Co-op Live continues drive to become Europe’s most sustainable arena by partnering with Event Cup Solutions

Co-op Live, the UK’s largest music-first entertainment venue, continues its drive to become Europe’s most sustainable arena by announcing a partnership with Event Cup Solutions, the company behind the ONE Planet ONE Chance® Reusable Cup System, the official supplier of reusable cups to the venue when it opens in April. 

As part of the five-year agreement, and in line with Co-op Live’s ambition to be one of Europe’s most sustainable arenas, Event Cup Solutions will provide the venue with unbranded, reusable cups through the ONE Planet ONE Chance® Reusable Cup System. This rental-based system uses generically branded cups that can be reused multiple times across numerous sites.

Co-op Live will feature designated collection points around the venue where visitors can return their reusable cups which will be taken off-site to be washed and repacked at Event Cup Solutions’ new, state-of-the-art wash centre. Set to be launched in April, and located just eight miles from Co-op Live, this facility has the capacity to wash, dry and repack in excess of 50 million cups each year. The centre’s proximity to the venue will minimise emissions generated by the transport of the cups, and its opening will provide an additional boost to the local economy through job creation.

Co-op Live’s decision to select reusable cups for the venue follows a recent industry report by LIVE, Hope Solutions and Julie’s Bicycle, which demonstrated that when used more than three times, reusable cups have a lower environmental impact than single-use cups. When used 75 times, reusable cups create 87% less emissions than 75 single-use cups. 

Sustainability Drive

Reusable cups are just one of several measures that Co-op Live is implementing to ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the venue’s design. Key features include locally-sourced construction materials, the installation of air source heat pumps, solar panels, and rainwater recycling. The arena will also be zero waste to landfill.

Gary Roden, Executive Director and General Manager, Co-op Live, said:

By having sustainability at the core of what we do, Co-op Live is setting a new example to arenas around the world. Alongside our other climate-focused features, using recyclable cups is a simple and obvious way to significantly reduce our waste. Partnering with Event Cup Solutions sees us working with one the most innovative, climate-certified and forward-looking companies in the industry who will play a massive role in helping us achieve our sustainability objectives.

John Reeves, Director of Event Cup Solutions, said:

We are incredibly proud to be working with Co-op Live to bring this unique venue to fruition. Since we launched in 2019, we have been committed to educating visitors at a host of UK venues about the environmental benefits of reuse and are thrilled that we will be playing an integral part in helping Co-op Live achieve its sustainability goals. Over the past four years we have operated within many music venues, sports stadia and festival sites to encourage visitors to return our sustainable ONE Planet ONE Chance® reusable cups to convenient collection points located throughout the venues. We measure our success on cup retention and helping venues minimise their emissions and boost their green credentials.

Co-op Live, a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group, will revolutionise the UK’s live music scene. When it opens in April 2024, Co-op Live will be the country’s biggest and best arena. The innovative bowl design, state-of-the-art acoustics and exclusive hangouts will ensure an intimate and exciting experience for fans. In line with and supporting Co-op’s core brand values, the venue’s ‘Gigs that Give Back’ will generate at least £1 million annually for the Co-op Foundation to support causes on a local and national scale, including delivering on its new youth-led strategy.

About Co-op Live

Oak View Group (OVG), City Football Group (CFG), Harry Styles, and Co-op are joining forces to create Co-op Live, the biggest and best arena in the UK. Based in Manchester, the project is injecting £365m of private investment into the Northwest. Co-op Live will be one of the world’s premier music and entertainment venues, rivalling New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Forum in LA and The O2 in London.

World-class, planet-friendly and at the heart of the local community, Co-op Live will deliver one of the world’s most pioneering, sustainable, and socially responsible venues, delivering Co-op’s vision of a fairer world into the entertainment industry. The project will create 3,350 constructions jobs and 1,000 roles and apprenticeships on completion of the venue as well as giving over £1m back to national and local good causes.  

Co-op Live will be located on the Etihad Campus, and will host live music, sport, comedy, award shows and family entertainment. Co-op Live’s smart ‘bowl’ design means it is big but intimate with cutting edge visual technology, incredible acoustics and 32 bars, restaurants, lounges, and club spaces. 

About Oak View Group

Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG is focused on being a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports, live entertainment, and hospitality industries and currently has eight divisions across five global offices; Los Angeles, New York, London, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

OVG oversees the operations of Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center, UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY, Moody Center in Austin, TX, Acrisure Arena in Greater Palm Springs, CA; and the newly opened CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD; as well as arena development projects for Co-op Live in Manchester, UK; Anhembi Arena in São Paulo, Brazil; FirstOntario Centre Arena in Hamilton, ON; a New Arena and entertainment district in Las Vegas, NV; a New Arena in Cardiff, Wales; and Vienna, Austria.

About Event Cup Solutions

Event Cup Solutions (ECS) is an award-winning British company, which partners with stadia, arenas and venues to provide reusable and sustainable solutions through the activation of the ONE Planet ONE Chance Reusable Cup System. ClimatePartner-certified, ECS offers a rental-based and fully managed reusable cup system, with state-of-the-art wash centres nationwide to ensure proximity and efficiency of service to major UK event venues.

Sports Venue Business (SVB) has unveiled a raft of new offerings for 2024 under the ‘SVB LIVE‘ banner, including Global Networking Events and a Webinar Series, culminating in an Annual Conference & Exhibition – to be held at Croke Park on October 9th and 10th – with an Expert Group helping to shape the conversation. We have also launched the exclusive, subscription-only ‘SVB Global Report’, outlining New Builds, Renovations & Major Refurbishments.

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