Today, Croke Park Meetings & Events launch From Lofty Ambition to Lived Dream: Our Sustainability Story, an e-Book detailing the story of how Croke Park, one of Europe’s largest stadiums, became a truly sustainable venue. Some Key Points:
100% of Croke Park’s stadium waste produced is recycled, reused or recovered as solid fuel; 0% is sent to landfill.
Croke Park grows its own turf locally for pitch maintenance and replacement to reduce carbon emissions associated with importation.
Croke Park was the very first stadium in the world to obtain certification to the newest international Environmental Standard ISO 14001.
Their sustainability programme has led to a reduction of almost 75% in their carbon emissions.
Menus feature over 85% local and regional produce. By 2021 they will showcase a 100km menu.
The Croke Park Community Fund supports local projects that directly benefit those living within 1.5km of the stadium. Since 2009 over €1 million has been allocated to 200 local voluntary groups, resident associations, and sports clubs.
During the recent pause in business-as-usual, the Croke Park team developed an account of their journey from green goals to sustainability success. The story started over a decade ago but now they’ve captured the key milestones in their new eBook. They hope that by sharing their experience, they will help others to understand and manage the impact events can have on the natural world.
As home and headquarters of the GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association), Croke Park is primarily a sports stadium with a match day capacity of 82,300. However, it also acts as a multi-purpose arena, staging concerts by the likes of U2, and hosting large scale events, like the Special Olympics World Summer Games. The Meetings & Events team runs over 2000 business meetings and events each year, from multi-day international conferences and breakfast briefings, to gala dinners and corporate sales meetings. Pre-pandemic, up to 1.5m people visited the stadium every year.
You can download From Lofty Ambition to Lived Dream: Our Sustainability Story here.
To view the e-Book online, please click here.
To see a short video clip from Guy Bigwood on Croke Park’s sustainability, please see here.
“Considering how much is now written on sustainability, it’s hard to believe that over a decade ago there was comparatively little topical discourse around it. Our sustainability story started in earnest in 2007 and since then, we have been on a learning journey that has brought rich and varied rewards.”
Mark Dorman, Head of Stadium Business
“Dublin’s credentials for sustainability have been recognised by the Global Sustainable Destination Index (Dublin was placed 11th in the world in 2019). This ranking helps those who value sustainability to select our city for their meetings and events, knowing that we’re fully aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We can achieve this distinction because we have venues like Croke Park, whose legacy as a sustainable venue is without parallel as part of our destination infrastructure.”
Sam Johnson, Manager, Dublin Convention Bureau
“When it comes to sustainability, Croke Park is up there amongst the global innovators. We were delighted to feature Croke Park in our recent publication, The Regenerative Revolution: A new paradigm for Event Management. Croke Park is truly setting universal standards across all aspects of sustainability – from energy, waste and water – to biodiversity, community and accessibility. ‘From Lofty Ambition to Lived Dream: Our Sustainability Story’ highlights a shift from sustainability to regenerative thinking, and this is the future. I salute the entire team at the stadium for their commitment and vision.”
Guy Bigwood, FIEMA, Chief Changemaker at the Global Destination Sustainability Movement
For more information please contact Sara Hosford, Media Relations, on sara@soolnua.com
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