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Sports and Entertainment Arenas that are setting new standards for sustainability

experienz

Simplifying Sustainability

发布日期: 2025年2月4日

The sports and entertainment industry is increasingly recognising its environmental impact, with the NFL alone producing an average carbon footprint of 20.8 metric tonnes per game(1). In response, some arenas are incorporating sustainability measures into their core proposition to fans, while others are making it the central to their day-to-day operations. Seattle’s indoor Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, is leading the charge as the first arena in the world to be “zero-carbon certified” and is powered by 100% renewable energy(2) whilst Germany’s PreZero Arena, in collaboration with TSG Hoffenheim, is pioneering circular economy best-practices and setting standards in environmental protection and waste avoidance for the rest of the Bundeslinga to emulate(3). The Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium, home to the LV Raiders, demonstrated how major events can transition to clean energy by hosting Super Bowl LVIII entirely on renewable power in Feb 2024(4).

These groundbreaking venues showcase different approaches to sustainability to reduce their environmental footprint. At the heart of these initiatives are three core sustainability strategies: renewable energy, waste management, and fan engagement. Both Climate Pledge Arena and Allegiant Stadium exemplify large-scale shifts towards a cleaner greener power paradigm and the PreZero Arena is redefining waste management in sports venues by turning grass clippings into autograph cards and phone cases. They also have a closed-loop returnable cup system to minimise plastic waste that is saving up to 500,000 cups per season from landfill. This bottom-up approach ensures that sustainability is embedded into every aspect of stadium operations and that fans can contribute to making the sport they love even greener.

PreZero Arena has targeted zero waste as a goal, with 60% of stadium waste currently being repurposed through advanced recycling and separation techniques. Similarly, Climate Pledge Arena has banned all single-use plastics, nudging fans and vendors towards changing embedded behaviours and choosing sustainable alternatives. These initiatives highlight how arenas can transform waste from a costly-burden into a more useful secondary resource, setting a precedent for future stadiums and entertainment venues worldwide.

Beyond the stadia themselves, sustainability is being adopted as an essential issue to speak out on by prominent members of the entertainment industry. Artists like Coldplay have partnered with all their venues – such as Wembley stadium and Ahmedabad (where they set the record for a stadium crowd-size(5)) – to promote greener events, including the integration of stationary bikes to generate power at concerts as part of their “Music of the Spheres” tour and the recycling of their famous LED bracelets. Every visual artefact related to “doing the right thing” delivers impact and a tacit endorsement to their global audience. For their 2025 Wembley shows they have committed to all the power being generated by Solar, Wind and Kinetic energy(6).? They are also adopting sustainable bio-fuels in an effort to reduce by 75-95% their emissions in relation to show transportation(7).?

These positive sustainability stories demonstrate the issue is no longer confined to venue infrastructure and operations, but expanding into the fan experience and event design, production and marketing. This will attract more media coverage for the push towards net-zero emissions and help it reach every corner of the sports and entertainment world. experienz is in conversation with many of the great stadia of the world to collect, report and showcase the data that shows their positive attitude towards making a difference. With the eyes of the world watching it’s imperative that the artists, the teams, the venues and the fans are shown to be taking care of their environment whilst loving their day out together.

Please share other great sustainability ideas being promoted by other stadia in the comments.