Greenfoot – Groupama Arena promotes sustainability in Budapest
Nowadays, several European stadiums implement specific guidelines to make their venues more and more sustainable. In Europe, the Johann Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam is a pioneer when it comes to promoting sustainability and becoming carbon neutral.
Apart from this stadium in the Netherlands, we would like to highlight the Groupama Aréna, the venue of Hungarian side Ferencváros TC, which started promoting a sustainability programme. During the year, this structure has developed initiatives in order to promote a greener way of management and also encourage visiting fans to follow this path.
The Groupama Arena promotes sustainability in the district of Budapest following four directives in their green pathway. According to their strategy, they work according to these four pillars:
Pioneer We are committed to building Hungary’s first carbon-neutral stadium in the name of renewal. With this, we want to set an example and inspire.
Local Intergration: On the road to complete carbon neutrality, we implement not only large-scale but also small-scale projects that are very important for the protection of the environment, giving our suppliers and partners the opportunity to actively participate and create value.
Innovative: We try to apply the latest technological solutions to all elements of the Green Arena program, we are constantly increasing our knowledge and following the relevant trends.
Value Creator: We strive to create value together with our suppliers and partners and share it with others. Not only do we want to set an example, but we also want to encourage individuals and communities alike. In order to strengthen the guidelines, we have launched our Green Aréna program, which aims to be the greenest club in the OTP Bank League.“
Besides, they created the “Zöld Aréna Programját”, Green Arena Programme which is an engagement in the sustainability operation of the stadium. Within this programme, the stadium has a day-to-day operation in order to reduce the ecological footprint of its facility.
So far, the stadium uses modern energy lighting such as LED technology and natural light thanks to glazed facade surfaces. In terms of solar energy, they have a solar collector of a 100 m²-surface with the aim of producing 40% of the energy needed for hot water.
The stadium also captures the rainwater through its roof structure. This roof allows the collation of rainwater falling and is redirected for flushing toilets for example. They installed a collector of a volume of 200 m³ aiming to irrigate the track.
Apart from these initiatives, the club has implemented a modern electric car charging structure in May 2021. Through a partnership with Porsche Hungaria, 1 block of 75kW DC and 4 others of 22 kW AC car chargers were installed encouraging their fans to use electric cars providing charging points.
A recyclable system has been also delivered using “Re-cup” that are cups with a longer life-cycle than plastic cups. Thanks to this management, the Groupama Arena will reduce the management of plastic wastes by hundreds of tons and decrease the cleaning costs.
In the future, the structure is in constant improvement in order to meet its sustainability goals relying on its partners, fans, and the help of suppliers. For example, they plan to use additional solar energy via the installation of new solar panels.
