Speaking from Dow's 2012 Olympic base at Grosvenor House, she told insidethegames that London 2012 "has really done a great job setting the pattern for other Games to come."

As thousands of spectators put all the planning in the Olympic Park to the initial test, other examinations lie ahead for an overall project which contains a mix of permanent structures: the Olympic Stadium, the Velodrome, the Aquatics Centre, the Athletes' Village, the International Broadcast and Main Press Centres and the Copper Box, along with associated temporary structures, each with its own different requirements in terms of either durability or flexibility.

However, the timing of Dow's arrival as Olympic TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsor in July 2010, with a 10-year agreement, presented a particular challenge as far as contributing to the London 2012 Games was concerned.

"Most of our solutions are in the infrastructure and transportation space," Millslagle explained. "And when it comes to the Olympics we are on a seven-year cycle. But most of the solutions, we typically find, are complete five years in, or two years before the Games actually start.

"We started on London in July 2010, so that was on the two-year mark. And when we looked at London we really wanted to make an impact but were nervous that we were not going to be able to do so.

"We had initial meetings with London 2012 and, to be perfectly honest, we said 'Where are your pinch points? What are the issues that you are having?' And I think there were probably a couple that really were at the top of the list, and obviously the first was the Olympic Stadium wrap.

"With the wrap they were really in need of a solution that was going to meet their very stringent sustainability sourcing code. And from what we had heard there really wasn't another organisation out there that was willing to take that challenge on at relatively short notice.

"Because the code was so stringent it really required a new solution," Millslagle added. "And at Dow we were willing to take on that challenge. So we were very fortunate and found a great technological breakthrough in the world of fabric architecture to deliver the wrap. So that was a kind of a rushed entrée into London."

Breakthrough technology and strategic partnerships will allow the Olympic Stadium wrap to be repurposed for use in Rio, Uganda and Britain

Continuing on the theme of the wrap, Millslagle said: "The wrap uses the same technology that Dow has used on the Westfield Stratford [shopping] mall. We are really excited about this technology because, in the world of the Olympics, we know footprint is a big concern. You don't want to have any white elephants left on the site."

Roofing and flooring insulation materials from Dow are helping to ensure long-term moisture resistance and durability of the Shopping Centre's roof and parking deck.

Millslagle went on: "So what you are seeing is a trend for far more temporary construction in which you have a lot more of this textile-type material. This market is exploding and we really feel that our new technology is going to have a strong role to play."

Millslagle explained that other pinch points for London 2012 centred on traffic marking.

"If you drive around town you see the Olympic lanes are marked with a water-based material [because we are] trying to be more conscious of the VOCs [Volatile Organic Compounds]," she pointed out.

"That's really the trend in the marketplace, to utilise the water-borne over the solvent-borne so you have low VOCs. The best way of thinking about VOCs is to look back to the sixties and seventies when you had hairspray cans; those were full of VOCs which went into the upper atmosphere."

Dow contributes to many different parts of the Olympic Park in myriad ways, with another of the more obvious areas being the mass of wire and cable that make the site "live". Again, here, there are various plans for their future use.

"A portion of the wire and cable used here in London will go into a programme run by our electrical and telecommunications business to donate wire to African countries, such as Tanzania, where they have the ability to carry out broadcast and power transfer," Millslagle explained.

"Again, it will allow these things to live on in legacy. Whenever we design anything, especially in an Olympic or sporting space, we always try to design with a legacy use in mind. We want to make sure that these items are recycled and reused.

"The [London 2012] stadium wrap, once it comes down, will be reused for several philanthropic applications around the world. Mainly it will provide shading for schools or that sort of thing. We will also recycle some to reuse in new applications. We are also going to look at transporting materials here for their possible use in future Games; some of will be collected and we will use it for that."

But this is not the extent of how far Dow can play a part – far from it.

Dow adhesives in the running track at London’s Olympic Stadium are designed to maximise athlete safety

"Another area in which we have contributed is the running track which contains our adhesives," commented Millslagle. "The track is a marriage of hard, durable surfaces which offers an elasticity that gives the runners that spring and bounce.

"The German National Olympic Committee House in London has a section of indoor running track. We partnered with Mondo [Official Supplier of Sports Flooring and Equipment to London 2012] on that track and we have a couple of solutions integrated: our adhesives and elastomers. And we are continually working with Mondo on running tracks to help optimise performance.

"We have a played a small part in a couple of other tracks, at Eton Manor and the Velodrome.

"Now that we are a TOP sponsor it is becoming a very strong focus for us," Millslagle stressed. "So our hope is that over the next few years you will start to see some innovations from us in the sports flooring world, much like you have seen with the stadium wrap.

"We see, again, an area of growth and opportunity where we can make some performance contributions."

Sustainability is, as Millslagle pointed out, a concept that has many different applications in a variety of environments.

"You hear the world sustainability brought up a lot, and I think that sustainability means a lot of things to a lot of people," she said. "And it should. It's a very broad term.

"But I think durability is one area that people don't often think about because, for instance, our insulation material has a proven life of well beyond 30-plus years, so that means it is able to keep that structure at the proper temperature and moisture levels."

Dow is an official partner of Sochi 2014

Millslagle concluded: "As you will see in Sochi, where we have provided solutions for the 2014 Winter Olympics, we also supply several different exterior coating materials for the stadium and other buildings. Those materials will allow that stadium to last for many, many, many years without people having to expend more materials and energy to refurbish it."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.

Feature sponsored by