Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director, UNEP

When the International Olympic Committee awarded the XXIX Olympic Games and the XIII Paralympic Games to Beijing in 2001, one of the criteria on which it judged all the candidate cities was their commitment to staging an environmentally conscious Olympics.

Since the mid-1990s, environmental considerations have been increasingly prominent in Olympic planning, with each Games expected to leave a sustainable legacy. There have been notable landmarks. Lillehammer in 1994, Sydney in 2000 and, especially, Torino in 2006 all set new benchmarks for environmental awareness and sensitivity.

Beijing's bid was notable for the broad reach of its environmental commitments, which ranged far beyond the immediate concerns of planning for the Games to an ambitious programme for greening and cleaning China's capital. As the IOC Evaluation Commission noted in 2001, the measures that Beijing had proposed would leave "a major environmental legacy for Beijing from the Olympic Games."

There is no doubt about the importance—indeed urgency—of these measures. China faces immense challenges in trying to protect its ecosystems and environment in the face of rapid economic expansion. These issues are prominent in Beijing's bid commitments.

In 2005, UNEP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) to help them review their preparations related to environmental sustainability. Then, in 2007, IOC President Jacques Rogge further agreed that UNEP should conduct a substantive evaluation of Beijing's performance on sustainability issues.

UNEP's concerns were two-fold. First, and most obvious, was to assess Beijing's performance against its commitments, and to provide comments where necessary. Secondly, in line with our mandate to provide inspiration and leadership in caring for the environment, we wanted to ensure that a wider public was able to learn from Beijing's challenges and achievements.

I am pleased to note that UNEP has received excellent cooperation throughout from the IOC, BOCOG and the local and national authorities. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Chinese businessman and photographer Luo Hong for the financial support which made this review possible.

Those not familiar with the organization of an Olympic Games will recognize that it involves not just the organizing committee but also the local and national authorities. This report therefore examines the collective performance of BOCOG, the city of Beijing and other actors on the national scene in relation to Beijing's bid commitments. In doing so we looked at official documentation, conducted field visits, and consulted with local and international non-governmental organizations active in China.

What we discovered—and what this report shows—is that the award of the Games has provided a formidable impetus to cleaning up Beijing and improving its environment. While the city and the country have many challenges remaining, I think we can all genuinely take heart from the commitment that has been applied.

Where we have comments or reservations, they have been stated clearly. But there is no doubt that, with less than one year to go before the 2008 Olympics, Beijing is on track to deliver on its environmental promises.