The London 2012 Sustainability Plan—“Towards a One Planet 2012”—will be published today, by the Olympic board.

It is an important step in realising the intention of the Government and the Olympic board key stakeholders (Minister for the Olympics, Mayor of London, British Olympic Association, and the two Olympic Delivery bodies: LOCOG and ODA) to make the Olympic park a blueprint for sustainable living, and to use the inspiration of 2012 to encourage people to live healthier, environmentally conscious lives and to support the Olympic ideals.

“Towards a One Planet 2012” aims to show progress towards achieving a sustainable Olympic and Paralympic games in each of the five main sustainability themes:

climate change;

waste;

biodiversity;

inclusion; and

healthy living.

These aspects of sustainability are closely linked and, in most cases, mutually supporting. For example, by promoting biodiversity, we may reduce the impacts of climate change; by bringing economic benefits to deprived communities, we improve their health; by re-using construction materials, we reduce their demands on the world’s resources.

The plan focuses on the work being undertaken by London 2012 and the other members of the Olympic board. It sets out achievements to date, commitments made, and areas where further work is underway to determine what the games can achieve for each of the preparation, staging the games and legacy stages. Within each of these stages, the focus has been on how sustainability can be maximised and this will continue to be the focus for the Government and the Olympic board going forward.

The plan identifies areas where we intend to exceed earlier sustainability targets, such as by ensuring that the 4000 new homes in the Olympic village will be at least 44 per cent. more energy efficient than 2006 Building Regulations, where the ODA’s initial target was to make the homes in the Olympic village 25 per cent. more energy efficient than 2006 Building Regulations.

The plan is open about the limits and constraints on what can be achieved, such as for the treatment of waste during and after the games, which will depend on the provision of facilities and technologies that are not yet in place. Where this is the case, the plan signals the intentions of London 2012, and sets out the developments that need to be in place to make an intention a reality.

The London 2012 programme is fast-moving and the intention is for the plan to be updated annually to reflect progress in achieving existing goals, to review those and to set new ones to address new issues that emerge.

I am placing copies of the plan in the Library and I will place copies of the annual updates in the Library when these are available.