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Gold to Green: Olympic medallist joins Green500 member ExCeL London in bid to cut carbon.

Posted on 16/09/2009 by


Tessa Sanderson, the first British black woman to win an Olympic gold, will join 60 members of staff from ExCeL exhibition and conference as they walk, jog or cycle 10km to work as part of ExCeL’s first Carbon Cutting Day.


On 16th September, ExCeL London will hold it’s first Carbon Cutting Day, as part of a continued commitment to the Green500 – London’s premier carbon club. Sixty ExCeL staff will walk, cycle, or jog from City Hall, to work at the international exhibition and conference centre. The scheme run by the Mayor’s London Development Agency, looks to cut the capital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

Javelin star Tessa Sanderson will join the group, who will receive a send off from the Mayor’s office at 09:00 before crossing Tower Bridge to begin the 10Km journey. This is just one part of a whole day of activities including a ‘Mind and Body Olympics,’ highlighting the venue’s commitment to reducing the carbon emissions of both ExCeL as a company and its individual employees.

ExCeL staff will also be working with Britannia Village Primary School to undertake a number of community projects to help improve the schools gardens and build an environmental greenhouse made out of recycled plastic bottles. The Green500 will help the agency develop an all encompassing environmental scheme that involves colleagues and clients and encourages them to work in a sustainable way.

ExCeL London Chief Executive, Kevin Murphy said, “We are committed to sustaining a well-managed, profitable business that is ethical and responsible in terms of its impact on the environment, employment policy, social and economic contributions to London and our local community Newham.  This first Green Team day is a fantastic way of really engaging our staff and onsite partners in a fun and educational way so that we all understand the company’s core values.  Being members of the Mayors Green 500 is one of the ways that we are working with London to cut carbon and encourage other businesses to do the same.  Running the event to BS8901 means that we can set a benchmark and try to improve year on year.”

ExCeL, who will be hosting The Carbon Show later this month, and playing a key role in the 2012 ‘Green’ Olympics, will also be officially calculating their official carbon footprint in a final celebration to end the day. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who laid a commemorative foundation stone for a new wing at the world class venue and super brand last month, said Boris Johnson said: 'I would like to wish the best of luck to all the ExCeL staff who will be getting on their bikes or putting on their walking shoes to get to work. The companies signed up to the Green500 are doing fantastic work to cut their carbon emissions and ExCeL's Carbon Cutting Day is a great example in action.' ExCeL joins a prestigious list of venues including Wembley Stadium, Chelsea FC, and The London Eye. The Green500 intends to bring together large organisations with a significant presence in London and encourage them to work together to reduce the city’s carbon emissions.

Each organisation that signs up to the Green500 is assigned a dedicated carbon mentor who works alongside the signatory to develop a tailored plan to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Signatories to date include Marks and Spencer, The Post Office, TfL, HSBC, Boots and more. The prestigious group came together in June for the inaugural annual awards ceremony, hosted by the Mayor, who presented members with a Green500 certification to mark their achievements, as well as a variety of special awards for high achievers.