Government procurement should learn from 2012 Games

The lessons of sustainable construction and event management resulting from preparations for the 2012 London Olympics should be assimilated into all government procurement, says the annual report from the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, published this week.

The report, Raising the Bar, is calling on the government to fulfil on the promise to make real changes to sustainable development after the games which was part of the original bid.

“The promise in the bid was to change things: to create a blueprint for sustainable living; to act as a catalyst for good waste management strategy in east London,” Commission chair Shaun McCarthy told BusinessGreen. “If the 2012 Games is the only major sustainable project delivered in the UK, then we’ve got it wrong. We need to share the lessons learned, especially in construction, event management and catering.”

Key to this is the effort to capture, evaluate and transmit the relevant knowledge, says the Commission’s annual report.

“The legacy of knowledge has to is accessible electronically and evaluated independently … so the lessons - both positive and negative – can be used for future projects,” said McCarthy

“We need to capture the specifics, not write jolly case studies,” he added. “For example, the ODA procured concrete with half the carbon content that was used for Heathrow Terminal 5. How did they do it? What was the spec used for tendering? What was the contract they drew up with suppliers? How did they monitor deliveries to make sure the concrete met the spec?”

The ODA is already rising to this challenge, McCarthy said, having appointed ODA director Simon Wright to oversee the process.

He argues that the lessons learned in preparing for the games need to be coordinated by central government and implemented into all government procurement.