Leading the World: Towards a One Planet Olympics

London put sustainability at the heart of its bid for the 2012 Games, framed by the concept of 'Towards a One Planet Olympics'.

This was derived from the World Wildlife Federation BioRegional concept of 'One Planet Living®' , which is based on the fact that globally mankind are consuming resources at a faster
rate than the planet can replenish them. If everyone lived as most Europeans do, we would
need three planets; if as most North Americans do, then five!

In announcing Nortel as its Official Network Infrastructure Partner for the 2012 Games, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games also declared Nortel as its Official Sustainability Partner.

There are a number of ways that Nortel helps the environment.

REDUCE with up to 40% lower energy consumption: Nortel products are proven by third-party, independent experts to use significantly less power than the primary competitor while delivering robust performance and reliability.

RE-USE In The Form Of Evolvable Products: Nortel calls this our 'evergreen' philosophy; our customers call it investment protection; and the green community calls it re-use.

RE-CYCLE through Product life cycle management: Last year, our three Investment Recovery Centers (the first of which opened in 1939!) handled 6.2 million pounds of material and separated over 96% into 34 commodity recycling classes.

But it goes beyond this. The Nortel Supplier Code of Conduct incorporates criteria to help identify where risk lies in our supply chain with regard to workplace social, labour, environmental, health, and safety conditions.

Outside recognition and verification of Nortel commitment to and successes in sustainability include the Dow Jones North America Sustainability Index and the Jantzi Social Index.

Who's championing sustainability in your enterprise?