Sustainable construction has not historically been a leading concern when developers confront the challenge of erecting an arena from scratch to a pressing deadline. But gradually the green agenda has gained ground in the list of key considerations for hosting sporting events, while some leading clubs have also developed environmental awareness.

The US has been the trailblazer, with many of the biggest names in American sport now belonging to the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organisation that helps members enhance their environmental performance.

Founded in 2011 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s investment company Vulcan, the alliance now has 125 venues, 105 teams and seven leagues as members.

As identified in the NRDC’s “Game Changer” report, greener stadiums not only benefit the environment and cut utility bills but also have potential to improve community ties, attract corporate sponsors and can boost the local economy.

We can expect even greater commitment to sustainability from big sports clubs globally in the coming years. The current issue of HOST CITY magazine looks at three stadiums that set standards for other developers to aspire to.

1: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US

This is the only stadium in the National Football League (NFL) that is home to more than one club. But the energy savings it has achieved since opening in April 2010 go far beyond the benefits derived from the ground-sharing arrangement between the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.

2: Estádio Nacional, Brasilia

Few stadiums globally have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] awards of any level from the US-based Green Building Council.

Now, this US$640m stadium in Brazil’s capital is ready not only to host seven matches in the World Cup but to seek the highest LEED rating available: platinum.

Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.

3: Marlins Park, Miami

The 37,442 capacity stadium became the first in Major League Baseball to achieve LEED gold certification for new construction in 2012, surpassing Miami Marlins’ initial ambition of achieving silver.

Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.

On November 15-16, Host City 2022 Conference and Exhibition takes place in Glasgow, Scotland with the theme of Face to Face with New Realities. Host City gives world leaders in the events industry an opportunity to educate each other on the innovative technology and solutions that contribute towards a positive long-term impact. As the headline sponsor of Host City 2022, Aggreko is looking forward to sharing their thoughts via their guest speaker David De Behr, Host City advisory board member and Head of Sales Major Events at Aggreko.

2022 was certainly an influential year for Aggreko, with an unrivalled record of accomplishments throughout regional and global events such as The Invictus Games and SailGP to name a few. Whether it be the debut of ground-breaking sustainable technologies or reliable on-time temporary power solutions at some of this year’s biggest events, Aggreko’s teams were hard at work to deliver their renowned specialism in all event operations. De Behr leads the Sales team within Aggreko Event Services, providing power and temperature control solutions to a wide range of events customers.

“There has been visible change in recent years within the sports and entertainment events industry, with technology evolving so fast that it now has a drive to be energy efficient on its own,” De Behr said. “How can we make it a better world and really kick-start sustainable actions?”

Aggreko has been exploring new ways of delivering temporary energy solutions whilst reducing emissions, whether it be through new technological innovations, a range of more sustainable temporary energy equipment or designing energy solutions to be as efficient as possible. “Through the use of new types of equipment that are driven by technology on events, we have now seen a drop in energy demand and the importance shift to the accuracy of energy supply and efficiency.”

At the 2022 Great Britain Sail Grand Prix this July in Plymouth, UK, Aggreko’s challenge was to provide reliable and renewable temporary power solutions across the race weekend that suited the surrounding environment. Aggreko premiered bio-methanol fuel as an energy source for the first time at a live event in the UK, resulting in up to 97% less CO₂ emissions compared with diesel.

Aggreko have utilised multiple emission-reducing technologies in 2022 including HVO fuel, hydrogen, battery units and solar power.

“The more battery units and solar panels that you can utilise the better; however, there will always be other constraints that need addressing such as limitation of space, reliability and need for critical power.”

Even though the technology is there, Aggreko use their specialism to select specific power solutions for each event that will adapt to the local environment.

So what are the main challenges of providing sustainable solutions? “New technology costs more money,” De Behr explained. “Unfortunately for now, sustainable solutions will be more expensive than traditional energy solutions and it is going to stay like that for a while. You see this all over the world, everything that is new is more expensive, but the more its produced and the easier it is to access the more the cost is reduced. For the moment our Stage V generators, solar technology, battery units and hydrogen sets are more expensive than traditional energy solutions, so it is a challenge.”

Aggreko have used their years of experience to form a specialist strategy that combines reliable energy supplies with new emission reducing technology. “The first thing we always do is to try to maximise the use of local grid if coming from a renewable source. For a customer, this is the most cost-effective and energy efficient.”

At each event, Aggreko conducts a metric design phase that assess where solar panels, HVO fuel, Stage V generators and battery units can be paired with energy from the grid. Creating a ‘mini sustainable grid’ is the best way to ensure a reduction in carbon emissions without reducing the reliability of energy supply.

“People need to look at their energy consumption in a more focused way. I think we have all grown up and been guilty of putting the thermostat on 21 degrees all year round. On a microscale this is what we have been trying to do with our customers – to look in detail at what they actually need and how we can change the supply chain.”

So what role do hydrogen and battery units play in the future? “I had hoped hydrogen solutions would come around much faster; I have seen it work and it can be fantastic! The technology is ready, but the problem lies with the supply chain. We need to get the car market to jump on hydrogen, which is then going to create demand, sparking investment from the big energy companies around the world.”

Switched on to the future

“The aim is to make people more focused around energy in general, and that will have the greatest impact on sustainability,” said De Behr.

“We have a whole new generation which cares. I really believe in the next five years that people will choose the events they attend based on how sustainable they are.

“Whether it’s a wedding or a private event, a fashion show or a music concert, it will become a must that when we make an offer, we should be able to state exactly how many emissions that event is going to produce.”

Aggreko’s goals for the future are to “keep maximising the ‘green’ grid for the client when it makes economic sense by using our specialist engineering. I think that’s the only way because slowly more of the grid will come from sustainable sources and it’s the fastest way for the customer.”

Batteries, however, are one of the most effective renewable energy solutions being integrated by Aggreko because “any energy wasted can be put back into batteries, or if you have too much energy capacity you can store it within the battery and run from there. In the near future I believe it will be common for domestic houses to have a battery pack; when you have too much energy, you can store it for when you do not have enough sun for your solar panels.”

Aggreko are switched on when it comes to innovating their services and will continue to invest in the assurance of their safety, reliability and sustainability meeting the highest standard at every event. “The company has always been switched on with choosing a direction and as demand grows, we will keep looking for ways to increase temporary energy reliability and discover technologies that leave a positive long-term impact on our planet.”

Pinnacle sailing league SailGP has partnered with Aggreko, the world-leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services, as the championship prepares to become fully powered by clean energy by 2025.

Through the partnership, the delivery of all event operations over the next three seasons will become increasingly sustainable.

SailGP has already achieved the Carbon Neutral International Standard, joined the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative and met the international sustainability standard ISO20121.  

“We are extremely excited to work with Aggreko – a company that shares our belief that innovation and technology is critical to drive the sustainability agenda and transition to a cleaner future, powered by nature,” said Fiona Morgan, Director of Purpose and Impact at SailGP.

“We look forward to working together to test and innovate on solutions to reduce emissions across our global events and share a blueprint of clean events so others can learn and follow.”

Starting next month, SailGP will deploy a hybrid solution from Aggreko that comprises solar power, battery storage and thermal generation. Further into the partnership, Aggreko will work with SailGP to lower emissions further by introducing green grid distribution and alternative fuels such as bio-methanol and hydrogen, as they become available.

Robert Wells, MD at Aggreko Events Services said: “At Aggreko, we greatly admire SailGP’s commitment to sustainability, inclusivity and innovation – values that we proudly share. This partnership brings us one step closer to delivering sustainable sporting events globally, and we are excited that Aggreko continues to demonstrate reliable innovative energy solutions for world class events such as SailGP.”  

Aggreko has itself committed to reduce local emissions and diesel usage by 50%  and become Net Zero by 2050.

SailGP aims to set new standards for major event delivery as the first climate positive sports and entertainment property.

As part of its Race for the Future purpose-driven agenda, SailGP champions “a better world powered by nature”, with a focus on accelerating a transition to clean energy.

Taking place in some of the world’s most iconic harbours, anticipation is growing for the opening event of SailGP Season 2, with the Bermuda Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess kicking off April 24-25.

A study from UK’s largest business electricity suppliers Haven Power has revealed that more than a quarter (27%) of British businesses think renewable energy is just a passing trend, with the hospitality and entertainment industries showing the least commitment.

The research found that businesses in the hospitality and entertainment industry are unlikely to make sustainable changes as they don’t believe it’s a priority to their customers.

Paul Sheffield, Chief Operating Officer at Haven Power, said: “It’s surprising that an industry employing a large number of environmentally-conscious millennials, such as hospitality and entertainment, are seemingly ignoring the environmental agenda, when it is so important to both potential customers and employees. Organisations must recognise that it’s more than just customers who deliver business success, and they may be impacting their ability to attract and retain the best talent.

The survey of utility decision makers showed the biggest barrier preventing business from implementing sustainable change was cost (37%), followed by lack of government support (24%) and uncertainty by energy decision makers on how to discuss with senior management (23%). In addition, more than 80% of respondents feel it is energy providers’ responsibility to educate decision makers on the different types of energy available.

The financial services sector showed the highest degree of scepticism towards renewables, with 40% of respondents saying that it was a passing trend.

Paul Sheffield, Chief Operating Officer at Haven Power, said: “It’s concerning to see the proportion of businesses that still view renewable energy as a passing trend, despite evidence showing that a move to cleaner energy is essential for the environment. It’s clear more needs to be done to demonstrate the wider opportunities and benefits of renewable energy for businesses.”

Conversely, 59% of businesses think renewables are the key to a cleaner future, with three in five keen to start producing their own energy. When asked to list whose responsibility it is to lower carbon emissions, energy suppliers were cited top (58%), followed by the Government (47%) and manufacturers (46%).

The agricultural industry leads all other sectors in both awareness of renewable energy and taking action to procure it. Businesses in the manufacturing industry put their own sector at the top of the list when asked who is most responsible for saving carbon emissions (59%) versus their energy suppliers at 48%.

“Understanding of renewable energy and its benefits varies greatly from sector to sector,” said Sheffield. “We believe that every industry needs to start taking positive steps to reduce carbon emissions and embrace cleaner energy. It’s imperative that organisations of all sizes work together with their energy provider to ensure the future of British business is low carbon. By moving beyond energy being viewed as a commodity, we can help to drive sustainability and profitability. Here at Haven Power we are keen to help businesses understand the wider benefits of renewables.”

UK-based power generation company Aggreko plc announced on 26^th January that it will join Shell and Vitol as sponsors of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Under the theme of Future Energy, Expo 2017 will bring together representation from more than 100 countries, along with international organisations and the private sector to demonstrate the latest developments in renewable energy and sustainable society.

“Kazakhstan is a strategic growth market for Aggreko so Expo 2017 is a great opportunity to showcase our expertise within a truly international event focused on the development of future energy solutions. Our innovative power generation systems are a great enabler to support the evolution towards a more diverse and sustainable energy generation mix,” said Chris Weston, Chief Executive, Aggreko plc.

Department for International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, said: “The UK has the expertise to lead the way in securing stable, cleaner future energy supplies. The UK Pavilion at Astana Expo 2017 will help demonstrate that leadership and as an internationally recognised innovator with strong ties to the region, Aggreko is an ideal sponsor to help make this happen.”

Aggreko’s range of power generation applications helps to facilitate a smoother transition towards increased renewable penetration in national grid networks. This includes balancing renewables via flexible, mobile generation to supplement renewable generation, the commissioning of large scale renewables projects, generating power from flare-gas and providing power through solar hybrid technology.  

Expo 2017 takes place between June 10 and September 10.