Our last report was always going to look a bit different. Inspired by our longest serving Commissioner, Dr Robin Stott, we have always maintained the mantra “there is no such thing as a sustainable Games – unless we can demonstrate in some way that the wider influence of the Games has compensated for the resources used”. Our last piece of work has explored this question and broadly concluded that this has also been a success. Of course it is not possible to do this to accounting accuracy and in many ways it is a bit too early to tell, but we can see emerging evidence that London 2012 is starting to make a difference to the sustainability agenda.

In construction, event management, catering and waste sectors we can find examples of good practice inspired or informed by London 2012. Not just in the UK but elsewhere in the world too. In fact in some cases there is more evidence outside the UK than within. This is aided greatly by the learning legacy material developed by the ODA and LOCOG, an idea originally suggested by another of our Commissioners, Professor Stuart Green.

Naturally, there is more to do. In the construction industry we can see mega-projects adopting ODA-esque strategies but less evidence in medium or small sized projects. Despite LOCOG’s best efforts the ethical standards of sponsors and their supply chains need greater transparency. I welcome the initiative from the Institute of Human Rights and Business to tackle this and I plan to make a personal contribution after the Commission has closed.

The existence of the Commission was a bold experiment too. It had never been done before, was it a success and should it be done again? To explore this we commissioned an independent review of our work. This report concludes that the Commission has been a success, offered excellent value for money and added value to the organisations receiving the assurance and most of their wider stakeholders. It recommends that the model should be replicated and suggests some improvements based on things that did not go as well as they should have. We have found some evidence of similar models used since the Commission was established in Australia, Abu Dhabi and in a global corporation but nothing in the UK public sector where it all began. Our recommendation that the London Legacy Development Corporation be subject to assurance for legacy is “no longer supported”. Is this symptomatic of the “British Disease”? Invent something good, lose momentum, let the rest of the world do it better than you, sit at home and complain about it. Like football for example…

When we first started the Commission we were pioneering. That was in 2005, by 2013 it is great to see big organisations around the world adopting the model. How many more times will you see something like the Commission in the UK? Only time will tell.

Shaun McCarthy

March 2013

They think the London 2012 Olympic Games are all over but from a sustainability point of view this is the end of the beginning. Today sees the release of our report entitled “London 2012 – From vision to reality“. It documents the fantastic effort made by my team to get to practically every Olympic venue with the exception of the football stadia. Not bad for a team of four people in a few short weeks. We also visited live sites, logistics hubs, waste transfer stations and numerous other “back of house” activities that would not normally be experienced by the public who just need to expect this stuff to be done well while they have a good time. Somebody has to check this and I would like to thank the team for doing such a great job in some of the less glamorous areas of the Games.

We can conclude from our assurance work that London 2012 has indeed delivered the most sustainable Games ever. Of course there are some things that could have been done better; energy conservation was pretty poor and inconsistency in delivery between LOCOG venues and government Live Sites did not help but the overall package of a great green space, food vision, a very visible waste strategy, great public transport and access for most disabled people proved to be a gold medal winning combination.

The Commission has one more piece of work to do before we shut up shop in March 2013; this is a review we call “Beyond 2012” where we will look for evidence of an “Olympic effect” on more sustainable practices. The ODA and LOCOG have demonstrated to the construction, event management and catering industries respectively that it is possible to deliver a step change in sustainable practice. The challenge is now with those industries and the people who commission services from them to demand these standards as a minimum and for the sectors to kick on and raise the bar even higher. My observations of these sectors to date make me optimistic, there is a growing band of people and organisations who understand the business opportunities presented through more sustainable solutions.

In other areas London 2012 has exposed weaknesses. The merchandise industry served up the same old tat in slightly more sustainable packaging here or containing a small percentage of organic cotton there. This is not step change and question marks remain about ethical standards in the supply chains of some suppliers and licensees. Global brand owners such as the IOC and FIFA have the power to demand more and should use it more effectively in the future. Transparency is important too. I have to question why no other event or major project has submitted itself to scrutiny by a body such as the Commission. Instead they rely on “advisory committees”, talking shops with no real influence, accountability or added value.

The party has left town but has London 2012 inspired a generation to be more respectful to the planet and the people on it? Maybe some future commentator starting a blog with “I was 8 years old when Mo Farrah won his second gold medal” will provide the answer.

Shaun McCarthy

November 2012

What I think is interesting is that it is not necessarily the events and exploits that are generating record breaking attendance, or the TV coverage but that it’s simply because it’s all just more great sport. The way the venues have been designed and the event organised from the perspective of competitors and spectators, with and without impairment, has perhaps for the first time ever on such a huge public stage, mainstreamed disability.

It is the unremarkable way I and other disabled people have circulated within and between venues, without laborious human or technical intervention, that has been so remarkable to me.  That isn’t to say that everything has been perfect and there are lessons that can be learned. There have undoubtedly been a few challenges, most notably for visually impaired spectators.  Frustratingly for those of us dependent on a little technical assistance to fully participate, things have been slightly disappointing.  The audio description has been unreliable for a number of us, and the in accessibility of ATMs has presented difficulties.  Neither of these is reliant on technology that isn’t already in use, and perhaps a little more attention to detail earlier could have ensured a more inclusive experience for some visually impaired spectators.

If the measure of a success for a long term legacy is behaviour change, then I offer two memories that give cause for optimism. The first is the sound, or rather lack thereof, as a stadium of 80,000 spectators in absolute silence for a visually impaired 4 x 100 m relay, to enable the athletes to hear each other. The other memory is what I beheld on visiting the Ottobock Pavilion. For those who don’t know, Ottobock is a manufacturer of prosthetics and a Paralympic sponsor.  They produce handcycles and the sportschairs in which the athlete rugby and basketball players perform. The reason why I believe we may actually all be Paralympians now, or at least aspire to be so, is that as I turned the corner into the main exhibition space of the pavilion, I was greeted by the sight large group of non-disabled young people queuing to have a go at wheelchair basket ball..

Andy Shipley

September 2012 

I recently met with some of the team working on what LOCOG call “look and feel”, which includes everything from signage and way finding to all the banners throughout London and the messages that these are used to convey.

Some of the figures involved with this are quite remarkable. 100km of fence scrim (the material used to wrap a fence with) have been used. That’s enough to wrap a fence running all the way from the Olympic Park to the Channel Tunnel. 3,500 flags have also been used to display logos and messages aroundLondon and Olympic and Paralympic venues.

This got me thinking about the materials they are made from and what will happen to them post-Games. Maybe this makes me a ‘sustainability geek’ but someone has to think about these things! LOCOG have been thinking about it too. For example, they worked with their supplier to source alternatives to PVC and specified that that supplier to take everything back and recycle it. In some cases, they used a different material to ensure the banners and signs were more recyclable (for those fellow geeks out there, one example was using corex polypropylene instead of foamex for hard signs and banners).

Whilst the quantities used are substantial, they would have been higher if LOCOG hadn’t adopted the mantra “communicate, not decorate” and only placed “look” where they wanted people to look. Also, whilst there has been a change of materials from the Olympic Games to the Paralympic Games, only about 1/3 has changed through the swapping out of Olympic logos and replacing them with Paralympic logos. This is as opposed to a complete change. Of course, it would have been even better if only one London 2012 logo had been needed rather than having two versions but even here we have seen a step forward as LOCOG succeeded in getting both of the international committees (IOC and IPC) to agree to their respective logos being displayed side by side in some places. Hopefully we will see this integration continue for future Games so these wholesale changes become a thing of the past.

So, the look and feel is being made more sustainable but does it feel that way and will it inspire a generation? We have been asking visitors to the Games their thoughts on this. It’s been clear that people are noticing some of the key London 2012 sustainability features, in particular the parklands, the recycling provision, the micro wind turbines and the overall regeneration of the Stratford area. Whether those people are inspired to make their own behaviour more sustainable after the Games is still to be seen.

The “look and feel” aspect of the London 2012 Games didn’t set out to be overtly sustainable but various features of the biodiverse areas of the Olympic Park present their own message on this. Our Chair also wrote a recent blog about the unsung buildings in the Park – those that contribute a significant amount to the sustainability of the programme without necessarily being as well noticed. Perhaps there is actually a positive message here – that sustainability can be embedded without it necessarily having to be an obvious feature. But is this enough? Why don’t you leave a comment with your thoughts on this.

Jonathan Turner 

September 2012 

On the Tuesday of the final week of competition this has not happened to date. My team travelled to all London venues and found the tube lines to be very busy as they often are at peak times. The Docklands Light Railway struggled a little and there were some queues but nothing like the queues of several hours that were predicted. The route to the Olympic Park via West Ham is a great option, using the less busy district line. I have used this a lot and enjoy the 20 minute walk along the Greenway with the crowds, entertainers and friendly volunteers. It is good exercise, great fun and adds to the experience of visiting the Park. Visitors can take advantage of the many walking and cycling routes available and can take the opportunity to enjoy the glorious September sunshine.

Barring any last minute hitches London’s transport network and the team of people who make it work every day appears to have met the challenge of welcoming the world to our city. I hope it will encourage more people to visit and for businesses to invest their money here.

London’s transport network has always found access for disabled people a challenge. The age of some of the infrastructure does not make this easy. There are 66 step free stations in the 270 station underground network but there are still difficulties actually boarding trains at some stations. During the Games TfL made 16 key stations more accessible with use of ramps to board the trains. These were originally seen as temporary measures but now look set to remain in legacy. The facility could be expanded further. Transport campaigners claim that there are 30 additional stations that could be made more accessible with ramps.

This is true Olympic and Paralympic legacy. Long may it continue.

Shaun McCarthy

September 2012

“Everybody’s Games” was one of the inspirational phrases used by London 2012 leaders and politicians throughout the London 2012 programme. My experience to date suggests that the experience for most disabled people has been great. At the wonderful rowing venue at Eton Dorney the other day I was stopped by a wheelchair user who was keen to tell me this has been the best Paralympics ever for “us wheelies”. He was a veteran of Beijing and Athens and spoke with such enthusiasm it made me proud to have played a very small part in supporting “everybody’s Games”.

However, there seems to be a small wave of feedback from visually impaired and blind people that could suggest they are getting a raw deal. Last week I met Robert Johnson on the BBC’s In Touch programme. A visually impaired visitor to many Olympic venues, he told his tales of frustration at trying to get audio commentary, without malice and with genuine constructive criticism. Inspired by his words I went along to the Paralympic rowing venue at Eton Dorney and asked some volunteers about audio commentary. They did not know and radio calls to the Venue Control Centre resulted in a message saying “we will find out”, a 15 minute wait and no answer. This was the first day of Paralympic competition at this venue and it is unreasonable to expect volunteers to know everything. However this is not an excuse for the Venue Control Centre who should know and be able to provide an answer in less than 15 minutes.

I finally spoke to the venue’s Event Services Manger who told me that audio description was available and all I needed to do was go to any of the three excellent mobility hubs at the venue. So I did. Three of the volunteers at the mobility hub had no idea what I was talking about but one leapt up a bit too enthusiastically (had she been tipped off?) to tell me I had to go to the programme sales tent. A friendly programme sales volunteer pointed to a pile of small boxes and explained that my visually impaired friend could just come and pick up a headset. The rowing only went on for three hours in the morning and the competition was nearly finished by the time I got an answer. Our intrepid visually impaired Commissioner Andy Shipley and guide dog Winnie (also an honorary Commissioner) tested this out at another event he has bought tickets for at a different venue. He managed to get hold of a headset only to find it so cheaply made it fell to bits while he was using it.

Reports in the media tend to illustrate similar concerns. There have been reports that Visa have not installed audio facilities at cashpoint machines (although they do have braille and tactile features) because there was “insufficient time”. London won the bid in 2005, how long do they need? There have also been recent reports about high profile blind politician David Blunkett being refused access to his seat because it was not suitable for his guide dog. We have not investigated this story formally so we cannot confirm its validity.

Maybe these are isolated incidents but there is a hint that blind and visually impaired people are not getting as good a deal as other disabled people. Come on LOCOG, you have a few more days to prove us wrong and demonstrate that you really can deliver “everybody’s Games”.

Shaun McCarthy

September 2012

The Paralympics tells us a lot about sustainability. It’s a show case of the resilience and adaptability right at the heart of the sustainability theme. Individuals and families, often caught unawares, have had to cope with real difficulties and limitations. They have had to find ways round what must seem like huge blocks in the road and have come out with something hugely positive.  

Technology has played its part in liberating many participants, providing them with a mechanism to take part or improve their performance. Not all countries are equally advanced but there is a sense of sharing expertise to raise the overall level. This is how sustainable development works – or should work – the sharing of ideas, pushing back boundaries, reducing limitations and finding innovative and imaginative solutions together. The Paralympics opening ceremony was as instructive as Danny Boyle’s awe-inspiring Olympic opener. The Paralympics’ curtain-raiser focused on enlightenment, enterprise, scientific advance and sensitive creativity. We all learnt something. We learnt that disability is a part of the rich diversity of human experience; we learn more about what success looks like, we learnt more about the world this generation and subsequent generations might try to create and we learnt a lot more about the power of the human spirit.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel very optimistic and more motivated to pass on a world in as good a condition as possible. Sustainability could do with being and appearing to be more positive, less grumpy. And it is a wonder how empowering putting so-called ‘disability’ centre-stage can be!

David Jackman

September 2012

The inclusiveness of the London 2012 Paralympic Games is not just a product of the excellent work of London 2012 and all who sail in her, but also the result of hard yards over many years by many different people and organisations to make the UK as inclusive as it is today.  While there is still vastly more to be done, it is an important time to recognise just what has been achieved.  

It is fitting then, that the cultural pinnacle for the disability movement in London, ‘Liberty’ celebrates its tenth anniversary in the midst of this festival of sport and culture. No cultural babe-in-the-woods, Liberty’s free, three-day season features the world’s top disabled performers and artists in dance, theatre, music and the visual arts and has a solid and mature place on the international cultural trail. Events are happening at the heart of the nation’s capital at Southbank.  Liberty is alongside her sister festival ‘Unlimited’ which features ticketed performances across the creative arts, featuring disabled performers and artists as part of the London 2012 Festival.

At the intersection between sport and culture is the beauty of elite endeavour. Behind both are the stories of the athletes and artists who engage something so fundamental in us all.  I was reminded of this when heading out to the Opening Ceremony. We ran into a bunch of Australians piling out of a house in our street, also on their way to the Stadium.  It turned out they were the extended family of young Australian swimmer, Ellie Cole, and they had all come over from Australia to support their star family athlete.  It was particularly sweet then to be in the Aquatics Centre a couple of nights ago when Ellie Cole won her first gold medal of the Games.  Just as Ellie Simmonds is a household name in Great Britain, so too will Ellie Cole become one in Australia.  So, here’s to the Ellies – and here’s to the magic of sport and culture – it brings out the desire to be included in us all.  

Emma Synnott

September 2012  

LOCOG has placed a great deal of emphasis on the diversity of the workforce, volunteers and their supply chain. Their aim to have 6-10% of these workforces made up of disabled people was well on track to be achieved when we checked before the Games and I am confident that the final analysis will show this to be a success. It was great to hear Terry’s story, how he was trained and supported by LOCOG and how inspiring he found his role as a Games Maker. He said that he couldn’t wait for the Paralympics to start and was heading off after the radio show was recorded to begin his first shift.

Robert’s experience was a little more mixed. He said he was enthusiastic about the Games but found facilities for visually impaired people confusing. When he asked for an audio headset he was bought a hearing loop on more than one occasion, which is for deaf people. His huge German Shepherd guide dog should have provided a clue here. Peter’s advice was to take a radio and follow the action on Radio 5. Although Radio 5 is excellent, it does not necessarily cover the sport you are watching. We all agreed that Games Makers are great and that they can’t be expected to know everything. However, the information should be available for them to find out. Our own visually impaired Commissioner, Andy Shipley, called the London 2012 customer helpline to enquire about this. After waiting 10 minutes he was told that audio descriptions are available at all venues and he should ask any Games Maker for help. This does not accord with Robert’s experience.

We talked about legacy too. The Olympic Park will clearly be a great place for disabled people to visit in legacy and possibly to live and work, but will the great work done by the ODA and LOCOG be replicated for other projects and other events? I hope so.

The ODA did a great job of creating an accessible built environment by engaging directly with disabled people, and LOCOG should be congratulated for their work in encouraging disabled people to get involved with the Games. There are clearly some operational improvements needed for the Paralympics though and it is not too late to act on Robert’s feedback.

During the warm up to the show we talked about guide dogs. Terry’s Labrador had tried to steal somebody’s sandwich while visiting the BBC. Robert’s German Shepherd does not steal food. It reminded me of a story Andy told me about his now retired dog Gabby sneaking across a train carriage to nick somebody’s Cornish Pasty. Gabby was particularly keen on raiding the buffet trolley at our Commission meetings too. This prompted Peter to suggest they should do a programme about the food guide dogs steal, which was instantly rejected by his producer… but producers, what do they know…..?

Shaun McCarthy

August 2012

The emphasis on science and technology is very important. We all need science in our daily lives and the advancement of technology is essential to enable people of all abilities, particularly for disabled people. From the voice technology our friend and Commissioner Andy Shipley uses to help him use computers despite his visual impairments to the much publicised “bionic suits” for people with severe physical disabilities. Watching the teams parade around the Olympic Stadium it becomes obvious that these are very large teams with many support workers, coaches and resources. The achievements of our Payalympians are truly remarkable but they cannot do it on their own. Disabled people can achieve great things but resources are needed to support them.

My colleague Emma Synnott was at the event and I watched it on TV. Emma observed some less than helpful features behind the scenes where a person was struggling with the stairs and was told that they could not use the nearby lift because it was reserved for the Queen and directed to a lift some distance away. I am sure Her Majesty would not have minded.

 Watching the event on commercial TV meant having to endure copious advertisements, including EDF’s ridiculous claim that they are supplying low carbon energy to the Games. The truth is they are supplying the same energy they always supplied and they have not generated an additional Watt of low carbon energy as a result of their sponsorship of the Games. Having been very rude about EDF I should add that they have been great supporters of ParalympicsGB, helping them with a radical energy conservation plan at their training camp at Bath University, in this way they have really helped to deliver a low carbon Games.

There were some nice sustainability touches; the sculptures on the lecterns during the speeches were made from used runners blades and if you think you have seen the newsprint costumes before, you probably have. Re-used from the Olympic opening ceremony? Possibly. The apple trick was great too, eat the apple, defy gravity, great healthy eating message.

I enjoyed the performance of Ian Dury’s hard-hitting Spasticus with people celebrating their personalities and their disabilities with lots of messages about equality and human rights. Ian was disabled by polio as a child and sadly is no longer with us but I am sure he would have loved it. The finale with the glass ceiling breaking carried a clear message about the art of the possible.

The opening ceremony has been an inspiration but will the London 2012 Paralympics really represent a turning point in the way we view disabilities? The Olympic Park and Village should be a great place for disabled people to visit and possibly to work and live but there is more to it than that. There is still much to do to ensure that there are truly equal opportunities for people of all abilities to travel, work, live and play sport. In the words of Stephen Hawking “there should be no boundary to human endeavour”. This is just the beginning, let the Games begin again!

Shaun McCarthy

August 2012