continues its commitment to sustainability by ensuring, through the published guidelines, that all events between now and ‘Games-time’ are organized and staged in a sustainable way.

London 2012 will continually review how the guidelines are performing in practice and will release updated editions. The experience gained from their application – and from implementation of BS 8901 – will reinforce London 2012’s efforts to deliver a more sustainable Games in 2012.

London 2012 Head of Sustainability, David Stubbs, outlined the importance of the guidelines: 'We launched our Sustainability Plans over a year ago now, outlining our overall vision for the Games and since then we have been drilling down into the detail of each different element. Events are a key part of this – between now and 2012, we will be holding any number of events, from press conferences to cultural events and our guidelines will ensure they are arranged and run in the most sustainable way possible. We are fully committed to ensuring that our Games – and everything that happens in the run-up – reaches the highest possible standards in terms of sustainability.'

Anne Hayes, Head of Market Development, Risk and Sustainability at BSI British Standards, added: 'BSI is delighted London 2012 has published its Sustainability Guidelines for individual corporate and public events and will be using BS 8901 to ensure the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will be as sustainable as possible. This sets a great example for any organization wishing to reduce the impact of its events. Events organizers who have used the standard since its publication in 2007 have found it useful in enabling a holistic approach to improving the sustainability of their events, combining environmental, economic and social considerations.'