SUSTAINABILITY

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games model for sustainable production

THE BRIEF

The Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee wanted the Commonwealth Games to be the most sustainable edition yet.

Our challenge was to help make that ambition real through the way the host broadcast was planned and delivered.

THE HOW

We focused first on the biggest practical levers: travel, transport, catering and accommodation.

By challenging the usual model for major events, we reduced air travel by 90% compared with previous Games. Instead of relying on a heavily travelling core team, we recruited the majority of production staff and technicians from within the UK, with 16% of the host broadcast team coming from the West Midlands.

We also prioritised local suppliers, especially SMEs, across areas including catering, clothing and creative services. Other measures included digital call sheets and manuals to reduce printing, emissions commitments from OB partners, a reduce-reuse-recycle policy, Meat Free Monday and careful accommodation planning to minimise daily transport.

THE RESULT

All of these commitments were captured and measured through the Social Value Portal, providing a clear picture of the social and environmental value generated by the project.

The result was a host broadcast model that showed large-scale production could be more sustainable in practical, measurable ways.