Sustainability

A Certifiably Sustainable Venue

Aviva Stadium has started its journey towards becoming a certifiably sustainable venue and we are working towards BS8901 certification. BS8901 is a sustainable management system for events and event venues; it is currently a British Standard but is likely to become an international standard ISO20121 in 2012.

The stadium wants to ensure that its legacy is positive. In taking a sustainable approach the stadium‘s impact is considered under the three pillars of sustainability – environmental impact, social impact and economic impact. The stadium has developed its management principles and processes accordingly.

Implementing a management system such as BS8901 means sustainability management is integrated into day to day operating procedures and reporting systems at the stadium. Managing impacts and the overall sustainability of operations is not a standalone task, but is a standard element of what is done and how it is done. This ensures input, commitment and consistency from the whole team as well as suppliers, service providers and other key stakeholders.

The stadium redevelopment has been influenced as a result of this, with elements such as onsite crushing of the old stands for reuse as foundation material, recycling of steel rebar from the old stadium, the use of low CO2 concrete in construction and the installation of an artificial Otter holt as well as bird and bat boxes along the Dodder river, among some of the initiatives used. Additional design elements include:

• Rainwater harvesting – positioned on the east stand with a 320,000 litre capacity
• Heat recovery (from the diesel generators) – Pipe work from the cooling circuit on the generators ‘absorbs’ the heat produced by the generator for use in heating the water supply for bathrooms, kitchens the under-pitch heating system.
• Waterless urinals - with approximately 400 urinal spaces, on one event day alone there is a saving in excess of 20,000litres of water.
• Energy and water meters - Metering to monitor and manage consumption.
• Acoustic panelling - All plant and equipment specified to not exceed 53 decibels at 1 meter away from the façade (this is equivalent to the noise emitted by an office laser printer).

As well as the inbuilt design elements of the stadium Aviva Stadium has undertaken several other sustainable operational initiatives:

• Promotion of public transport – Active ongoing engagement with all stakeholders to promote non car modes of transport to and from the stadium.
• Waste management strategy – Aviva Stadium promotes a reduction in waste generation as its primary focus and then the segregation and diversion from landfill for any waste generated as a secondary focus supported by compostable food packaging where possible.
• Promoting local produce – All dairy and protein food items sold or prepared at the stadium are nationally sourced.
• Community Fund - €100,000 Annual Community Fund available to support local activities and ventures.
• European Healthy Stadia Network – Aviva Stadium has applied to participate in the European Healthy Stadia Initiative, a venture that engages in Health Promotion for employees, spectators and other stakeholders.

For further details or additional information on other aspects of the sustainable operation of Aviva Stadium contact Bill Enright Stadium Operations Manager or email sustainability@avivastadium.ie

To host a sustainable event at Aviva Stadium contact a member of the Sales Team at http://www.avivastadiumevents.ie/stadium-sustainability.aspx