Greener arenas: The latest innovations worldwide

While there may be many market-specific issues arenas have to tackle, there’s one that unites all of them worldwide: sustainability. IQ looks at the exciting efforts being made across the globe.

It was long thought that the only way to prevent arenas from harming the environment was to stop them operating completely. But recent innovations, and the sheer hard work of some in the industry, mean that zero-impact shows are tantalisingly close.

Along with major sustainability measures being undertaken across the world to mitigate issues such as waste management, food & beverage, energy, and travel, in February, a pilot initiative saw the world’s first carbon-removed shows take place at The O2 in London.

New venues are being built with sustainability baked into their designs, such as Co-op Live in Manchester, UK, which owner Oak View Group says makes it “the world’s second carbon- neutral arena.” The company’s Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle is reckoned to be the first carbon-neutral arena, and UBS Arena in New York is expected to join the company’s list shortly.

Speaking at a keynote discussion at ILMC 36 in London, OVG chief Tim Leiweke said: “Climate Pledge can’t be the only carbon-neutral arena in the world or else [the industry] has failed. We as an industry should lead this charge… sustainability should be the cause of our lifetime in our industry.”

“We as a company are going to continue to build these arenas and make sustainability a priority and a way of life in our culture”

He added: “We as a company are going to continue to build these arenas and make sustainability a priority and a way of life in our culture, and then, hopefully, it will inspire our industry to come along with us.”

It’s not just new venues that are driving this vital challenge forward – older venues are being transformed to cut their impact on the environment in innovative ways.

Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena has a plan in place to achieve carbon zero by 2030 and this year became carbon neutral.
“Lighting across the campus has been replaced with LEDs and hot-water boilers have been replaced with air-sourced heat pumps. This project is expected to save more than 4,200 tonnes of carbon over its lifetime and running and maintenance costs have been reduced,” says a spokesperson.

“Working with our partners, Sodexo Live!, we have made great strides to ensure our catering operation is more environmentally sustainable. We have reduced plastic in the arena by introducing a biodegradable cup for soft drinks; canned water and wine; and compostable crisp packets. We’ve partnered with Klimato to calculate the carbon footprint of all dishes served onsite. This carbon labelling serves as an educational tool, encouraging visitors to make informed sustainable choices.”

In the USA, ASM Global, which operates more than 50 green certified venues, named Lindsay Arell as chief sustainability officer as it ramps up its efforts to convert its 400-strong venue portfolio to “the most sustainable on earth.”

After founding her own company, Honeycomb Strategies, Arell led the development of ASM Global Acts sustainability plan. Arell’s new role forms part of ASM’s sustainability goals, announced in 2023, which include the elimination of single- use plastic.

“A key element in increasing sustainability is powering our venues with renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings”

“By providing our venue teams with the necessary knowledge and resources, we can accelerate the progress of our programme significantly,” she says.

Over the past year, Live Nation has been focused on two main areas of sustainability across its venues: energy efficiency and resource efficiency.

“A key element in increasing sustainability is powering our venues with renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings,” says a spokesperson. “In the UK and Ireland, all Live Nation venues use 100% renewable energy providers, which is great progress towards our global target of a 50% reduction in global emissions by 2030.

“Examples of energy efficiency investment include renewing heating systems, insulating offices, installing energy monitoring systems and motion sensors, and updating venue lighting with LED bulbs. We’re also assessing the viability of installing roof solar panels.”

The future is green
UK-based A Greener Future launched its Greener Arena certification programme during the pandemic, following almost 20 years of helping festivals to reduce their impact.

“It’s an absolute joy working with arenas, because there’s a massive passion for this issue and a desire to achieve results,” says Claire O’Neill, AGF CEO.

The Greener Arena certification covers aspects, including energy, transport, waste management onsite, special effects, food & beverage, and audience communications.

All ASM Global venues in the UK are undergoing certification process, with OVO Hydro in Glasgow named the first in the world to achieve the status in April 2022. OVO Arena Wembley achieved it at the end of the year, and others are expected to follow soon. AEG Europe’s The O2 in London achieved certification in December 2022.

The European Arenas Association, which represents 38 arenas in 19 European countries, worked with AGF to produce Arena Sustainability Guidelines, which act as a set of practices for all members to help their efforts.

“Many buildings are quite old and need development or investment in order to make them less energy hungry”

There remains a number of key challenges on the journey to zero-impact arena shows. One of the biggest – as all arenas will attest – is energy, an issue which was brought into sharp focus when energy prices shot up as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2023.

“When it comes to this issue, some countries have advantages and others have disadvantages based on what the national policies and infrastructure are,” says O’Neill. “Some countries already have a high number of renewables on the grid. That makes it much easier to have green energy. However, there’s a lot more that needs to be done when it comes to infrastructural developments and energy efficiency.

“Many buildings are quite old and need development or investment in order to make them less energy hungry. We’ve been doing energy audits with many arenas, and we’ve discovered that much of the investment into energy efficiency can be made back in savings within anything from six months to three years, depending on the level of improvements. When you look at that longer-term picture, you can see that when the economics and ecological unite, it’s a lot easier to make those decisions.”

One venue that is actually returning energy to the grid is ASM Global’s P&J Live in Scotland. Its energy is supplied by a multi-technology, low-carbon energy centre. The energy centre provides heating, cooling, and power via a site-wide heat network to the venue and nearby hotels. Excess electricity generated onsite is fed back to the grid. The development also contains a state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion plant that produces gas. It processes food, distillery, and agricultural wastes, resulting in biogas that is upgraded to biomethane before being exported to the national gas grid. The site as a whole produces more gas than the energy centre uses to generate the heating, cooling, and electricity supply to the venue and hotels. A fleet of hydrogen buses powered by the venue serves the city.

And in Italy, the introduction of software to monitor outputs has been instrumental in helping reduce energy consumption. The Inalpi Arena introduced a system called Navigator, which collects performance data and can be used to improve future live events. “Based on a cloud system, it allows the venue’s energetic performances to be analysed and monitored down to details,” general manager Daniele Donati says.

“As a venue, we’ve always been mindful of the importance of sustainability”

He emphasises the arena’s commitment to “the realisation of energy-efficient operations and [that they] have developed specific solutions tailored to the Inalpi Arena needs.” It has installed a new air treatment unit, lighting systems, chillers, pumping units, and air-conditioning to achieve this aim.

Waste opportunities
Waste is another key issue. Many venues are now switching to reusable cups or compostable serve ware. One of the innovative venues leading in this sector is PreZero Arena Gliwice in Poland, which has a naming rights deal with a modern recovery and recycling company.

“Our partnership is unique in the Polish market because it comes with a set of commitments the two companies have made to reduce the arena’s environmental impact,” says a spokesperson. “As a venue, we’ve always been mindful of the importance of sustainability. We’ve been using reusable cups since 2019. This has allowed us to save approximately 400,000 single-use plastic cups that would have otherwise gone to a waste incinerator plant.

“In 2019, we also cut back on single-use plastics in our food courts: we use disposable wooden cutlery, paper cups and straws.”

Additional sustainability measures at the venue include all energy coming from renewable sources, and a 30% reduction in energy use in 2022 compared to the previous year.

In Australia, ASM Global’s RAC Arena in Perth is just one of those to have implemented significant success in reducing waste. General manager Michael Scott says: “A significant accomplishment within the sustainability space has been the increase in landfill diversion rates with the venue consistently exceeding the 70% goal.”

With sustainability high on priority lists around the world, plus exciting new methods and technology to overcome problems progressing at a rapid pace, the dream of becoming a fully sustainable industry is starting to look a lot more achievable. But there’s still plenty to be done. The work continues.

• This article was first published in the 2024 edition of the Global Arena Guide, the definitive guide to arenas hosting live music and entertainment internationally. The fourth edition of the Guide features in-depth profiles of 69 touring markets, a directory containing key contact information for nearly 600 arenas, information on key new builds and insight into cutting-edge sustainability initiatives. The must-have tool for promoters, booking agents and artist is published in print, digitally, and is also available via a dedicated year-round mini-site. Subscribe now to read the full publication.

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