The construction industry is one of Scotland's main business sectors, contributing around £6.4 billion each year to the Scottish economy. However, an increased awareness of the impact of climate change on our planet means that the construction industry is also faced with a number of challenges.
The Scottish Construction Industry Plan 2007-12 highlights the importance of both sustainability and environmental concerns when setting out four priority work areas. Under the heading of Planet, the Plan places emphasis on the need to design sustainable sites, reduce waste, energy consumption and pollution, and to recycle and reuse materials where possible.
This emphasis on sustainability is particularly evident in the construction plans of many upcoming major sporting events. The organisers of the London 2012 Olympics plan to make the games as sustainable as possible. The London 2012 Sustainability Plan: Towards a One Planet 2012 highlights a number of key issues around a sustainable Games, including the need to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, the encouragement of new waste processing infrastructure, and the protection of wildlife.
This is also evident in the planning for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where a programme has been introduced to recognise the use of innovative environmental solutions within Olympic construction, and Glasgow 2014, which sees both Environment and Sustainability measured as part of the Games Impact.
Construction companies can also learn from past events, for example the Winter Olympics of Vancouver 2010, described as setting a new bar for large sporting events. Organisers strived to set new standards in a number of areas including environmental stewardship and impact reduction, which saw new programmes introduced in the management of waste and the carbon footprint of the Games.