CARBON MANAGEMENT
Kicking the carbon habit into touch
Mark Johnson offers advice on how sports facilities can use carbon management to reduce costs and earn an improved perception in the minds of their supporters and wider stakeholders
T
he global demand for energy is continuing to soar as popula- tions increase and the world’s hunger for power rises at an
alarming rate. According to the Inter- national Energy Agency (IEA), world energy consumption is set to grow by 49 percent from 2007 to 2035. There is also a clear need to move away from the use of fossil fuels, to a broader future low-carbon energy mix – incorporating renewable technologies such as wind, solar and combined heat and power. A wider issue is sustainability – as much
a source of debate in sport as in other industries at present. There is a real need to use our resources more efficiently,
to use less energy and to work towards a broader future that’s based on low carbon technologies. The sport industry is naturally a big energy consumer due to the large buildings it uses. It also re- quires significant infrastructure to serve its needs. It regularly pursues a mantra of bigger and better: of bigger stadiums, more spectators and increased foot- fall that can be at odds with a theme of using less energy, less resources and ulti- mately, less carbon production.
Can sport be sustainable? So can we foresee a future of stadia with solar panels covering an entire roof, wind turbines protruding from
the main structures, or even water self- sufficiency through an in-house supply? Actually it’s already happening. Dartford FC’s stadium in Kent incor-
porates rain water catchment within its design to help offset water usage of up to 20,000 litres a day, and solar panels that supply most of the hot water and clubhouse heating requirements. The multi-use GelreDome Stadium in Arn- hem, the Netherlands, makes most of the energy required for operation from natural light and boasts 112m of solar panels and 320m of photovoltaic cells. GelreDome’s energy system also uses thermal storage in the ground, in which the groundwater goes through an ex- changer to warm the floor of the hall in the winter and cool the air in the inner rooms in the summer.
The stadium and clubhouse at Dartford FC is covered with a hydro-seeded sedum green roof system, which reduces noise and acts as an insulator. Recycled water from two rain harvesting ponds is used for irriga- tion and maintains two full-sized pitches
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