Environment and Regeneration

Environment

The Club is making efforts where practical to try and operate as a more environmentally friendly organisation. Below is a list of the measures that have been taken to date:

At Emirates Stadium

• A recycling area has been designated and fenced off within the underground car park.
• Plastic bottles and cups are separated from the waste on match days. This plastic, collected by the cleaning contractor, is then baled and recycled.
• A glass recycling scheme is being used at Club and Box Level (the only public areas of the Stadium where glass is used).
• A cardboard baler was installed in October 2007 to bale all the cardboard from the catering facilities, Armoury Shop & Programme Sellers and to prepare it for collection by a recycling company. Further bins have been purchased to ensure greater quantities are collected.
• On average we are currently recycling over 10 tonnes per month of cardboard & plastic which would previously have been sent to landfill. Additionally thirty two 220 litre wheelie bins are filled with glass after every match. This glass is also recycled meaning that approximately 1.5 tonnes of glass per match is diverted from landfill.
• Cardboard boxes used for deliveries of stock for the shops are re-used by the suppliers.
• Pallets are returned to the supplying company for re-use.
• An oil recycling scheme is being operated. All cooking oil wastage is collected and distributed for Bio Diesel Manufacture. It is tracked and traced by authorised collection agents.
• Waterless urinals have been fitted around the entire stadium.
• Arsenal have installed voltage optimisation equipment in Emirates Stadium. This equipment reduces the amount of power used by up to 20%.
• A Chlorine Dioxide system has been installed at Emirates stadium. This system, as well as ensuring clean water, means that the water can be stored at a lower temperature therefore the boilers can be run for less time.
• LED lights are being introduced to replace spotlights and florescent tubes.
• Run times have been minimised on push taps.
• Thermostats for hot water have been set to minimum ‘safe’ levels.
• The Club retail stores are now using more environmentally friendly plastic bags (which will biodegrade over time).
• The Building Management System (BMS) has been correctly set to ensure empty rooms are not being heated or cooled. This has further reduced the use of energy.
• Lighting in the concourses has been linked to motion detectors to enable lighting to be switched off when not in use.

Club Offices

• A comprehensive recycling scheme for paper, cardboard, cans & plastics has been in operation since Spring 2007.
• Staff are regularly reminded of the need to conserve energy where possible (i.e. switching off PCs, monitors, lights etc).
• Staff have been reminded that they should aim to use public transport wherever possible rather than driving / using taxis (A shower has been installed in the main staff office block to try and encourage staff to run, cycle or walk to work if possible).
• IT equipment such as old printers, used printer toners, computers, monitors are all being recycled.
• Hand driers have been fitted in washroom areas to eliminate the use of paper towels.
• Staff are encouraged to use their own mugs and plastic bottles when drinking hot drinks and water, to eliminate unnecessary wastage of plastic & cardboard cups.
• Water saving measures have been fitted to the toilets and run times have been minimised on push taps.
• Copier paper and envelopes used are made from recycled paper.
• All outgoing emails now contain reminder for recipients not to print out unless absolutely necessary.
• Timing devices set so that power is only used when necessary i.e. PCs, lighting, TV screens not left on overnight and at weekends.
• Thermostats for hot water and office temperature have been set to minimum ‘safe’ levels.

At the Training Ground

• At the training ground we currently recycle all our cardboard, printer cartridges, and our waste paper, whilst all the paper that we use is recycled paper.
• Plastic bottles are baled and recycled.

Some of the future initiatives that we are hoping to set up over time are as under:

1/ To work closely with our waste removal contractor to further increase the level of waste diverted from landfill.

2/ To use the power of the Club’s brand to promote a message to supporters encouraging them to act in an environmentally friendly manner where possible.

3/ To investigate opportunities to recycle pitch cuttings and food waste.

4/ To work with the M&E contractors to further reduce the energy usage and CO2 emissions of Emirates Stadium and other Arsenal sites.

5/ To investigate renewable energy, including Photovoltaic and wind power, and to ascertain whether it is practical to install such equipment at any of our premises.    

Environmental Policy

At Arsenal FC we recognise that our operations have an impact on the local, national and global environment. As a consequence of this the Club is committed to taking steps where practicable to minimise any adverse impact that we may have on the environment.

Legislation

The Club aims to meet, and where possible exceed, the requirements of all relevant environmental legislation. We will regularly audit our compliance with such legislation and in doing so aim to improve our environmental performance wherever economically practical.

Waste Minimisation

The Club realizes that sustainable waste management is a key element of our environmental strategy. As such we undertake to recycle materials wherever possible and to reduce the production, use and disposal of any material that is not reusable. We will try and work with our suppliers to ensure that they recognise and reduce the environmental impact of their products and transportation. Furthermore, we will aim to adopt the use of recycled materials whenever it is feasible to do so.

Waste Disposal

The Club strives to minimise waste across our operations, particularly where any hazardous waste is involved. We will dispose of all waste through safe and responsible methods using the minimum level of transportation. The Club will divert as much waste as possible from landfill and will aim to re-use and recycle.

Energy and Water Use

The Club will aim to use energy and water as efficiently as possible across our operations.

Staff

The Club will attempt to maximise the awareness of our staff regarding environmental issues by using internal mail, posters and the staff intranet. Staff will be encouraged to participate in the environmental work undertaken by the Club and to make suggestions as to how the Club’s environmental performance could be improved. Regular communications will be sent to staff reminding them of the need to minimise the use of energy and water. The Club will endeavour to minimise fuel consumption and exhaust emissions by encouraging staff to walk or cycle to work and to only travel to meetings where absolutely necessary.

Supporters

The Club will use communication channels to try and assist supporters to use products and services in an environmentally sensitive way.

Board of Directors

The Club’s Board of Directors is fully committed to the implementation of this policy and will give continued support to those authorised to carry it out.

Regeneration

When planning began to move to a new stadium in 1999, Arsenal wanted to remain in Islington, the home of the Club since 1913, and in the process do much more for the local area than simply build the Club a new home.

Emirates Stadium was the obvious focal point of Arsenal Football Club’s move but it was also the catalyst for substantial regeneration in the area and a host of other projects.

Included within the £390 million redevelopment programme was major inward investment into an area which suffered from serious deprivation and had seen little investment in recent years.

The regeneration of over 60 acres of land within the Borough is still taking place and has been the medium for significant urban regeneration in and around Islington.

Arsenal in the Community’s programme intensified on moving to the new stadium with an investment of over £1.8million from the Highbury section 106.  The department’s consistent engagement with young people via its social inclusion projects have also been the catalyst for the regeneration of pitches around the Borough.

As one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe, the Emirates Stadium project provided enormous benefits to the local community which included the creation of over 2,600 new jobs through the development, which included more than 1,800 long-term positions.

As part of the project, the removal of economically inefficient industrial and waste management buildings were replaced with a brand new £60 million state-of-the-art Waste Recycling Centre which has contributed towards the increase of Islington’s recycling rates. The centre also services the boroughs of Camden, Hackney and Haringey. Since its opening in 2004, an award-winning interactive education centre in partnership with the Science Museum has been created.

Affordable housing formed a huge part of the regeneration programme and 2,500 new and refurbished homes, of which 40 per cent are classified as affordable housing, as well as substantial key worker housing was also created.

Additional benefits included significant investment in local businesses, new areas of public space, making the streets safer for local residents and pedestrians, investment into the transport network and pathways to employment through construction.  Funds were also made available to local communities through schemes such as the Gunners Community Fund, which assisted small schemes such as local nurseries and neighborhood watch schemes and the Arsenal FC Community Benefit Fund which has awarded over £500,000 to local community groups for projects and activities which address the needs of disadvantaged communities within Holloway and Highbury.

The Arsenal Learning Centre was also been built for the local community in the Northern Triangle Building on Emirates Stadium podium, offering a vast range of different courses for all ages.

Youngsters on the Arsenal Kickz and Positive Futures Schemes have also benefitted from regeneration in the Borough.  Thanks to investment from partners, Homes for Islington, Islington Council, Arsenal in the Community and former Arsenal player, Dennis Bergkamp there has been significant upgrade to pitches in local parks and on estates where Arsenal in the Community’s social inclusion projects take place.

New areas of public open space have been generated, including a new park at Lough Road West, at Lough Road East, the Gillespie Park extension, as well as the Podium around Emirates Stadium itself.

A study commissioned by the LDA and carried out by KPMG evaluated that the stadium project yields £35 million worth of community benefits. 

Local Business benefits

Local business has already felt the benefit of the redevelopment works, with £2.2 million of supply and construction contracts surrounding the project being awarded to local companies. It is also estimated that another £202,000 has been spent by contractors on goods and services.  And this growth is not expected to stop when construction work on all of the associated projects is completed. The 4,500 new residents in the area will begin to use local shops and services.

Transport improvements

Use of public transport to Highbury was the best in the Premier League with 70 per cent of fans arriving by means other than private cars, and this has been successfully continued and surpassed at Emirates Stadium. However, further improvements include over £7.5 million investment and managing the existing capacity of the underground stations better than at present. TfL has also provided funding of over £50 million, which will offer improvements to bus, road, cycle and pedestrian facilities, as well as the major redevelopment of Finsbury Park Station. Local improvements, helped by Arsenal funding include surface finishes, street furniture, landscaping, lighting and signage all reflecting the needs of disabled people.