FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Making the London Marathon more sustainable:
London Marathon Events committed to reducing environmental impact
At London Marathon Events (LME) we're committed to inspire and deliver
innovation in mass participation event sustainability and to reduce the
environmental impact of the Virgin Money London Marathon and all other
events we organise. Virgin Money London Marathon Event Director Hugh
Brasher has outlined some of the steps we're taking at this year's event.
He said: "There's a huge amount of work we've been doing with our Head of
Sustainability, Megan Hunt. We've set some far-reaching targets for 2025
but it's going to be very interesting to see what happens this year.
"In 2019 we trialled the use of bottle belts with our participants, and
there was a 45 per cent reduction in plastic bottle usage. We've also
instigated a closed-loop recycling system, where the Lucozade Sport and
BUXTON Natural Mineral Water bottles are all made from recycled plastic, so
we collect the bottles afterwards, recycle them and give the plastic back
to BUXTON and Lucozade Sport so they can reuse it."
Another benefit of encouraging participants to wear bottle belts is that
doing so will help reduce touchpoints at this year's event – and,
hopefully, they'll also find wearing them enhances their experience of the
event, as Hugh explains.
"This is an education process for our participants, as we're hoping that by
using bottle belts they'll realise they don't necessarily need to drink as
often as they think they do. We really hope that when people see the
benefits, bottle belts will be adopted and used more and more in mass
participation events around the world."
Other measures we're taking at this year's event to help reduce its
environmental footprint include:
- Using kitbags made from sugar cane rather than plastic, with lower
emissions associated with production
- Printing participants' bib numbers on demand at the Virgin Money London
Marathon Running Show (to reduce waste from uncollected numbers)
- Installing clothing donation points at the Start where participants can
leave unwanted items of clothing, which will be donated to charity or
recycled where possible. In 2019, we recycled around 1.6 tonnes at the
Start and 2.8 tonnes went for re-use
- Asking participants to ‘drink, drain, drop (in the bin)'. Participants
are asked to drain the bottle before dropping it into bags at designated
drop zones after each Drinks Station. This will ensure the bottles can be
recycled in a closed-loop system as described above
- Supplying Lucozade Sport in compostable cups
- Using generators fuelled by HVO (that's Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) over
red diesel, as it has fewer emissions associated over its lifecycle
- Introducing electric vehicles for elite athlete transfers, as well as
using electric lead vehicles
- Collecting waste from events to make mile markers for future events
- Offsetting emissions from generators and event vehicles while greener
alternatives are sought
- Providing UK-based virtual event participants with plantable Finish Lines
made from seed paper. Non-UK participants have received FSC-certified
non-seeded Finish Lines
Balancing carbon emissions
Alongside taking action to reduce environmental impact and decarbonise
emissions, we also want to balance residual emissions – which we've begun
doing by investing in a combination of UK-based and international
initiatives.
Last year, we planted 1,086 trees in partnership with Trees for Cities at a
disused site in east London which will, over time, offset 381 tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions created by our use of generators and vehicles,
along with staff and elite athlete travel to our 2020 and 2021 events.
The tree planting is part of Trees for Cities' long-term plan to create a
new urban woodland, bringing it back into community use. It is in an area
that suffers from high pollution and the trees will help absorb both air
and noise pollution and provide a home for wildlife.
In 2021, we will be supporting two certified projects based in Kenya in
partnership with the organisation ClimateCare to offset emissions. These
projects include:
- Community-led reforestation: the project provides income to small groups
(six to 12 people) of subsistence farmers who monitor the growth of their
trees through a smartphone network, creating a real-time database of
trees by age and species. Since starting in 2004, the project has grown
to include 65,000 members, who have planted more than 8.3 million trees
in Kenya
- Forest protection: protecting more than 200,000 hectares of highly
threatened forest and preserving important wildlife migration routes
Leaving the Right Impression
This year, we published our second annual environmental report Leaving the
Right Impression, which set out our progress during 2020 which, due to the
Covid-19 pandemic, was a challenging year.
Despite the challenges, 2020 still saw us take some significant steps
forward, with achievements including:
- Joining the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework
- Reducing total waste by almost 20 per cent from 2019 in the one
like-for-like event, The Vitality Big Half
- Switching to 100 per cent renewable energy at our offices and warehouse
- Promoting pro-environmental behaviour by joining with other mass
participation sports organisations to share knowledge, experience and set
cross-industry standard
- Introducing a carbon levy for international ballot participants in the
2021 Virgin Money London Marathon
- Donating more than 8,000 items of clothing to charitable causes
- Introducing electric vehicles at the Virgin Money London Marathon elite
event
Take a look at the report via the link above to find out more about our
plans for the rest of 2021 and beyond. We have also set ourselves ambitious
targets and are grateful for the continued support of and feedback from
participants in helping us to achieve these.
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