From the water-recycling system at the National Stadium to the solar-powered lights at Fengtai softball field, General Electric (GE) has integrated environmental concerns into all of its new Olympic projects.

The worldwide Olympic partner has fitted the 37 competition venues of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with its latest energy-saving technologies as part of its bid to improve its brand recognition in China and elsewhere.

“We see the Olympic partnership as an essential means to communicate with the local market and one step further to explore the huge infrastructure market here in China,” said James Campbell, President and CEO of GE Consumer and Industrial, when he visited China last week.

“The Beijing Olympic Games has provided a great platform for us, as our ‘Ecomagination’ strategy perfectly matches Beijing’s promise of holding a ‘Greener Olympics’,” he said.

James Fisher, who reports to Campbell and oversees C&I’s business operation in the Greater China region, said the company’s investment is sure to pay off.

“Among all 350 projects, the work at the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and the Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) are probably the most famous ones and will definitely win us tremendous brand recognition,” he said.

“GE has reached around $600 million revenue from the Olympic projects.”

“Later, we would like to inherit the green concept and expand it to other big projects, like the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the Guangzhou Asian Games.”

GE has also been involved in setting up 168 commercial buildings in Beijing. It specializes in producing energy-efficient products and technologies in the fields of lighting, water treatment, power supply, transportation and security.

Its Olympic partnership started in January 2005 and will continue through to the London 2012 Olympic Games.