Dear International Olympic Committee, London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Commission for a Sustainable London 2012,

Given the recent controversy about the Dow contract, and following the resignation of Meredith Alexander from the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, we are pleased to see that the CSL’s Chair has acknowledged that this has ‘raised wider questions about corporate behaviour, past and present, and how ethical issues are effectively factored into decision making,’ and that the Commission is going to address the challenge of considering ‘new approaches that incorporate a broader range of ethical issues into decision making’ in its forthcoming Annual Review, to be published in May.

This article is reproduced with permission from UK Tar Sands Network.

BP’s brand is all over the Olympics. It is ‘Sustainability Partner’. It is bankrolling educational and cultural initiatives. It is providing fuel for the Games, and sponsoring many athletes – including some in Team GB and Team USA.

But BP is one of the most unsustainable companies on the planet. Its true values – putting profit before people’s lives and a stable climate – are in direct contradiction with those espoused by the Olympics. That’s why it is spending so much money on sponsorship this year: the Olympics are the perfect vehicle for BP to rebuild its shattered reputation and try to convince the public that it is a good corporate citizen, playing an important social and environmental role.

Of course, it isn’t. It is entirely focused on extracting every last fossil fuel it can get its hands on – including tar sands, fracking, deepwater drilling and the Arctic. Oh, and it recently closed down its solar division, giving up on this essential renewable technology, because it just wasn’t profitable enough.

By allowing BP to associate itself so closely with such a potent feelgood factor, the Olympics are encouraging some of the most outrageous greenwash we’ve ever seen. BP should not be allowed to sponsor the Olympics, nor the cultural events that surround it.

For more details, read on.

If you want to stay informed, join our tongue-in-cheek https://www.facebook.com/BPLondon2012Greenwash.

BP as Sustainability Partner

Richard Relton representing Sead Dizdarevic's Jet Set Sports, and Peter Moore, head of Olympic packages at Thomas Cook's agency Iluka, both appear - courtesy of secret filming - in Channel 4's Olympic Tickets for Sale, each claiming ability to sell access to the London 2012 ORN Zil Lanes.

What a difference a day makes! (The bulk of) those tickets won't be flying transatlantic no more; they'll now be shipped instead as, since Meredith Alexander's high-profile resignation, that 'Commission for a Sustainable London 2012' seems to have been stirred, if not actually shaken, into action.

A London 2012 spokesman said: "The contract to print tickets was awarded following a thorough, competitive and open tender

It's becoming a familiar mantra, Coe said the same defending Dow's getting awarded the contract for the wrap.

Now in addition to possible shortages of beer in London pubs due to London 2012 the Cabinet Office is warning businesses their internet usage may be rationed. It is worried there may be a slowdown in internet services and even 'dropouts'.

30th January 2012

Dear Ms Alexander

I wholeheartedly congratulate you on your decision to resign from the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012. As far as I am aware you are only the second person involved with London 2012 who has had the integrity, courage and conviction to take such a morally justifiable action.

By Mike Wells , posted 29th December 2011, edited 11th January 2012Campaigners Against Dow

A recent sponsorship deal has seen the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games accept money from Dow Chemical. Dow will provide a fabric "wrap" which will be placed around London's Olympic stadium.

According to Britain's Guardian newspaper the wrap's purpose is to reduce wind inside the stadium.  But, as the metaphor says ...