A WORLD-FIRST: THE O2 REMOVES OVER 540 TONNES OF CARBON DURING
PILOT EVENT SERIES
The O2, the world’s most popular live entertainment,
leisure, and retail destination, has today announced the inspiring
results from its pilot series of carbon removed arena events.
Conducted across The 1975’s shows at the venue in February 2024,
this world-first pilot saw the extraction and removal of 136.46
tonnes of residual carbon per show, equating to 545.9 tonnes across
the four shows - the equivalent yearly electricity usage of 395
average homes. It now provides a successful blueprint for a more
sustainable live event model utilising carbon removals.
Paving the way for a low-carbon future in live, The O2, which is
owned and operated by AEG Europe, embarked on the process of
hosting this groundbreaking pilot series in partnership with carbon
removal experts CUR8, who offered specialist insight into the
timely and durable drawdown of CO2, as well as sustainable event
specialists A Greener Future (AGF). Using a portfolio of
scientifically verifiable carbon removal methods, including
enhanced rock weathering and biochar, the venue, in tandem with
CUR8, was then able to physically extract the 136.46 tonnes of
carbon generated by each event from the atmosphere and durably
store it out of harm's way.
Thanks to initial venue data and insights from expert
sustainability partners, The O2 was able to predict the approximate
carbon emissions of each show in advance, and develop a
commercially and sustainably conscious event model that saw each
relevant party take responsibility for their own contribution to
the event’s carbon footprint. As a further commitment to supporting
a more sustainable future for live events, The O2 and CUR8 each
donated an additional 1% on top of the cost for each tonne of
carbon removed to EarthPercent, a climate foundation geared towards
identifying and funding impactful climate solutions in the live
entertainment industry.
A closer look at the resulting carbon footprint revealed that a
staggering 75.7% of emissions came from fan travel, which was
covered by a combination of venue investment and a 90p contribution
from fans, which was incorporated into the original ticket price.
Contrastingly, only 3.95% of the nightly carbon footprint came from
arena operations - driven predominantly by electricity usage and
staff travel. Contributing to this low emission figure for the
arena is The O2’s significant investment in energy efficiency, with
the recent installation of LED lighting and screens across the
arena saving over 300,000kwh of energy in 2023 alone.
The O2‘s hospitality partner, Levy UK + Ireland, accounted for
the removal costs across their operations, with carbon emissions
for food & beverages across each show coming in at 7.46%, of
which 85% was down to beverages. This low overall figure was aided
by the introduction of several recent initiatives, including a new
food menu which generated 30% less carbon compared to the regular
offering, as well as the launch of Notpla serveware. This 100%
biodegradable product has a 70% lower carbon footprint than
standard serveware and can be processed in The O2’s on-site
biodigester and wormery. Furthermore, The O2 has invested in a
permanent reusable cup scheme and cup-washing machines powered by
electricity from renewable resources, further reducing waste and
emissions at the world-famous venue.
Sam Booth, Director of Sustainability at AEG Europe, commented:
“With the success of this world-first pilot series of arena events,
we’ve proven that it’s possible to run an arena-size live show
which doesn’t compromise on a great fan experience but still
accounts for the impact it has on the environment. We hope this
serves as a wakeup call to the wider industry that carbon removals
are a viable solution that can be used to operate live events, but
they need buy-in from everyone in the live ecosystem in order to be
a success - from venues and promoters right the way through to
artists themselves. We’re fully committed to continuing to innovate
and find even more ways to make our world-class events across AEG
Europe more sustainable, as we strive for a low-carbon future for
the live industry.”
Mark Stevenson, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer at CUR8,
said: “The real heroes here are the teams at AEG Europe and AGF,
who are working to reduce emissions as much as possible and then
committing to remove the rest – and in doing so, helping fund the
carbon removals operating system that the planet (and every
organisation on it) will need to reach net-zero. Importantly, The
O2 and AGF have demonstrated the art of the possible. We cannot
have a live music industry where the only route to net-zero is to
not exist. By using carbon removals to mitigate the complex
‘audience travel’ or ‘scope 3 emissions’ problem, all within the
existing business model of live events, these concerts demonstrate
a possible future – one that speaks to life well lived on a planet
well loved.”
Pioneering a more sustainable future for live events The O2 was
the first venue to launch its own Green Rider in 2023 - a document
intended as a blueprint to make incoming tours and productions at
the venue more sustainable. Furthermore, The O2 was also the first
arena in England to receive its Greener Arena accreditation,
awarded by AGF, and work is now underway at AEG Europe’s Uber Arena
and Barclays Arena in Germany to undergo similar accreditation.
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
To learn more about sustainability at The O2, including the
venues ‘Good Vibes All Round’ CSR initiative, please click here:
Good Vibes All Round | The O2
For more information, please
contact:communications.team@theo2.co.uk
About The O2The O2 is the world’s most popular live
entertainment, leisure, and retail destination. It has sold over 30
million tickets and welcomed over 100 million visitors since
opening in 2007. Playing host to over 300 events a year, The O2 is
home to The O2 arena which was recognised as Billboard’s ‘Venue of
the Decade’ for the 2020’s, as well as club-sized music venue
indigo at The O2.
A full day-out destination, there’s plenty to explore at The O2
including the award-winning roofwalk attraction, Up at The O2;
Outlet Shopping at The O2, with up to 70% off RRP on over 60
designer brands including adidas, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Nike,
Superdry, and Tommy Hilfiger; interactive football experience TOCA
Social; London’s first iFLY Indoor Skydiving; ‘gaming battleground’
BOOM BATTLE BAR; Cineworld, London’s largest cinema with 19
screens; the 12-lane boutique Hollywood Bowl; Oxygen Freejumping
trampoline park; immersive dining experience Mamma Mia! The Party;
interactive photo experience Selfie Factory, and over 30 bars and
restaurants. Conveniently located just 15 minutes from Central
London, The O2 is easily accessible via road, tube, bus, or
boat.
The O2 arena and Up at The O2 are owned and operated by AEG
Europe. The Entertainment District and Outlet Shopping at The O2
are owned and operated by a joint venture between AEG Europe and
Crosstree Real Estate.
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Twitter.
About AEG EuropeHeadquartered in London, AEG Europe is a
subsidiary of AEG, the world’s leading sports and live
entertainment company. AEG Europe’s extensive portfolio of live
entertainment and sports assets across the region includes: an
array of best-in-class venues, such as The O2 and Eventim Apollo in
London; Barclays Arena in Hamburg; Uber Arena, Uber Platz and Uber
Eats Music Hall in Berlin; and Accor Arena in Paris; as well as
renowned music festivals, including American Express presents BST
Hyde Park in London and Rock en Seine in Paris. Our venues host
some of the world’s best sports events and are home to prestigious
sports franchises, including AEG’s own Berlin Eisbären ice hockey
team at the Uber Arena.
Colleagues across Europe work together to create world-class
live entertainment and sports experiences. AEG’s venue teams
develop and operate best-in-class arenas and districts; AEG
Presents promotes and manages concerts and tours, oversees renowned
venues and produces some of the world’s leading music festivals;
AXS Ticketing connects fans to events through specialist technology
solutions; and AEG Global Partnerships links corporate brands into
the company’s world-leading network of assets.
More information about AEG Europe can be found at
www.aegeurope.com.
About CUR8Founded by serial fintech entrepreneur
Marta Krupinska, renowned climate scientist Dr. Gabrielle Walker
and systems change expert Mark Stevenson, CUR8 is the market maker
for carbon removals. CUR8's due diligence and monitoring underpins
its ability to provide high-quality carbon removals portfolios that
allow organisations to plot a path to genuine net-zero. By
carefully procuring projects from selected global suppliers across
the spectrum of nature and technology, including high-quality
afforestation, durable soil carbon, biochar, enhanced weathering
and direct air capture, CUR8 is supporting new startups and methods
that will make a difference to the climate crisis. CUR8 is on a
mission to facilitate 1 billion tonnes of carbon removals annually
by 2050.
Notable carbon removals projects in the events space so far for
CUR8 include festivals such as Uber One presents All Points East
and American Express presents BST Hyde Park, as well as Royal
events such as The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant and The Queen's
Funeral.
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About A Greener FutureA Greener Future (formerly A
Greener Festival) is a not-for-profit company dedicated to
sustainability in the live sector since 2005, and founders of the
world's first sustainability standards for events. Committed to
helping events, festivals, venues and organisations around the
world to be greener, AGF provides certification, education,
training, consultancy, resources and green riders. As well as
supporting actions to reduce emissions and any negative impacts,
AGF offers independent assessment and verification of events and
venues sustainability claims through the AGF certification for
events, festivals, venues, tours and suppliers.
https://www.agreenerfuture.com/
- The O2 - The 1975 - 12th February 2024 by Luke Dyson -
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