Major environmental award for Croke Park
Croke Park is celebrating the distinction of becoming the first stadium in the world to receive the prestigious BS 8901:2009 certification for sustainable event management.
Croke Park was awarded the certification in May of this year after demonstrating commitment to constant improvements in the stadium's sustainability record and showing that sustainability is at the centre of all stadium activities.
BS 8901 is designed to help events organisations, such as the GAA/Croke Park, to recognize their impact on the economy, society and the environment.
As a result of becoming the first stadium in the world to receive the certification, Croke Park is now being used by the awarding body, SGS, as a case study in best practice sustainability for other stadia.
Furthermore, the Jones's Road venue now attracts even more events from businesses and organisations looking for 'green' venues to host their events and conferences. In fact, the stadium will host its own green conference, entitled 'Greener Games' on Saturday 30 October.
In addition to BS 8901, Croke Park boasts an impressive list of environmental achievements in recent years, including ISO 14001: 2004 environmental management systems certification (May 2009), the successful development of the Cúl Green initiative with ESB which has made Croke Park a carbon-neutral stadium and the 2009 Repak Partnership Award for outstanding achievements in recycling and waste management.
Some specific environmental improvements which Croke Park has also managed to deliver were instrumental in helping the stadium receive the coveted BS 8901 certification.
Noteworthy improvements include:
Reducing utility consumption by almost 30% since 2007;
Saving 312,000 litres of water per day through fitting solenoid valves in toilets;
Opening recycling and composting facilities throughout the stadium;
Increasing recycling from 21% in 2008 to 52% in 2010;
Sourcing all the stadium's electricity from wind farms.
Commenting on the BS 8901, Peter McKenna, Stadium Director, Croke Park, said: 'This is a remarkable achievement for the stadium to become the first in the world to be recognized for achieving the highest standards in sustainability.
'Sustainability is now the primary pillar in the successful management of Croke Park which hosts close to 100 major events every year. It is essential that we not only maintain the high standards we have now set, but seek to constantly improve them.
'In so doing we will ensure Croke Park makes a positive impact on our economy, our society and our environment
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