Sustainability is on the rise, and sporting stadiums and events are being urged to increase their sustainable practices, especially in reducing plastic use. Stadiums are one of the largest sources of the single-use plastic pollution crisis. It is estimated many as 750,000 plastic bottles are used at one single event held within a sports stadium. With over 2 thousand stadiums around the world, holding events currently would result in billions of waste being created. A change is needed. This requires stadium and event managers to turn to sustainable practices and change the way that stadiums work.
There are a variety of sustainable practices that stadiums and sporting events can implement to help in the fight against climate change to make a better environment – from using solar and wind energy solutions to minimise energy consumption to using and reusing local, sustainable materials. Stadiums are beginning to look at implementing sustainable practices to improve their environmental impact and achieve sustainable goals, while some stadiums are ahead and have sustainable practices in place.
Sustainable Practices for Stadiums
Increasing sustainability within stadiums is a must. Several stadiums are already scoring in bringing sustainability to the sports industry. A few ways to increase your stadium’s sustainability and reduce its carbon footprint are:
Minimise Energy Consumption with Solar and Wind Energy
Limit your carbon footprint by using less energy through fossil fuels, and more regenerative energy supplies like solar panels and wind turbines. This also helps to reduce energy spending as you’ll be generating your own energy!
Make the Swap to Reusable Packaging and Products
Swapping out single-use packaging and products to reusable alternatives produces less waste and greenhouse gas emissions. There are various types of alternatives that you can swap to, with many sustainable, business, and community benefits. You can even enhance them with technology to receive insights and engage with customers using Circulayo’s technology – continue reading to find out how we can help you do this.
Implement an Effective Waste Management System
Following on from using reusable packaging and products, you need an effective waste management system. This will act as a drop-off point for fans to place their used reusable packaging for you to collect and rewash to be used at the next event. Replacing the linear way we dispose of single-use packaging and products with a fully circular economy is the way forward with implementing sustainability.
Use and Reuse Local and Sustainable Materials
Switching to local and sustainable materials releases less carbon emissions due to less transportation needed in comparison to transporting from further afield. Using local materials supports the community and increases income.
Use the Stadium for a Variety of Events – Not Just Sports!
Open the stadiums for various events and occasions to increase the use of the stadium and reduce the need for materials to be used to build new venues. Why not get the local community involved? Ask them what they want to see and increase community engagement. Collaborate with external organisations, such as schools and markets, to host events within the stadium.
After a few sustainable practices are implemented, stadiums must keep going forward! Communicate with the fans to find out how they would improve their stadium experience.
Fan communication is a vital aspect of implementing sustainability and waste management. Sports teams and athletes should be involved with the communications to aid in informing and encouraging fans to participate in the sustainability efforts being made. Using technology, Circulayo can increase fan engagement within stadiums.
Circulayo – Supporting Sustainability Initiatives With Technology
At Circulayo, we offer various services to enhance your reusable packaging. With our technology stadiums can increase fan engagement, track the supply chain to aid future decisions, and unlock sustainability savings. Using our technology has multiple benefits for all; increased convenience for fans, profit for businesses, and increased sustainability for all.
How does our technology work to create all these benefits? Well, we add unique identifiers to each piece of reusable packaging. This allows for the packaging to be scanned and tracked throughout various touchpoints with our flow platform. Fan interaction can be created. When the QR code identifiers are scanned by a mobile phone, fans will dive into our infotainment world of AppNostic! With no extra apps needed, they will be able to see your sustainable impact, the packaging’s life journey, and be rewarded for being sustainable with reusables.
Interested in finding out more about what we can offer? Take a look at our website to find out more and contact us so we can support your sustainability goals.
