Going for Green at Glasgow 2014

Glasgow 2014, Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government are holding a sustainability conference today (Friday) and have announced that they will aim to recycle or reuse at least 80% of waste that is produced during the 11 days of competition for the Commonwealth Games.

The announcement was made as the Partners set out a joint ambition to “Go for Green” at Glasgow 2014.  To mark the official start of this joint ambition, a short new animated film has been launched to illustrate the opportunities that all the Games Partners plan to take up over the next three and a half years. You can view the film here.

The Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee and Games Partners aim to ensure that good standards of sustainability are met environmentally, economically and socially.  Good standards of sustainability will be met environmentally in the following ways:

- Remediation of contaminated land:  All new venues will have had the land decontaminated and cleaned before building began.

- Upgrading existing stadia and building in legacy:  Instead of building a new stadium, we are converting Hampden Park from a national football stadium into a world class athletics facility, reducing the impact upon the environment by transforming an existing facility as opposed to starting from scratch.  The SECC will also be completely transformed from an exhibition centre into a sports venue.

- A sustainable energy Centre will be built for the Athletes’ Village.  The NISA and Velodrome will be retro-fitted to it once it is available.

- Spectators will have free public transport within Glasgow with their sports tickets, reducing the amount of carbon emissions used by encouraging people to travel using sustainable transport.

Glasgow 2014 and the Games Partners have made a commitment to delivering good standards of sustainability through good economy:

- Low carbon housing: houses in the Athletes’ Village will be built using sustainable materials  These 750 homes within the Athletes' Village will produce 60% less carbon by cutting energy demand as a result of being well insulated and airtight.

- Procurement: Glasgow 2014 is using a web portal for the procurement of goods, services and works of all types and values.  This transparent tool will ensure that the organisers get the best value from the market.

Finally, ensuring that sustainability has a strong social aspect is crucial to delivering an outstanding Games with a positive legacy for people.  The Athletes’ Village will be built on a previously rundown 50-acre site bounded by London Road, the River Clyde, Springfield Road and Dalmarnock Road.  It will feature 758 houses and flats, and a 120-bed care home.  This new community will transform the east end of Glasgow.

Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive John Scott said:

“Sustainability is crucial to staging an outstanding Games – we think it’s imperative that we act responsibly at every stage of the Games process, and part of that is ensuring that we act in the most beneficial way possible for the environment, in an economical way, that is in the best interests of local people in the long term.

“Glasgow in Gaelic translates as “Dear Green Place”, and that is exactly what we’re aiming for in 2014.”

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said:

 “We are confident that the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be the greenest ever.  Some of the venues being built for the Games and the Athletes’ Village are going to use the latest ideas in reducing carbon and will be a strong indication of Glasgow’s approach to addressing climate change.
“The Games will leave the city an environmental and sustainable legacy, including improved land and air quality and innovative approaches to energy use and recycling.”

Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, said:

"The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that environmental and sustainability issues are factored into all aspects of Glasgow 2014. This event will provide many Scots with the opportunity to live and travel more sustainably.