Towards defining a quantitative methodology to enhance the sustainability performance of major international events.

Abstract

In the last few decades the concept of Sustainable Development has been incorporated into the strategic management plans of many projects and industrial processes and enterprises. Identifying an appropriate core set of Sustainability Indicators (SI) and Sustainability Assessment (SA) tools depends on the scope and nature of the project. Some projects are similar, therefore the SI sets and SA tools could be chosen according to previous experience. Other projects are rather unique; they involve a lot of stakeholders and affect the local communities, thus they require a larger variety of SIs and SA tools. Quantitative systems analysis models are becoming one of the most important tools in SA because they can be used for more accurate forecasting in the decision-making process. This paper provides the results of preliminary research work on the sustainability assessment of major international events using systems analysis of material and energy flows. We are exploring waste transportation at this stage. The case study of the project is based on the London 2012 Olympic Park. The overall aim of the project is to identify the key set of SIs and SA tools to define a comprehensive methodology of sustainability evaluation of large events, such as the Olympic Games, for application in the future to similar projects.