SWGreen3: Glasgow Venue Announces Ambitious Net Zero Plans
SWG3 exterior at night. Picture by Michael Hunter.
SWG3 have announced their plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2025 or sooner, and they have provided a precise roadmap for exactly how they are going to achieve it.
The venue, located at 100 Eastvale Place, Glasgow, is Scotland’s leading multi-discipline arts venue and has ambitions to become a leader for responsible business in the cultural sector. Over the past year, SWG3 has been working with sustainability and innovation consultants, Stance, to evaluate and address the carbon footprint of the business. They discovered that they produce 138.5 tonnes of CO2 per year as a business, with 89% of this coming from their electricity (81%) and gas (8%) usage, the remainder of the CO2 is produced through waste and business travel.
Andrew Fleming-Brown, MD of SWG3, said: “After a lot of hard work, research and consultancy with experts in sustainability and climate change we are delighted to be revealing our plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2025 or sooner.
“We have a lot of work to do, but over the next 12 months, we are committed to building a solid foundation upon which we can transform our organisation into a more sustainable one. We know this will not be easy, but we understand the severity of the climate emergency, as well as our potential to influence our community, industry and beyond. We want to lead by example.”
At the forefront of their efforts, their innovative BODYHEAT project has been estimated to save 70 tonnes of CO2 per year through using the heat produced by their crowds to create energy. The system uses heat pumps and fluids that capture the body heat and channel this combined energy into twelve boreholes 150 metres deep beneath the venue. This heat can either be used immediately for cooling the audience or stored and used for heating the building.
Single-use plastic will also be removed from all SWG3’s events, sustainable supply and partnership policies will be implemented, and two acres of garden space will be created around the site to make space for community growing, beehives and biodiverse planting.
These announcements come at an ideal time, with COP26 approaching in November; the venue will not be left out of the historic event either, they excitedly await hosting The New York Times Climate Hub. The Climate Hub will take place over nine days and see the venue welcome influential leaders and thinkers who will join with the wider community to debate, discuss, and discover actionable climate strategies.
Meryl Gilbert, Commercial Manager at SWG3, said: “As an organisation that continually strives to be as sustainable as possible, we are thrilled to be hosting The New York Times Climate Hub over COP26.
“The ambitious 10-day event is totally unlike anything we have ever held before, but as a vast and vibrant cultural hub in the centre of Glasgow, we will offer a unique home to some of the world’s most crucial voices in climate change. Leaders in business, environmental action, science and culture will all be welcomed by SWG3 while November’s pivotal COP26 summit takes place in our city.”
SWG3 will also host an experimental exhibition, ‘Conference of the Trees’ by Es Devlin, which includes 197 living trees and plants which decorate the inside of the venue during the Climate Hub. Following the event, the trees and plants will be replanted in Scotland as part of a native public garden, established in cooperation between SWG3 and The New York Times.
Some extremely exciting and innovative ideas are simmering in the climate-focused boiling pot that is Glasgow right now, and I for one cannot wait to see what is next in store for the city: especially if everyone is as focused and inventive as SWG3.