Case Study Reducing the environmental impact of sporting events in stadia TM RWC Ltd 2008.
Contents Contents... 2 1. Executive Summary... 3 2. Background... 3 3. Key Findings... 4 4. Initiative 1 Waste Reduction... 5 4.1. Planning... 5 4.2. Results... 6 4.3. Lessons Learnt... 8 5. Initiative 2 Transport... 9 5.1. Planning... 9 5.2. Results... 9 5.3. Lessons Learnt... 10 6. Initiative 3 Energy Efficiency and Water Use... 11 6.1. Planning... 11 6.2. Results... 11 6.3. Lesson Learnt... 11 7. Initiative 4 Community Awareness and Education... 12 7.1. Planning... 12 7.2. Results... 13 7.3. Lessons Learnt... 13 8. Key References and Source Materials... 14
1. Executive Summary Managing the environmental impacts associated with hosting major events is a core component of staging a world class event. Sports events are a powerful means of creating lasting environmental benefits. Managing the environmental impacts also makes good business sense. Taking action to reduce resource use and consumption can help decrease the significant costs associated with hosting a major event. The environmental responsibility programme for Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) is designed to ensure New Zealand is a good, responsible host and organiser of a major event and to maintain New Zealand s reputation for good environmental standards. The programme is: regionally driven responsible effective and efficient leaving a legacy for communities and regions. The Taranaki region is hosting three matches and five teams during RWC 2011. The Taranaki region decided that part of its RWC 2011 strategy is a programme to reduce the environmental impact of the Tournament. Taranaki hosts a significant number of events a year and a legacy of RWC 2011 will be new ways of reducing the environmental impact and associated costs of staging these events. As a part of its programme Taranaki tested a number of initiatives at the New Zealand vs. Ireland Test Match on June 12 2010 at Stadium Taranaki. This case study covers environmental initiatives at sporting events and outlines lessons learnt from the Taranaki region that could be applied to other venues hosting games for RWC 2011. 2. Background Rugby World Cup 2011 in Taranaki is being used by the region as an event to drive positive attitudinal change towards environmental sustainability issues in the region. As part of the New Plymouth District Council Long term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) 2009 2019 the Council acts as educator in promoting responsible community behaviour. In delivering the commitments Taranaki has made to be an environmentally responsible host, major events in the lead up to September 2011 provide a great way to test many of these initiatives. Four targeted initiatives were trialled during the Test Match. These were: To implement a comprehensive waste reduction strategy for the first time. Previous to this, cardboard was the only material separated for recycling, with the rest being sent to land fill. To repeat the success of the shuttle bus operation at the New Zealand vs. Samoa Test Match in 2008. At this match approximately 30 percent of the crowd travel by pubic transport to the stadium. To capture baseline data of the energy and water consumption at Stadium Taranaki when it is at maximum capacity for future planning purposes to reduce use of these resources. Increase community awareness and educate attendees through pre event marketing and publicity, visibility of recycling bins, volunteers and event announcements.
3. Key Findings In summary: The objective for waste minimisation was 60 percent of the total waste diverted from landfill. This event achieved 76 percent diversion by weight, making this a highly successful first step and surpassing expectations. A total of 8240kg material was discarded comprising: co mingled recycling (plastic, paper) 2890kg (35.1%) glass 2860kg (34.7%) cardboard 500kg (6.1%) rubbish 1990kg (24.2%). Pre event marketing messages focused on encouraging rugby fans to leave their cars behind and take event shuttle buses or walk to the stadium. This was supported by providing free parking in the CBD. Approximately 5,397 people or 24 percent used the shuttle bus service to get to and from the match. Water loggers installed for this match revealed that 85,000 litres of water were used on 12 June 2010 (or 3.8 litres per person) Pre event marketing and communicating messages to the community resulted in 54.1 percent of those surveyed prior to the match stating that they were aware of the environmental initiatives at the Stadium/ game. Following this first introduction of environmental sustainability initiatives at Stadium Taranaki a series of recommendations have been produced to assist with future planning. These recommendations include: bad weather contingency, signage requirements, review of bin placement, and to continue to work with cleaners, vendors and other stakeholders to develop future plans.
4. Initiative 1 Waste Reduction Waste Reduction Objective: To reduce the amount of waste produced through activities related to the event. Target: 60 percent diverted from landfill Actions: Developed an action plan with reporting requirements. Met with vendors and cleaning contractors and provided briefing notes for them. Recruited and trained Team Clean our waste champions. Set up and managed recycling stations at the event to help ensure people used recycling bins correctly and minimised cross contamination. 4.1. Planning The initial plan was to implement a three stream system (biodegradable, co mingled recyclable and residual rubbish), with glass and cardboard also separated for recycling. However, initial planning and research revealed that it would be better for the venue to begin by introducing a two stream system (rubbish and co mingled recyclables). This would enable the logistics to be bedded in before adding another element. This simplified system received great support from key stakeholders and in particular the venue cleaning team. A two bag system (clear for co mingled recyclables and black for rubbish) was a simple concept that could be easily communicated and successfully implemented. The estimated total quantity of waste expected was calculated from the waste generated at the previous 2008 Test Match in Taranaki. Data was also taken from the recycling results of other recent major events in New Plymouth (including Cliff Richard at the Bowl of Brooklands in 2009). From this a 60 percent diversion was set as the target. A clean team (Team Clean) of 22 volunteers were appointed as waste champions, having been used previously for waste reduction programmes at other events. Team Clean is supported by supervisors from Taranaki Regional Council and The New Plymouth District Council. Clear roles are assigned with briefing notes sent out prior to the event. In addition a specific event briefing was given after accreditation. The team was uniformed and stationed at the bins around the venue to engage with patrons so they understood how to use the recycling bins correctly. The following wheelie bin system was used at the venue for this event: Blue 240ltr bins lined with clear bags were used for back of house recycling Maroon 240ltr bins lined with clear bags were used for glass (corporate areas) Red 120ltr Coca Cola/LoveNZ branded bins lined with clear bags were used in public areas for recycling. Green 240ltr bins lined with black bags were used for rubbish.
This was supported back of house by two sets of skips. A set of blue 20m3 skips labelled clear bags here and a set of orange 20m3 skips labelled black bags here Planning was done primarily around the recognition and handling of recyclable materials for this event and then the reporting and monitoring requirements that needed to be met. Specific briefing notes were prepared with images to assist Team Clean in carrying out these requirements. The Stadium caterers also supported the programme by eliminating or limiting disposable packaging items. It was identified that the cleaning contractors would be vital to achieving the target, as research revealed that approximately 80 percent of waste materials would be left on the ground. Therefore meetings, briefing notes and venue tours were held with the cleaning contractor. The support of this contractor was critical to achieving the target. For the post event clean up, rubbish was collected in black bags and recycling in clear bags. Tallies were kept of both the number of bags cleared from public bins during the event and bags of rubbish and recycling picked up off the grounds after the event, to assist in understanding where the majority of rubbish comes from. Following the introduction of this environmental initiative at Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth District Council is continuing to work with vendors, cleaning and waste contractors. The focus is on education, procedures, monitoring and reporting requirements. There is a clear commitment to identify improvements and to assess the practicalities of having a compost/biodegradable waste stream up and running for RWC 2011. 4.2. Results This event achieved 76 percent diversion by weight, making this a highly successful first step and surpassing goals. These results were measured by: co mingled recyclables (plastic bottles and drink cups, drink cans, and catering recyclables milk bottles etc) o by volume in cubic metres, e.g. using skip sizes, number of skips and proportion each is filled o by weight glass recycling o by volume o by weight waste to landfill
o o by volume in cubic metres, e.g. using skip sizes, number of skips and proportion each is filled by weight The total of 8240kg of discarded materials was made up of: New Zealand vs. Ireland Test Match 12 June 2010 Weight (kg) Percentage of total Co mingled recycling Gate 4 skips (Spotswood Clubrooms) 2150 Southern Compound skips (Maratahu St) 740 Subtotal co mingled recycling 2890 35.1% Glass 33 x 240L bins, full 2860 34.7% Cardboard (weights are estimates) in cage 2 x 3m3 200 in Southern Compound recycling skip 100 left in front of cage & what was placed in WM recycle skip 200 Subtotal cardboard 500 6.1% Rubbish Gate 4 skips (Spotswood Clubrooms) 530 Southern Compound skips (Maratahu St) 1160 Maroon bins used for food waste (4) 300 Total recycled 6250 75.8% Total waste 1990 24.2% Total waste and recycled 8240 The proportion of rubbish and recyclables placed in bins during the match was compared with that collected off the ground during clean up. To do this tally sheets were used by Team Clean (during event) and Cleaning Contractors (post event). The results from this were consistent with national research which highlighted that approximately 80 percent of the waste would be left on the ground and only 20 percent in the bins. The cleaning contractors collected rubbish in black bags and the recycling in clear bags. Although this was very successful it added considerable time and expense to the clean up and needs to be factored into event budgets. Feedback from the waste management provider was that contamination of recyclables was very low, including in the public recycling bins. The Caterers were required to report on: percentage of beer to wine sold number of beer cans sold number of plastic cups used number of PET wine bottles sold number of glass wine bottles used (corporate areas only) efforts made to eliminate/limit disposable packaging items feedback on how easy system was to use and how clear it was for catering staff, what next steps could be taken.
Results from the caterers show that beverage sales were 80 percent beer to 20 percent wine, with 24,000 beer cans sold compared with 6912 PET wine bottles and 1524 glass wine bottles (corporate areas). This equates to approximately 1.7 drinks per person (based on 5 glasses of wine per bottle). The caterers made only one plastic glass available at the venue (#6 plastic) and only 400 of these were used. Other efforts that were made to eliminate/limit disposable packaging items were: whitebait fritters served with a serviette rather than in a bag chips were served in pottles rather than having a pottle and a bag plastic cups were not on display and were only provided on request carry trays for drinks were only provided on request. 4.3. Lessons Learnt Review recycling stations: placement, signage, and type over time. Include placement of all bins (back of house as well) on Venue Site Map. Investigate options and costs for some permanent recycling stations and/or venue signage. Need for clear signage (above head height). Ensure adequate resources for set up and pack out. Event set up contributes significantly to amount of waste generated, ensure that systems are in place to cover these aspects of the event too. Have provision for stash areas and hand carts for full bags. Uniform for Team Clean volunteers a highly visible vest or similar that can be reused and will become synonymous with this team and their role. Security, caterers etc to be fully briefed on ongoing expectations of waste management.
5. Initiative 2 Transport Transport Objective: To encourage ticket holders to arrive at the venue by either active (walking) or shared (public transport/carpooling) modes of transport. Target: 30 percent of ticket holders to use public transport to arrive at the match. Actions: Promoted and advertised transport options before the event. Offered a subsidised shuttle bus service to take patrons to and from the Stadium. Pedestrian Route from the CBD to the Stadium with volunteer guides in place. Set up Transport Working Group to communicate event messages effectively. 5.1. Planning Following on from the huge success of the free shuttle bus for the New Zealand vs. Samoa Test Match in 2008, this service has also since been offered for other major events (Fleetwood Mac in 2009 and Cliff Richard 2010). The repeated operation of this service has resulted in increased awareness of, and demand for, it with 35.9 percent of people surveyed at this Test Match stating that they were aware of the service via word of mouth. International research has shown that patrons are willing to walk a reasonable distance to match venues, and so for the first time a pedestrian route to the Stadium was promoted. People were encouraged to walk from the city centre, and were assisted by volunteers positioned along the route, pointing out the way. On game day free CBD parking from 5.00pm to 2.00am was provided. The shuttle buses ran in a continual loop between the CBD (Ariki Street Bus Stop) and Stadium Taranaki costing only a gold coin per person per ride. A working group with regional transport operators was set up to communicate key messages, assist in logistical planning and understand volume of buses, coaches and taxis that would be operating for this match. 5.2. Results From the data available from the eight key bus and coach operators it was calculated that at least 32 percent of ticket holders arrived at the venue via shared public transport modes. The largest percentage (24 percent) arrived via the shuttle bus service. In addition the touch poll surveys carried out by volunteers prior to the match revealed the following transport results: Question: How did you get to the Stadium tonight? Answers Percentage Private Car 50.81% Shuttle Bus 28.65% Walked 14.59% Cycled 0.54% Other 5.41%
5.3. Lessons Learnt Ensure that public transport and alternative transport options (for events) are widely advertised and are part of wider communications strategy. Work with transport providers to offer a consistent transport service for all major events.
6. Initiative 3 Energy Efficiency and Water Use Energy Efficiency and Water use Objective: To collect data on energy and water use at a maximum capacity event at Stadium Taranaki to better understand where savings could be made. Target: To obtain baseline data on energy and water use. Actions: Loggers were installed prior to this match to capture water usage as well as energy use monitoring. To continue with the implementation plan of energy efficiency actions at Stadium Taranaki. 6.1. Planning Stadium Taranaki recently completed an energy efficiency review which identified a number of energy efficiency initiatives for the Stadium that were implemented. From the energy audit, a schedule of actions was created. This schedule included: run generator on game day light sensor in changing room 1 and warm up room 1 light sensor in Legends Lounge toilets disabled concourse toilets to be individually turned on so they can be used in smaller events pre event check list of what to switch off switch off campaign. Taranaki has committed to reducing water use by up to 20 percent below current levels for RWC 2011 matches at Stadium Taranaki. A range of water efficient initiatives including adjustments to toilet flushing, water pressure in showers and tap flow rates and usage have already been identified and implemented. Water loggers were installed before the Test on June 12th to obtain baseline statistics of water usage for a capacity event. 6.2. Results The water loggers installed prior to the Test Match revealed that 85,000 litres of water was used on the match day alone (in a 4 5 hour period). The venue is now working on identifying exactly which functions took place at what times over the weekend and how many people were using the facilities in the ground. Once a water audit has been completed for the venue, a schedule to install water saving devices will be developed within existing budgets. 6.3. Lesson Learnt Establishing a baseline is the key first step to reduce use of resources e.g. water or energy. Energy and water efficiency actions should be identified, planned for and implemented over time.
7. Initiative 4 Community Awareness and Education Community Awareness and Education Objective: To use the New Zealand vs. Ireland Test Match as an opportunity to drive a communications strategy aimed at effecting attitudinal change to positive environmental behaviour. Target: Increased community awareness of positive environmental behaviour. Actions: A full range of media channels utilised to reach Taranaki residents including print and broadcast (radio). Volunteers (word of mouth), PA and big screen announcements pre and post match. Partnership with Coca Cola Amatil who supplied clearly branded items to assist in the educational and awareness objectives of our campaign. The key involvement of local sport group Team Clean. 7.1. Planning The New Plymouth District Council marketing and communications team maximised the publicity surrounding the planned initiatives in the lead up to the Test Match through: a news release two weeks before the match, plus a webpage update with route graphics for walking and shuttle bus services a news release in the week before the match, with reminder information a reminder in the Seven Days issue immediately before the match print and media advertising in the week leading up to the match copies of the shuttle bus advert delivered to local accommodation providers for external visitors 12,000 Z flyers printed and handed out by volunteers prior to the event with maps (including walking route), conditions of entry, shuttle bus information and key message: keep our venue clean and use the bins provided environmental sustainability messaging was included in the conditions of entry printed in the Taranaki Daily News and on the Council website Queue Managers (volunteers) were stationed at each public gate prior to the match to inform patrons of conditions of entry, assist with enquiries and let them know about the new recycling initiatives at the Stadium big screen animation and PA announcements at the venue pre and post match post event news releases. A key component of the awareness and education initiative was a partnership with Coca Cola Amatil for the waste reduction programme. As this was the first introduction of public recycling at the venue it was believed that the clearly branded offerings would assist in effecting behavioural change through education and growing awareness. Coca Cola Amatil kindly supplied: 28 x 120L branded wheelie bins (supplied with 2 clear bags per bin) 2 x flags animation for the big screen (15 seconds long and shows the bins provided) 23 x t shirts made from recycled PET bright red with Not wasted on front.
7.2. Results A comprehensive marketing and communications plan was devised to include the key messages around waste minimisation and transport modes. The Touch Poll Surveys reveal that 54 percent of patrons were aware of the environmental initiatives at the Stadium. 7.3. Lessons Learnt Communicate the successes from events broadly and at follow up events, to increase awareness, share the success story and to increase public participation. Plan for and deliver educational initiatives to support programmes and effect change. Use smaller events to educate the local audience and familiarise them with the initiatives. Education for venue operators e.g. vendors, security and cleaning teams is critical. Team Clean role as Ambassadors to be acknowledged and celebrated.
8. Key References and Source Materials WOMAD 2008 Towards Zero Waste: a case study for the Taranaki Regional Council. Major Event Greening Guide: A practical guide to reducing the environmental impact of a major event. Zero Waste Events Zero waste guide for events: Queenstown Lakes District Council Guidelines for Event Organisers minimising waste at Public Events: Government of South Australia Rugby World Cup 2011 Waste Minimisation Feasibility Study: Prepared for Auckland Region Sustainability Workstream.