In 2000 the Olympic Games took place in Sydney, Australia. The Games were hosted on a site that had been transformed from a highly polluted post-industrial wasteland to a 425-hectare sustainable urban parkland.
Located to the south of the Parramatta River, Millennium Parklands features diverse landscapes, rich ecosystems, homes and businesses. More than a decade after much of the initial work, the park provides examples and lessons for other urban areas that are trying to become more sustainable.
A strategic approach to sustainability
One of the key reasons that the Sydney Olympic Park has been an environmental success is that a long-term, strategic approach was taken from the outset. When authorities began planning the games in the early 1990s, one of their priorities was to ensure that the event, including the creation of the Olympic Park, was as environmentally friendly as possible.
Sustainability was integral to the design and management of the park. This approach was first described in the Environmental Guidelines 1993 (updated in 2000 and 2008) that formed part of Sydney’s successful bid to host the Olympics. Sustainability continues to be integral to the site as it evolves – it is a key theme in the recent draft Masterplan 2030 strategy for the development and management of the site.
The park has a sophisticated water management system that uses two sets of water mains, one for drinking water and one for reclaimed water that can be used for irrigation and toilet flushing. Many of the built structures on the site incorporate sustainable technologies such as photovoltaics. The adjacent suburb of Newington, the former athletes village, is one of the largest solar powered suburbs in the world.
Environmental legacies
The development of the Olympic Park has created a number of environmental legacies. The most significant of these is the cleaning up of an industrial wasteland into an area of diverse parklands and rich ecosystems. It was the largest project of its kind in Australia, with around 9 million cubic metres of landfill requiring treatment and 160 hectares needing some form of remediation.
In June 2001 the United Nations Environment Programme awarded the Sydney Olympic Games the Global 500 Role of Honor award for environmental excellence. This recognised the project’s high achievements in the areas of energy, water conservation, waste minimisation, pollution avoidance and protection of the natural environment.
