We’ve been committed to the highest levels of sustainability since the new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007, with the Live Earth concert highlighting climate change in July that year.
We established our ‘Green Team’ in 2009, proudly became a zero- waste-to-landfill venue in 2010, and were the first sporting venue to achieve the Carbon Trust Triple Standard in 2014.
Since 2018, we’ve focused on event sustainability management and are delighted to have achieved the prestigious ISO 20121 international standard.
“I am incredibly proud of our passionate and determined sustainability team’s achievements, including gaining ISO 20121 certification for our event sustainability management and winning the 2020 Sports Business Award for Sustainability. I am excited to continue to show what we are doing, and how we will make a difference.” Liam Boylan, Stadium Director, Wembley Stadium
Our event sustainability management system
We know events can have positive and negative impacts on people and our planet. It’s our responsibility to minimise negatives like energy consumption and waste generation, and maximise the positives like job creation and community support.
To co-ordinate and continually improve how we do this, we have developed an event sustainability management system (ESMS), based on international best practice.
• Energy & Climate Action
• Waste
• Water
• Transport
• Charity & Community
• Transparency & Communication
• Procurement
This has helped us put many sustainability initiatives into play. Here are some highlights:
Energy and climate action
We’re always looking for ways to reduce our energy usage and work towards a net zero carbon future. In 2019, we secured long-term use of 100% renewable energy at the stadium, and we’re upgrading our lighting to LEDs, including in Wembley’s arch.
We also use organic fertiliser for pitch maintenance.
Water
To reduce plastic water bottle consumption and water use, we have installed 16 water bottle refill stations around the stadium and low-flow technologies across our bathrooms.
Waste
Through our partnership with Veolia, we have been a ‘zero-waste-to-landfill’ venue since 2010. Veolia has also given all our event day staff recycling training to ensure we continue to maintain high recycling rates.
Transport
We work closely with transport providers to encourage visitors to use lower impact options. We also promote cycling, with onsite bicycle storage, and electric vehicles by working with Quintain to install electric-vehicle charging points in nearby car parks.
Procurement and partnerships
We hold regular sustainability meetings with all our partners and suppliers, constantly encouraging initiatives to enhance the stadium’s environmental friendliness. This includes plastics reduction:
• To reduce single-use plastics and packaging, in January 2019 we removed all use of plastic straws, and have installed 16 water refill stations.
• With support from Veolia, we’ve distributed reusable water bottles and coffee cups to all FA staff at Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, the national football training centre in Burton upon Trent.
Community and good causes
In 2018 we gave 27,500 event tickets to local community groups.
If your community group is interested, you can apply here.
Plus, we donate soil from Wembley’s pitch every year to regenerate local pitches. We also hosted an employee volunteering day at the local King Edward’s VII park to rewild the park.
Our Event Day Volunteering Kiosk Programme gives local residents valuable work experience and a route into the hospitality sector. To date we’ve recruited 20 local people. If you’d like to get involved, you can join the programme here.
Food
Working with our contracted caterers, Delaware North Companies, we’ve introduced vegetarian and vegan options across the stadium.
Transparency and communication
As a multi-use venue – hosting sport, concerts and more – no two events are the same. This means we have varied audiences too, giving us an excellent opportunity to spread the sustainability message far and wide.
Want to learn more?
You can read The FA Group’s sustainability commitment.
To enquire about sustainability at Wembley Stadium, please submit a question and select ‘Sustainability at Wembley Stadium’ as your topic.
Or, for any other sustainability enquiries, please contact sustainability@TheFA.com
