London 2012's ambition to be the "greenest Games of modern times" was aided by a commitment to sustainable procurement.

The cyclists at the Velodrome may have broken records, but great gains were also taking place off the track. A resource-efficient approach to construction of the Velodrome led to £1.5m savings from the cable-net roof design alone, requiring about 1,000 tonnes less steel and embodied carbon savings of more than 27%.

To ensure the lessons learnt from the Games can be applied to new projects, Defra has developed a Sustainable Procurement for Construction Projects guide. This guide pulls together the key lessons on procuring sustainable buildings and infrastructure, and contains key case studies about the Velodrome and low carbon concrete. It also includes links to other material about sustainable procurement at London 2012.

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The guide shows the principles that help deliver efficiency, combined with longer term social, environmental and economic benefits in practice, and explains the practical tools that can be used to achieve these objectives.

Lord de Mauley, Resource Management Minister, said: "Sustainable procurement helps ensure value for money and lower operational costs whilst protecting the environment and bringing us wider societal benefits. London 2012 showed how this could be done practically and efficiently.

"I am keen that the lessons learned are captured and taken on board by others. This guide is being published to help give procurers of large and small construction projects the benefits of this learning."

(CD/JP)