A greenhouse gas assessment of a stadium in Australia

Abstract

A greenhouse gas (GHG) life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a stadium used for sporting events in a subtropical region in Australia. Inventories for the construction and operation of a stadium are presented and the GHG emissions from construction, operations and end-of-life waste management are assessed against the attendance of one person at one event. The inclusion of additional economic activities, patron travel, LCA methodology, attendance and stadium life-time assumptions are likely to affect the overall magnitude of the GHG emissions of one person's attendance. The assessment shows that the stadium operation accounted for 72.5% of GHG emissions, with the operation of baseload heating, ventilation and cooling, lighting and refrigeration systems dominating. The best opportunity to reduce GHG emissions is to reduce the need for the continual operation of these systems. Construction impacts account for 24.7% of impacts, while replacement materials, end-of-life management of materials are relatively insignificant, contributing to less than 3% of life cycle GHG emissions.

Keywords::

• embodied CO₂
• environmental impact assessment
• greenhouse gas emissions
• life cycle assessment
• sporting events
• stadium

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr Patricia McLaughlin who helped establish this body of work.

Funding

This work was supported by Watpac Construction Pty. Ltd.