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The home of Gaelic Games and a Mecca to GAA fans across the world, Croke Park Stadium is proud of its long-established sustainability credentials

Croke Park was the first stadium in Ireland and the UK to secure both ISO14001:2004 and ISO 20121:2012 standards, and the first stadium in the world to be certified to the updated Environmental Standard ISO 14001:2015. Under Croke Park’s commitments to these international standards, the stadium sets itself annual targets in waste and energy usage reduction and in 2018 the focus is on cutting the stadium’s production of plastic waste.

Recycling Strategy

Caffeine lovers now sip their match-day teas and coffees from cups which are made from vegetable-based plastics, which allows them to be disposed of in the stadium’s organic waste stream. Twenty tonnes of compost produced from the stadium’s organic waste is made available each Spring to the stadium’s local community for use in local and community gardens.

Meanwhile, conference attendees visiting the stadium have their still and sparkling water served in refillable glass bottles. The next step for the stadium is to further reduce the plastic consumed in match-day catering options, and the stadium sustainability and catering teams are working together to bring in measures before the end of the 2018 season that will see disposable plastic being phased out in bars and concession units.

The efforts to reduce plastic waste production in the stadium are part of an ongoing broader waste strategy in Croke Park that has not only seen the stadium maintain a 0% waste-to-landfill record since 2014 but also achieve a year-on-year reduction in overall waste production, as well as constant improvements in recycling figures to nearly 80%.

Community Investment

The stadium’s wildlife corridor continues to flourish. Built three years ago to help preserve urban habitats for local wildlife, this development has seen ravens and blue tits successfully nest in the stadium since it was established.

In Association with

Croke Park’s community outreach supports its youngest to its oldest neighbours through a schedule of community gain and regeneration projects, as well as special community events that help and give back to the stadium’s neighbours in a real and tangible way.

In addition to its annual local recruitment drives, a thriving Community Fund that has allocated over €900,000 in support to local groups since 2009. One of the biggest Cúl Camps in the country is specially subsidised by the stadium for its youngest neighbours, and a senior citizens Christmas Lunch, which celebrated its Sweet 16 year in 2017.

Partnering Up

In partnership with An Garda Síochána, Croke Park was the proud supporter of the local area’s first every Garda Youth Awards, which recognise and celebrate the special contribution young people make in communities across the stadium’s community area.

Working with Dublin’s City Council, the regeneration of Croke Villas, unveiled in 2017, will provide new housing, a new entrance to Croke Park and the building of a world class National Handball and new Community Centre on Sackville Avenue. Ground has been broken on this project, which is a further investment of €6.5m in the local community by the stadium.

Photo: Croke Park Stadium's Environmental and Sustainability management team