Part 2: Sustainable Technologies Shaping Sport
April 29th 2021 - Author: Sönke Schadwinkel
Part One of ‘Sustainable Technologies Shaping Sport’ conceptualized the link between technology and sport, which mutually interact: Sport allows new technologies to be developed while at the same time technology facilitates increasing professionalization and popularity of sport. In the wake of the emerging sustainability trend, technology can contribute in many ways to make sport more sustainable: The first part explored demand change, the idea of the circular economy, new technologies influencing the sport directly and their necessity in some sports such as sailing to become more sustainable.
Part Two explores building sustainable sports facilities, sustainability certificates and sustainable technologies that are making a difference in sport, and beyond.
Sports facilities
When it comes to sports facilities, sustainability has become a big topic. Mega stadiums are built for millions of euros, to be used twice a month for a 90-minute match. This is surpassed by billion-dollar investments in World Cup stadiums that practically lose their purpose after only a few weeks. For example, Brazil built the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha located in the city of Brasília to host seven matches during the 2014 World Cup at a cost of $900 million. Since then, it has hardly been used at all, except the two matches that were played a year after the World Cup.
© Image by Jan Hloušek from Pixabay
Unfortunately, this case of a maintenance-devouring and largely unoccupied stadium, a so-called "white elephant", is not just an isolated incident from long ago. Just consider what destiny the 60,000-seat stadium in the city of Al Khor, Qatar, will face after 2022 when it has hosted the opening match of the 2022 World Cup and the embodied carbon already spent on its construction.
When considering this issue, it seems new technological developments would have much to offer in the way of providing solutions and making stadiums more sustainable for the long term.
In fact, stadium construction has in many ways taken on a role model function for sports when it comes to sustainability. Now more than ever, it is very feasible for modern stadiums to meet the latest sustainability standards. According to Sport and Sustainability Board Director and Managing Director & Co-Founder of GreenPlace Assets, Stuart Kay, "Stadiums have their complexities, but are far from the most complex of real asset types. As such, the opportunity to optimise their performance through technology and operational best practice is sizable and can actually be achieved easier than in many other real asset types". He went on to add that "Although sports is one of the most watched and most participated in pastimes, in regard to sustainability, the state of performance of sport infrastructure in general, relative to other asset classes, is actually quite poor and is immature in its development. When one considers the sheer scale of sport infrastructure globally, a compelling opportunity exists to deploy smart strategy and technology to drive higher levels of performance. This in turn saves costs which in turn creates financial value to investors/stakeholders." Common goals are to minimise the venues' carbon footprint, preserve its green heritage and take the lead in innovation.
Sustainability Certificates
Over the years, a multitude of sustainability certificates in building construction have sprouted from the ground, and sports stadiums are also benchmarked by them. One of these is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certificate, the most widely used green building rating system, which rates buildings based on various criteria in the categories of Location and Transportation, Sustainable Site, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Raw Materials, Indoor Quality and Comfort, and Innovation and Regional Priorities.
The first professional stadium in the USto receive a Platinum Certificate was the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which has set a new standard with 4,000 solar panels and an advanced stormwater management programme with a stormwater basin, which is an important aspect in flood-affected Atlanta.
© Photo by David Nicolai on Unsplash
Recently, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the WELL Building Institute (a Founding Member of Sport and Sustainability International) has developed their WELL Health and Safety Rating; a new streamlined certificate that asset owners/operators can achieve in a short time and for a minimal budget. It addresses operational health and safety of the facilities to enable them to attract users back to them safely. This in turn enables the organisations running the stadiums to receive enhanced income which will, in turn, enable them to be able to then invest into the environmental aspects of their operations and facilities going forward. Given the state of play in 2020 and 2021, it is key to get people safely back into sports infrastructure to help the industry get back on its feet. Only then can we expect stakeholders to be able to have the bandwidth and budgets to be able to focus on improved environmental performance. Given the need to improve environmental performance at scale in line with Paris Accord timelines, getting the industry back on its feet again is paramount and the WELL Health and Safety Rating was designed with this in mind. Regarding the program, Jack Noonan, Vice President - Asia Pacific at the International WELL Institute stated, "The WELL Health Safety Rating is all about bringing back confidence within our communities. The global pandemic has changed the way we interact with our buildings, our organisations, and each other. With so much information, people are looking for a way to know that the place in which they spend time prioritises their health and safety. That's why we worked with experts around the world to create this rating. It will mean that we can get back to watching our favourite sports faster, whilst maintaining the health and safety of the fans and the players". Sport and Sustainability International has collaborated with the International WELL Building Institute on this important initiative and continues to support its expansion into the market.
Technological solutions in sports facilities
Perhaps the most visible technological solution being considered is the use of solar energy. Stadiums and arena roofs offer enormous surface areas to install solar panels to convert solar light into power and, if there is a surplus, to release it to the power grid. The Weser Stadium of the Bundesliga football team Werder Bremen has installed photovoltaic panels of 16,000 m² (an area the size of two football fields). It has a capacity of one megawatt and generates up to 840,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. This relieves the environment of the emission of more than 450 tonnes of CO2 annually. It has to be said that there are comparatively fewer sunny days in northern Germany and the installation was built more than 10 years ago, while technological progress has enhanced its performance. New solar modules are now capable of converting 15 % to 22 % of the solar energy into usable energy.
© Photo by Nuno Marques on Unsplash
In the wake of climate change causing more drought and making water more precious, a functioning rainwater management system is yet another technological aspect to be considered when building a sustainable sports facility. Sports facilities are naturally able to collect and store rainwater due to their large surface areas. At the same time, these buildings can satisfy their own water demand with harvested rainwater, especially to supply the toilet facilities and to irrigate the pitch.
There are some stadiums around the world with water reservoirs, the Maracana Stadium in Brazil, some NFL stadiums and World Cup stadiums. Technological developments provide better water treatment methods in order to obtain drinking water from the collected rainwater.
In the future, water treatment systems will improve accordingly so that less energy is consumed, and it is easier to achieve drinking water quality. This will be a decisive factor, especially in regions of the world that are already plagued by periods of extreme drought. Technology and sport could thus help to ensure that the local population has access to water.
© Image by Tracy Jane Shaw from Pixabay
Stuart Kay stated, "One of the largest gaps to improved performance is the lack of data being collected on sports infrastructure assets. Without the data at hand, the ability to drive improvements in facility performance is severely compromised. Strategies as simple as asset-level and portfolio-level data analytics being introduced into the facilities will drive immediate performance gains. Further, they will enable managers to make more informed decisions by virtue of having real time performance trends at their fingertips 24/7. From there, educated decisions can begin to be made on where best to invest into enhanced performance with the information at hand to make such decisions based on data and facts; reducing risks while improving profitability, whilst also making a positive sustainable impact at the same time."
Technologies around sustainable sports facilities can be as diverse as they are complex. And especially since these developments are also attached to the non-sport infrastructure, there will continue to be major advances to keep an eye out for. Data is king and getting a clear understanding of where your facility's performance is historically will help you to make better decisions on how to improve and where to focus going forward. Overall, technology alone will not bring sport and its infrastructures into "complete sustainability", but it is a useful tool that can be used effectively to achieve sustainable goals.
