Sustainable Fish Legacy 2012 - how the Olympic Games are helping transform fish buying

The Sustainable Fish City campaign report, Sustainable Fish Legacy 2012, published on the eve of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Games, charts the remarkable sustainable fish commitments inspired by the London 2012 Games, with caterers that serve well over 100 million meals a year having adopted London 2012's sustainable fish standard.

London 2012 set out with the ambition to be "the greenest Games yet", setting new standards for sustainability through its buying decisions and activities. For the first time for such a major international sporting event, food choices were high on the agenda in this ambition, in recognition of the enormous impact that food production and consumption has on our health and on the planet. In adopting a food buying policy to support health and sustainability, London 2012 has also sought to have a lasting impact, influencing commercial food buying practices for many years to come.

Sustain sat on the London 2012 Food Advisory Group, and chaired the sustainable fish working party. This devised a sustainable fish standard to govern the fish buying of all caterers for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Sustainable Fish City campaign report, Sustainable Fish Legacy 2012, charts the remarkable sustainable fish commitments inspired by the London 2012 Games, and how these have been achieved. Success stories include pledges to use sustainable fish by:

• Government, for Whitehall, Number 10, HM Prison Service and the Armed Forces.
• The London Metropolitan Police, Fire Brigade, Transport for London and City Hall.
• Several London boroughs, including Camden, Havering, Islington and Richmond.
• 19 leading universities, serving well over 200,000 staff and students.
• Very large caterers, including the country’s second largest contract caterer Sodexo, as well as BaxterStorey, ISS Food and Hospitality and Restaurant Associates.
• Many chefs and restaurants, including popular high-street chains such as Carluccio’s, well-loved independents and Michelin-starred establishments.
• Tourist attractions such as the National Trust, the Zoological Society of London (which runs London Zoo), the SeaLife Aquarium and the restaurant at the Royal Albert Hall.
• 3,500 schools participating in the national Food for Life Catering Mark programme.
• Blue-chip businesses who commission or provide very large volumes of catering, including London 2012 sponsors British Airways, Thames Water and Coca-Cola GB.

Together, caterers that serve well over 100 million meals a year have adopted the London 2012 sustainable fish standards. This is impressive progress, but there’s still a long way to go. All organisations that buy catering services for meetings and events should adopt a sustainable fish policy. It’s easy, affordable, and is a worthy legacy for London 2012.

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Report contents

• Foreword
• Summary
• How did we get to where we are?
• A focus on sustainable fish
• After the Vision...
• Sustainable Fish City - a concerted approach
• Key achievements of Sustainable Fish City so far
• But much more still needs to be done...
• How consumers, companies and institutions can join in
• London and beyond: The Food Legacy Programme
• Appendices
  • Appendix 1: Sustainable Fish City pledge (the ‘sustainable fish standard’)
  • Appendix 2: Sustainable Fish City working party and associate organisations
  • Appendix 3: Who has signed up to the Sustainable Fish City pledge
• Sustainable Fish City and Food Legacy contact details