Sustaining the future with legacy: a case study on the UK government carbon emission targets 2025 and London Olympics 2012

Abstract

The UK Construction 2025 Strategy states that the UK construction industry should be the world leader in sustainable construction by 2025. The Government views sustainable construction as an opportunity for growth within the UK as the industry seeks new markets across the globe. Mega projects such as the London Olympics 2012 and Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 have been viewed by Government as important drivers for innovation and an opportunity for demonstrating good practice to the wide industry. Lessons are emerging from these projects and have been incorporated into the development of the Government’s vision for Construction 2025 with a view to further delivering sustainability in product and practice, but also with a view to establishing capacity. This paper mainly focuses on evaluating the Carbon Emission Reduction targets set by the UK Government in order to be in line with the current Sustainable Development practices. The study also includes an analysis of the Legacy set out by London Olympics 2012 which achieved a number of successful outcomes in terms of Sustainable Construction and Procurement. However, a number of traditional barriers within the construction industry are argued to be restricting the ability to progress the construction agenda at the rate intended. The evidence show that the UK is well within the Carbon Emission Reduction targets and the legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games should provide for better construction practices in the future, provided that they are used in the correct context, and embraced by the key stakeholders from the outset.