Corporate Economic Responsibility: Olympics 2012 - Case Study Example

 Contemporary Issues Abstract This essay is based on contemporary issues and the topic chosen for this essay is the economic events which are going to be held in UK. The event chosen for this essay is the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games to be held in between July to August and Paralympics games from August to September. As a result the country is preparing for the biggest events in the history of United Kingdom. This essay deals with the overall UK sports activities and put lights on the activities of the Olympics games. The essay also provides benefits of the Olympics Games as well as criticism over the Olympics and the amount spent in the construction of the Olympics Park. The Olympics Game provides both opportunity for the country and also points out that when the economy falls it could badly affect the people of UK and the government. With a rising alarm of economic slowdown the government is trying to cut its cost short but at the peak moment is not possible for the government as well as the members of the Olympics committee. Also the essay put lights on the Olympic activities such as the construction of Olympic park which is criticised as it did not follow the rules provided by the Green Party about keeping the environment greener. The posters and the mascot of the Olympics have been reviled recently and too much surprise they were also not free from critics. Finally the essay points out on the CSR partner, the Coco-Cola company who aims to provide the greenest games in London. Introduction UK Sport is the strategic body for performance of sport in the UK, which has invested about 100million Pounds per year in 1200 athletes in order to achieve a success in the Olympic and Paralympics in London 2012 and beyond. UK Sport is responsible for major events programme held in UK. From 2007 to 2012 more than 100 major events have been staged in about 35 towns and cities in UK. The mission of UK sports is to establish the country as the best connected, informed and most influential country in world sport (UK Sport, 2011). UK is known for its activities in sports and other related events. The country is known to provide a world class event and some of the major events are being held in UK. The topic chosen for the essay is economic events with respect to UK sports. UK sport is responsible for coordinating the staging and bidding of some of the international sporting events held across the nation. The country works in partnership with the regional partners and also the sporting partners and ensures that the important international events are staged in UK so that it is recognised as a world leading standard (UK Sport, 2011). Technical support as well as advice from the specialist is also provided and since 1997 more than 120 events of European and World status have benefitted from these exposures. The most awaited sports of 2012 are the London Olympics 2012 and to produce the best possible performance, UK sport has primarily focused on the strategy of delivering an elite performance in Olympic and Paralympics sports. The country aims to provide with an automatic athlete place for the host and intends to provide a quality competition to the athletes of UK (UK Sport-a, 2011, p.2). And for the public, they get an opportunity to see the world class athlete in action. UK sports also have been a leader in the development of research where they explore the hosting of major events in the country. In order to assess the economic impact on the events, it has set up a foundation for regional investments into the events. Therefore with the arrival of 2012, UK sports are not only concentrating in London Olympics 2012 but several mega events which are to be taken place beyond 2012 such as the Common wealth games 2014, Ryder Cup also in 2014 and the Rugby union World cup in 2015 (UK Sport, 2011-b). This project would deal with the London Olympics and Paralympics Games 2012. Body London is hosting its third Olympics in 2012 starting off in July 2012. London being only city which has hosted the Olympics for two times and this would be the third time that London would be hosting Olympics in 2012. London is going to host the biggest celebration starting with the Diamond jubilee celebration in June, the Olympic Torch on July and the Olympic games to take place from July to August and the Paralympics Games to be held from August to September (London Assembly, n.d). Therefore the success of the Olympic and the Paralympics Games depends not just on the games but overall performance of the committee. The Olympics and the Paralympics Games are known to be the biggest events in the history of sports but London 2012 is more than just sport, it is a game for the whole of London, the United Kingdom’s and the rest of the world, also not to forget an important platform for culture and sports and also for business and volunteers (Wales Cymru, 2011). But it is important to note whether the London Organising Committee of Olympics and Paralympics Games are taken care of the rules and policies to make this event a huge success. For the event to take place five sporting venues have been constructed in East London, these venues are expected to provide a lasting legacy for the benefits of Londoners. It was found out that the venues are unlikely to generate enough revenue which could have covered the operating cost after the 2012 events (London Assembly, 2011, p. 8). It is estimated that the Olympic Park is expected to drive up the construction costs and the final Olympic bill is expected to exceed the estimates set by the Committee. But most importantly it is going to effect the institution of governance. But despite of the fact it is well understood that bidding for Olympics games would enhance urban strategies which favours the development of economy consumption and image. The city of London provides a prestige zone where through experience, interaction can be developed, relationship between the political leaders and the people of Londoners and political messages are transmitted (Newman, 2007). The benefit that the venues chosen for Olympics can deliver is that it would help London to regenerate by providing jobs and employment opportunities around the Olympics Park, particularly in the east of London. The amount of footfalls in the Olympic park would generate and hep decide its potential to serve as an opportunity for East London. Visitors to Olympic Park can be attracted through some spectator events as these events are not designed for sports. Therefore the venue owners and operators should encourage regular visits and with complementary facility could attract many visitors. These venues can prove to become assets of the community; it can be opened to the public and at the same time should be affordable for the local people to use these parks. To avoid confusion and hassle the parks can provide ticketing system for the venues which would generate the expenses incurred while making the park (London Assembly, 2011). Beside the drawbacks of the Olympic Park that much expense have incurred in the construction of the Olympic park, if these benefits are highlighted and the committee decides to make the park a public place, it would attract many visitors both from the country as well as from abroad. The committee could take advantage of these Olympic parks and create job opportunities for the people residing in the state. It has been reported that about 14, 700 athletes are expected to arrive and take part in about 771 sporting events. The venues of the Olympics are scattered all over London. The Olympic Football tournament would be hosted by Wales in Cardiff Millennium Stadium and also in Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Wembley and Coventry. There are about 200 countries which will become part of the Olympics as the 2012 London Olympics aims to create games for everyone. But unfortunately the London 2012 Olympics are not free from criticisms. The Committee had promised to make the 2012 Olympics the greenest Olympic Games in the history of London. But when questions are raised as to how green are London Olympics, it has been reported that the environmental planner of London 2012 Olympics is under a harsh criticism. There has been set a low environmental standard for the games to be held in London. A report by the Green Party founded that the level of air pollution exceeded the European limits. The environmental target which was set up by the Olympic authority included that 90% of the materials used in construction would be recycled or reused, 20% of the sites energy would arrive from renewable sources and no permanent structures to be built on Greenfield sites. But the Green Party reported that only about 20% of energy for the Olympics village will be from the renewable resources. The organiser of the 2012 Olympics have sated a low standard for the environment, legacy and community benefits that the members of the committee are in danger of delivering bog event rather than a gold standard (London Out Loud, 2008). An essential part of any event is the events posters, mascot and logo which form an integral part of the events. The London 2012 Olympics also unveiled its posters which was designed by 12 British artist including Chris Ofili and Tracey Emin (Pearce, 2011). The images are said to be displayed in exhibitions held during the London 2012 cultural festival. According to reports the organisers were delighted and satisfied with such compelling images. The six Olympic posters were designed by some famous artists who were encouraged to celebrate the London Olympics and concentrate more on the values of the Olympics and the Paralympics. However the posters released was also not free from critics. According to an analyst, the collection of posters in London 2012 Olympics did not have a clear view and also it was no possible to depict as to where the games are being held. Posters should relate to the host country or else the city. In 1992 the Barcelona Olympics it was clear that the posters were referring the Spain flag (Gompertz, 2011). As a result the London 2012 posters were not effective. The Daily Mail reported that these posters merely looked like an art work of children rather than of some eminent artists. But it is also said that the people would slowly get used to of these posters as they would keep on appearing almost everywhere (The Week, 2011). The official mascot of 2012 Olympics and the Paralympics games is two one eyed character named Madeville and Wenlock who are named after the town of stoke Mandeville and Much Wenlock which was marked as an important name in the history of Olympics. These mascots are aimed at the young children and is predicted that it could have worth millions to the organising committee of the Olympics. But according to some critics, it was felt that people would not react to these modern creations as mascots should be something familiar and accessible and not an alien. The mascots also received positive feedbacks from few well known people like Edward M O’Hara who is the chief creative officer of branding agency said that the concept of Alien was right as these things appeals to the youths (The Week, 2010). The events are meant to bring economic benefits for the country and for the economy as a whole. As being an international tournament it is going to attract many people from outside the nation. As reported there are about 200 countries which will be taking part in the Olympics 2012. Thus this would incur economic benefits for the nation; with an increase in the tourist the country could very well expect a decent growth in economy. The UK economy as forecasted by official government was predicted to increase by +2.5% but a recent report by Standard Chartered Bank reported that the UK economy could contract by 1.3% this 2012 (Roger, 2011). Also as the bills for the ceremonies are rising up, the government have a tough time tackling the problem as many of the UK residents would be worried about their jobs and the future prospectus for their families. UK hosting the third Olympics makes this event a biggest ever thus many of the political parties of UK are involved and committed to the Olympics. But it would be much a wise decision if it is called off because of the prevailing economic difficulties. But at the same time, there should not be any compromise with regards to delivery of Games, proper logistic, security and sports competition, while the risk about the level of facilities provided to the international VIPS and the officials. Thus a huge amount of money needs to be spent. But opportunity for UK still exists, to hold themselves in a better position, hosting the biggest ever festival in UK and use this opportunity to showcase the people about the UK culture and seek legacy from them. With respect to the CRS activities, Coca Cola is a part of the Olympics Games and the company is proud to be one of the supporters of the Olympics since 1982. And the company Coca-Cola is determined to meet the wider ambition for the 2012 Olympics. Coke has a good reputation of being into CSR activity as in 2008 Beijing Olympics the company was awarded the Green medal by Green pace for their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to promote sustainability of water. Coke would be focusing on reducing the packaging waste and promoting recycling (Coca-Cola, 2011). Coke being the Sustainability partner takes the responsibility to make the games the greenest ever game in 2012 London Olympics. According to a news report, the company has put up an initiative to recycle the used plastic PET bottles in the 2012 London Olympics in collaboration with UK based partner in waste management of the Locog, Sita and aims to reuse and recycle waste materials of 80million Coke bottles within 6 weeks of the completion of the game (Coca-Cola, 2011). Conclusion Olympics are just around the corner and are seen to be the biggest celebration for UK and its people. The country is hosting the Olympics for the third year and assumes to deliver its best in respect to infrastructure facilities, securities, and an eco friendly environment. The Olympics intend to provide huge scale and development that would enhance investments made on business, as no single regeneration project affords to provide this facility as the Olympic does. It enhances supports from the local firms for redevelopment and growth which would in turn improve competitiveness among the local firms. Thus it can be said that the companies operating in UK is flooded with number of advantages as the country begun to experience with the London 2012 Olympics. The advantage lies with business benefits, from new sites, amenities and space to a more competitive supply chain to excellence in its world class infrastructure and global exposure. Therefore UK is optimistic that the 2012 Olympics Games would provide a unique spur for businesses and also economic growth. Reference Coca-Cola. (2011). Corporate Responsibility Review 2010/2011. [Online]. Available at: http://www.cokecorporateresponsibility.co.uk/future-challenges/london-2012-olympic-games.aspx. [Accessed on December 16, 2011]. Gompertz, W. (2011). London 2012: Olympic and Paralympic posters unveiled. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15593109. [Accessed on December 15, 2011]. London Assembly. (2011). Park life the legacy of London's Olympic venues. [Pdf]. 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