One-planet Olympics

Earthlings are, on average, consuming 50 per cent more natural resources than the planet’s ecosystems can replenish. To help bring consumption back into line with what Earth can supply sustainably, development group BioRegional, in partnership with WWF, has come up with One Planet Living, a global initiative that provides practical guidelines for individuals and groups to take steps toward living within the limits of one Earth – covering everything from sustainably managed building and energy to waste, water, food and more.

What better opportunity to showcase the possibilities and benefits of One Planet Living than at the world’s most high-profile event? Staging the Olympics is a massive task – like building a whole new town – involving constructing venues, housing and other infrastructure to cope with an influx of more than 10,000 athletes and millions of spectators. Working with One Planet Living and the London Games’ partners and sponsors, the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee (LOGOC) pledged to make the London 2012 Games sustainable. The work has been going on for years behind the scenes, but as the torch comes to London, the city is demonstrating to the world how it can be done.

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