Clear Channel Outdoor UK is the United Kingdom's leading outdoor advertising company, providing more than 70,000 advertising opportunities across its four premier brands: Clear Channel Billboards, Clear Channel Adshel, Clear Channel Pinnacle and Taxi Media.

Clear Channel Adshel is the UK's leading supplier of 6-sheet advertising with 65% of the UK roadside 6-sheet market. Clear Channel Adshel offers point of sale opportunities at Sainsbury's and Somerfield supermarkets and in over 80 UK shopping centres as well as advertising at music venues and universities and at Birmingham International Airport. Clear Channel Billboards is the market leader in 96 sheet billboards and provides a national offering of 48 sheet billboards across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Clear Channel Pinnacle offers premium advertising on over 200 special high-profile sites such as London's Cromwell Road and M4 Towers.

Martin Page is Operations Project Manager at Clear Channel Outdoor UK. He has responsibility for galvanising Clear Channel Outdoor's environmental efforts across the company through his leadership of the Environmental Steering Committee and his day-to-day work in positively pushing our environmental agenda in the Operations division. He also oversees the implementation and operation of Clear Channels Environmental Management system, which is being steadily rolled out to all our Operational Depots.

What prompted your company to embark on the 'green route'?

"Clear Channel Outdoor has demonstrated long term commitment to its corporate responsibility and has been developing and implementing environmentally friendly policies for more than 10 years. As market leader in the UK and internationally, we see having a strong green commitment as essential to our aims in remaining number one in our field."

What is your proudest carbon reduction achievement?

"Our commitment to reducing the carbon generated by our fleet of vehicles which service our advertising sites across the country has led to us winning a number of awards over the years. In 2005 we won the Fleet of the Year award, in 2007 our Fleet Manager Glenn Ewen was named Fleet Hero of the Year by the Energy Saving Trust and in 2008 we were highly commended at the European Green Fleet of the Year awards in the Private Sector category."

How did you make this happen?

"Fleet policy, as part of our wider environmental policy, is discussed at board level and this high level commitment has led to our green fleet policies realising great success in terms of carbon and monetary savings.

"As a result of switching three-quarters of our fleet to LPG, hybrid or electric power, Clear Channel has saved, on its cars alone, 74 tonnes of carbon a year for the last two years, reduced average annual mileage from 20,000 to 16,500 and saved itself at least £100,000 on fuel and £30,000 on vehicle lease costs.

"We believe air quality is the issue and we've achieved a cleaner profile with our LPG light commercials and reduced our CO2 output considerably. We are also investigating the use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel or ethanol.

"Clear Channel has also cut mileage through driver training, the deployment of satellite navigation systems to better plan journeys and the introduction of bike-to-work schemes and lift-sharing initiatives."

In what ways have you employed specifically new technology to reduce emissions?

"Our R&D team is working to develop a portfolio of new products and ways of working using the latest technology across our business. From digital billboards to solar powered shelters, Clear Channel is leading the market in introducing the latest sustainable products.

"Clear Channel has introduced digital billboards which are broadband linked, allowing creative content to be uploaded remotely and removing the need for crews to be transported to static sites for every new in-charge.

"Clear Channel has also recently introduced pioneering WAVe technology across its entire portfolio. This results in paperless work scheduling, instant proof of posting and damage reporting. Every advertising panel is fitted with a unique 2D barcode label which can then by scanned by Nokia N70 mobile phones and analysed by Clear Channel's bespoke software.

"We have also introduced solar-powered bus shelters in London, Runnymede and Edinburgh and are investigating other systems, such as grid-connected shelters and wind-powered sites.

"Our large format billboards are being progressively fitted with LED lighting tubes. LED lighting for bus passenger courtesy lighting is being installed and a number of our bus shelters are fitted with solar-powered lighting in areas where a mains connection would be too expensive."

What other carbon reduction measures has the company undertaken?

"Clear Channel is working closely with The Carbon Trust and holds the E-on certificate for energy-efficiency. Some of our premises have been surveyed and energy reduction measures such as PIR's and reflective window film have been fitted. It is our intention to revisit and survey all our premises again to identify further opportunities.

"Clear Channel Outdoor is also responsible for pioneering the public bike scheme which is being introduced to great success in cities around the world. In 2008 Clear Channel SmartBike has continued its expansion with the announcement of new public bike scheme contract wins in Zaragoza , Spain; Milan, Italy and Washington DC, USA.

"The SmartBike programme delivers a number of key benefits, chief among them the ability to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. All of the bike programs operated by Clear Channel have proven to be a success with nearly eight million trips being taken on the bikes by a combination of some 180,000 users. It is estimated that in total more than 25 million miles have been travelled on public bikes operated by Clear Channel Outdoor."

What was the biggest challenge facing the group's low-carbon drive?

"It's the cost and payback times for new equipment."

Are government carbon reduction targets achievable?

"Yes."

How could government further encourage companies to reduce emissions?

"By encouraging the development and adoption of low energy equipment the market could be stimulated to reduce the initial cost of these new technologies."

Please tell us what you are working on at present

"We are looking at increasing the use of LED's, timers and self dimming equipment to reduce emissions."

What advice would you give to someone taking on a role similar to yours?

"Have an open mind and be prepared to challenge the traditional views held within your organisation."

The London 2012 Olympics - Swifter, Higher, Stronger, Cleaner

The 2012 London Olympics will focus the attention of the world on the UK. Staging the event will be an opportunity to show what we are capable of, not just in terms of providing world class sporting facilities, but also in managing the environmental impact and long-term sustainability of the Games.

The Games will also be good for businesses. Contracts worth an estimated £6 billion will be awarded by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

More than any other games before it, the organisers of the 2012 Olympics will be expected to show significant progress in managing its carbon footprint effectively. On top of all the other demands of managing a global event, there is an expectation that this will be the first "Low Carbon Olympics." Managing the footprint of such a large project has never been attempted before, and because private sector contractors are essential to its success, the 2012 Olympics will provide valuable lessons for organisers of future events, and for the wider private sector, whether directly involved as contractors or not.

Planning a low carbon legacy

"I think we can make quite a strong case for this being groundbreaking, an example for people to follow and something for people to follow," says Shaun McCarthy, chair of the London Olympics Sustainability Commission.

Tasked with being a "critical friend" to the organisers, the Commission reports directly to the Olympic Board, made up of Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, British Olympic Association Chairman Colin Moynihan and London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Sebastian Coe.

As well as encouraging the Board to make bold decisions about the environmental sustainability of the games, the Commission also tries to inject a note of realism, and to ensure that meaningful commitments are made. On taking up his post in late 2006, one of the first tasks McCarthy faced was to curb enthusiasm for slogans such as "Zero Carbon Olympics".

"I argued for a new commitment - to reduce emissions as much as possible. Let's define things and know what we mean. It's been taken onboard, although it took a little time," he says. One of the most significant outcomes of McCarthy's insistence on certainty was the decision to estimate - as accurately as possible - the carbon footprint of the games.

Tricky problems surfaced in the wake of this decision. "What do you include? How do you go about establishing the footprint? One of our tasks was encouraging an approach that looked beyond the emissions created in supplying energy for the games," he says.

No set of standards or guidance exists on how to apply environmental accounting techniques to large-scale public events, the closest model being the International Greenhouse Gas Reporting Protocol. But this was developed with businesses in mind rather than international sporting events with a long-term legacy.

Managing an Olympian footprint

Broadly, the strategy for managing the footprint of the 2012 Olympics is shaped by two key considerations: the environmental impacts, and responsibility for minimising them. This approach enables the organisers to account for core activities such as office use and venue construction, plus a proportion of the footprint from jointly funded activities attributable to the Games. The strategy also takes into account the footprint associated with contributions from partners, and jointly funded activities such as transport infrastructure projects and the Olympic Village, for example.

"We argued for including the emissions embodied in construction and the manufacture of equipment - the stuff that goes into the buildings," McCarthy says. As difficult as this may be, it has prompted contractors to make significant efforts, says McCarthy. "What we're seeing as a result of including embodied carbon is that the concrete industry - for example - has responded really well. The winning concrete suppliers will deliver material which has 50% of the carbon footprint of concrete used for Heathrow Terminal 5," he says.

The result should be an example of good practice that other large-scale construction projects can learn from. Permanent venues will be expected to exceed 2006 Building Regulations for carbon dioxide reductions by at least 15% and achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating of "excellent".

Energy consumed during the Games will come from renewable sources such as wind turbines where possible, or from Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, says McCarthy. Good progress is being made with these aspects, but it's difficult to assess how much improvement has been made over previous events, he says. "The 'business as usual' baseline is difficult. What is the CO2 footprint of a velodrome?" he says.

Stepping up to the mark

Working part-time himself, and with a full-time staff of three plus a team of 11 independent advisors, McCarthy's team does not itself have the resources to carry out all the work needed to ensure these commitments stand up to scrutiny, but he is keen to ensure this happens as far as possible, and that the methods are made public for others to use.

"As far as possible we also want to include estimates of the transport emissions from the spectators and officials attending the games," he says. This will be made somewhat easier by a decision taken early in the project. "There will be no vehicular access for spectators - the only vehicles allowed access will be for spectators who are disabled, officials and competitors, says McCarthy.

"TFL [Transport For London] is doing a lot. There is a whole lot of work going on with a sustainable transport forum, involving TFL, Network Rail among others," he says. The organisers have been working with Cenex - the UK's Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies - to model exhaust emissions for all the vehicles required including light goods vehicles and buses and coaches. The emissions for all these vehicles will be determined later in 2008 when automotive and fuel partners have been identified.

There are activities associated with the 2012 Games which are not funded by London 2012, but over which the organisers may be able to exert some degree of control or take responsibility for some of the resulting footprint. This includes the work of client groups such as sponsors, media and spectators. Finally, a decision about the role of offsetting has yet to be agreed on.

"Yes it is complex, but we have to step up to the mark," McCarthy says in summary. Of all the difficulties he has encountered, finding a way through the complexity created by so many partners and the cultural differences between them has been a major challenge for his team. "The main thing for us has been to stick to the programme. A bit of courage is involved," he says.

Key points:
• How would independent scrutiny and advice benefit our low carbon strategy?
•What efforts are we making to engage our stakeholders?
•What can we learn from the 2012 Olympics?

Note: Due to a typographical error, an earlier version of this article identified the chair of the London Olympics Sustainability Commission as Shaun Woodward. The chair of the London Olympics Sustainability Commission is in fact Shaun McCarthy. Sincere apologies for any confusion this may have caused.