Sustainability at Aviva Stadium

Biodiversity:

00:00:03:00 - 00:00:06:12

Kathy: Aviva Stadium has hosted some of 

the biggest days in Irish sport,

 

00:00:06:12 - 00:00:09:15

along with many memorable concerts

and much more.

 

00:00:09:15 - 00:00:13:20

But a lot goes on here on a day to day

basis also, including a massive

 

00:00:13:20 - 00:00:18:24

undertaking to ensure this amazing stadium

is run with sustainability to the fore.

 

00:00:18:24 - 00:00:22:08

I'm Kathy Kavanagh and today

I'll be talking to Aviva Stadium

 

00:00:22:08 - 00:00:25:23

Sustainability Manager Aidan Byrne,

who'll talk us through

 

00:00:25:23 - 00:00:29:13

how they've got what it takes

to make this place even greener.

 

00:00:29:20 - 00:00:33:08

Aidan, tell us about some of the key areas

the stadium focuses on

 

00:00:33:08 - 00:00:35:04

from a sustainability perspective.

 

00:00:35:04 - 00:00:38:07

Aidan: Our current sustainability programme

focuses on three core areas

 

00:00:38:13 - 00:00:42:01

water stewardship, waste management

and recycling and biodiversity protection.

 

00:00:42:05 - 00:00:45:24

Kathy: Some people might be surprised

that Aviva Stadium is the home

 

00:00:45:24 - 00:00:47:14

of some of Irish native species.

 

00:00:47:14 - 00:00:49:00

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

 

00:00:49:00 - 00:00:51:17

Aidan: As a business supporter of 

the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

 

00:00:51:17 - 00:00:53:10

our Biodiversity Protection Programme

 

00:00:53:10 - 00:00:56:00

 has a keen focus on supporting local pollinators.

 

00:00:56:05 - 00:00:57:22

With that,

we actually teamed up with Aviva

 

00:00:57:22 - 00:01:01:04

to install a six-foot long bug hotel

over in the Aviva Home Turf garden.

 

00:01:01:21 - 00:01:05:01

Bug hotels are a really great resource

to provide shelter and food

 

00:01:05:01 - 00:01:09:16

for local insects and there’s over 11,000

different species in Ireland alone.

 

00:01:09:24 - 00:01:12:14

And these little creatures,

they play such a vital role

 

00:01:12:14 - 00:01:14:23

in our ecosystem

by pollinating all our plants.

 

00:01:14:23 - 00:01:17:22

So we're very happy to play our part

in the conservation process.

 

00:01:17:22 - 00:01:19:04

Kathy: Do you have any tips

 

00:01:19:04 - 00:01:22:17

for people in their homes

as to how they can support biodiversity?

 

00:01:23:00 - 00:01:25:20

Aidan: When it comes to the garden,

it's best to remember

 

00:01:25:20 - 00:01:29:11

don't mow, let it grow. By reducing

the amount of times you mow your lawn

 

00:01:29:11 - 00:01:32:21

to even once a month, it'll allow

native wildflowers like dandelion,

 

00:01:32:21 - 00:01:35:21

clover and birdsfoot trefoil

to naturally return over time.

 

00:01:36:03 - 00:01:37:23

So by reducing the amount you mow your lawn,

 

00:01:37:23 - 00:01:40:23

to even once a month will help them

naturally return one pocket at a time.

 

00:01:41:05 - 00:01:44:06

You can also build your own simple bug

hotel at home using materials

 

00:01:44:06 - 00:01:45:12

you find around the house,

 

00:01:45:12 - 00:01:49:08

And this will encourage beneficial insects

like solitary bees and ladybirds

 

00:01:49:08 - 00:01:50:05

back into your garden.

 

00:01:50:05 - 00:01:53:05

You can watch how to build one

step by step at Aviva.ie

 

00:01:53:14 - 00:01:54:23

Kathy: Oh I love that, might 

do it with the kids. 

 

00:01:54:23 - 00:01:55:16

Aidan: It’s great fun.

Water stewardship:

00:00:02:15 - 00:00:03:24

Kathy: Can you tell me a little bit about

 

00:00:03:24 - 00:00:07:22

what happens behind the scenes in relation

to water stewardship or conservation?

 

00:00:08:00 - 00:00:10:07

Aidan: Water doesn't get the same attention

as energy management

 

00:00:10:07 - 00:00:11:13

because it's a lot cheaper than gas,

 

00:00:11:13 - 00:00:13:14

electricity and oil,

but it's just as important.

 

00:00:13:14 - 00:00:16:23

So to ensure that we manage this

precious resource in a responsible manner,

 

00:00:17:02 - 00:00:19:02

we have to make sure that we measure

how much we're using,

 

00:00:19:03 - 00:00:21:01

where we take it from,

what we do with it

 

00:00:21:01 - 00:00:24:00

and ultimately how much we're sending back

for treatment in the local plant.

 

00:00:24:10 - 00:00:25:01

It's also really

 

00:00:25:01 - 00:00:26:21

important for us to understand

what the impact

 

00:00:26:21 - 00:00:29:22

our water use is having on the local

environment and the people around us.

 

00:00:29:22 - 00:00:34:16

Our current water treatment system follows

the reduce, replace and reuse approach.

 

00:00:34:16 - 00:00:36:03

So, in terms of reducing,

 

00:00:36:03 - 00:00:39:00

that's all about using more efficient

equipment and processes.

 

00:00:39:03 - 00:00:42:15

Replacing is about substituting

drinking water with other sources,

 

00:00:42:15 - 00:00:46:07

like the way we harvest rain off the roof

for our pitch irrigation system. 

 

00:00:46:07 - 00:00:49:17

Reuse then is more about trying

to recycle grey water,

 

00:00:49:17 - 00:00:51:12

which is something

we're looking at in the future.

 

00:00:51:12 - 00:00:52:13

Kathy: Can you tell us a little bit

 

00:00:52:13 - 00:00:55:23

about how people could be more mindful

about water conservation at home?

 

00:00:55:23 - 00:00:58:24

Aidan: The reduce, replace, reuse approach

that we use here at the stadium

 

00:00:58:24 - 00:01:00:16

can easily be adopted at home.

 

00:01:00:16 - 00:01:03:15

So for reducing, you can look at maybe

installing more water

 

00:01:03:15 - 00:01:05:04

efficient cisterns in your toilets.

 

00:01:05:06 - 00:01:07:20

In terms of replacing, what I would advise

 

00:01:07:20 - 00:01:10:23

people to do is look for

items that aren’t working correctly.

 

00:01:10:23 - 00:01:13:20

So dripping showerheads,

taps, leaky pipes.

 

00:01:14:00 - 00:01:17:03

It might just seem like a few drips

of water, but it all adds up over time.

 

00:01:17:04 - 00:01:18:15

And also by replacing these items,

 

00:01:18:15 - 00:01:21:03

you might save yourself a bit of money

as well as stress.

 

00:01:21:09 - 00:01:22:21

Kathy: Some great tips for everybody there.

 

00:01:22:21 - 00:01:25:05

I have a leaky tap at home,

so I will check that out.

 

00:01:25:16 - 00:01:27:03

Aidan: So in terms of reusing.

 

00:01:27:03 - 00:01:29:07

What's important

is to make the most out of the water

 

00:01:29:07 - 00:01:30:09

that you're already using at home.

 

00:01:30:09 - 00:01:32:21

So when you're washing your vegetables

or boiling pasta,

 

00:01:33:03 - 00:01:35:01

instead of letting all that water

just disappear down

 

00:01:35:01 - 00:01:37:14

the drain, never to be used again,

you can actually use that

 

00:01:37:14 - 00:01:38:11

to water your plants.

 

00:01:38:11 - 00:01:39:15

So that's really useful,

 

00:01:39:15 - 00:01:41:19

particularly in the summer

when there's a shortage of water.

 

00:01:41:19 - 00:01:42:22

Kathy: Such a good tip.

Waste Management:

00:00:04:22 - 00:00:09:10

Kathy: So, on match day there’s around 

50,000 people plus in this stadium.

 

00:00:09:10 - 00:00:13:06

I'd imagine that makes waste management

quite a complex issue

 

00:00:13:06 - 00:00:14:16

for the stadium to manage.

 

00:00:14:16 - 00:00:16:02

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

 

00:00:16:02 - 00:00:16:12

Aidan: Sure.

 

00:00:16:12 - 00:00:18:17

Yeah, it is definitely a complex process,

 

00:00:18:17 - 00:00:22:12

but we do have a structured system

in place that focuses on waste generation,

 

00:00:22:20 - 00:00:26:03

how we process that on site before

we send it away to our waste management

 

00:00:26:03 - 00:00:27:13

provider for further processing.

 

00:00:27:13 - 00:00:29:15

It follows the reduce, reuse,

recycle approach.

 

00:00:29:16 - 00:00:32:18

This has actually led us

to remove single-use plastics from site.

 

00:00:32:18 - 00:00:36:00

So, we implemented a reusable cup

to get rid of the single-use

 

00:00:36:00 - 00:00:37:18

PET plastic pint glasses.

 

00:00:37:18 - 00:00:40:08

Since we put this in, we've saved over

one and a half million cups

 

00:00:40:08 - 00:00:42:06

and that equates

to about ten tonnes of waste.

 

00:00:42:11 - 00:00:46:19

We also tried to support Ireland’s transition

away from the linear economy approach.

 

00:00:46:19 - 00:00:48:24

So that's kind of where you take your waste

and dispose

 

00:00:48:24 - 00:00:50:19

to kind of promote

the new circular economy.

 

00:00:50:19 - 00:00:54:24

So make, take, recycle. A good example of

this is our new Gumdrop bins,

 

00:00:54:24 - 00:00:57:21

which takes waste chewing gum,

which then gets reprocessed

 

00:00:57:21 - 00:01:00:00

and turned into a new polymer

called gum-tec,

 

00:01:00:00 - 00:01:03:03

which then goes on to make new Gumdrop

bins. So the cycle continues.

 

00:01:03:09 - 00:01:06:04

Kathy: Can you tell us a little bit

about how people could practice

 

00:01:06:04 - 00:01:07:17

positive waste management at home?

 

00:01:07:17 - 00:01:09:13

Aidan: At this stage,

everyone knows the importance

 

00:01:09:13 - 00:01:11:21

and benefits of recycling,

but not everyone knows

 

00:01:11:21 - 00:01:14:14

that you can only recycle items

if they are clean, dry and loose.

 

00:01:15:01 - 00:01:18:14

So REPAK would report that 30%

of what goes into your recycling bin

 

00:01:18:14 - 00:01:20:03

every year is contaminated.

 

00:01:20:03 - 00:01:23:04

So just make sure to check all your food

packaging before you pop it in the bin.

 

00:01:23:12 - 00:01:26:23

There's also really great apps out there

to avoid food waste, such as 

 

00:01:26:23 - 00:01:27:18

Too Good To Go.

 

00:01:27:18 - 00:01:30:03

Basically, it's a great resource

which connects people

 

00:01:30:08 - 00:01:33:08

with shops and restaurants

that have surplus food at reduced cost.

 

00:01:33:14 - 00:01:36:15

Aviva also have a really good charity

partner called FoodCloud,

 

00:01:36:24 - 00:01:39:06

which connects businesses

that have surplus food

 

00:01:39:06 - 00:01:41:18

with other charities and community groups

that really need it.

 

00:01:41:18 - 00:01:42:19

So it would be great

 

00:01:42:19 - 00:01:45:15

if people would check out and see

if they can volunteer at their local hub.

 

00:01:46:01 - 00:01:49:08

Kathy: I hope you've enjoyed this little

look behind the scenes at what happens at

 

00:01:49:08 - 00:01:53:16

Aviva Stadium to put sustainability

at the heart of this amazing place

 

00:01:53:16 - 00:01:55:16

and that you've taken

a little bit of inspiration

 

00:01:55:16 - 00:01:59:15

as to what you can do too, because

remember, whether it's in your own home

 

00:01:59:21 - 00:02:02:19

or the home of Irish rugby,

we've all got what it takes

 

00:02:02:19 - 00:02:04:00

to make a difference.