Ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, Wellington Regional Stadium has been awarded a 3 Green Star - Performance NZ v1.2 certified rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) for its work in improving sustainable building operations.
As part of FIFA’s sustainability requirements ahead of the tournament, all match venues had to achieve a minimum requirement of a 2 Green Star - Performance rating. Wellington Regional Stadium is one of only two venues in Aotearoa New Zealand to have achieved a 3 Green Star - Performance rating, no mean feat for a building that is nearly 25 years old, built at a time where sustainability was not a key focus of building requirements.
“Most building owners have no idea how they stack up and what they could do to be more efficient or sustainable. By robustly measuring and benchmarking energy and water use, waste, and the emissions from services and transport, Wellington Regional Stadium is off to a tremendous start on its sustainability journey. The NZ Green Building Council is proud to be assisting NZ’s sporting facilities to reduce emissions and impacts” says Andrew Eagles, NZGBC Chief Executive.
Over recent years, Wellington Regional Stadium has been committed to improving its sustainable operations, with a particular focus on carbon reduction. The Stadium is aligned with Greater Wellington Regional Council’s “Carbon Zero by 2030” goal, through waste minimisation, energy reduction, water reduction and supporting sustainable transport.
“We are committed to developing ways to reduce, recover, recycle and re-use in all aspects of our business” said Stadium Chief Executive Shane Harmon.
Of note are the improvements made to waste reduction and diversion of waste from landfill. Through using compostable packaging and local recycling facilities, alongside onsite waste sorting, the Stadium has been able to divert more than 70% of event waste away from landfill, compared with only 45% in 2017.
Upcoming green projects include the installation of more than 6,000 energy-efficient LED lights throughout the venue which will reduce power consumption by about 51kWH per year and the installation of a serveware wash and reuse facility, where plans are being finalised currently. Both projects will further improve the Stadium’s Green Star Performance rating.
Further information on FIFA’s sustainability initiatives ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: