Johan Cruijff ArenA
Net Positive by 2030
Thanks to solid cooperation with its shareholders, founders and partners, the Johan Cruijff ArenA has proven since its inception over 25 years ago that it is a socially committed, sustainable stadium spurred on by continuous innovation. For instance, the Johan Cruijff ArenA teamed up with a variety of partners to develop Europe’s largest energy storage system in a commercial building for the purposes of storing sustainably generated electricity.
In addition to this, in excess of 4,200 roof-mounted solar panels and the procurement of wind energy are providing the ArenA with green electricity and it has joined the ‘1,000 jobs for Amsterdam’s South East district’ initiative, which is helping disadvantaged people into work. This gives the Johan Cruijff ArenA a solid starting point from which to make the next step to net positive.
With our ambition of becoming net positive we are doing our bit towards creating a sustainable, habitable world for future generations and, of course, for the surrounding area, Amsterdam. It will be a journey involving successes and opportunities to learn. The objective is clear and we have strong partners with whom we can make this ambition achievable.
Approach
There is no standard step plan to make an organisation net positive. The process depends entirely on its operations and end-to-end chain. Hence the Johan Cruijff ArenA teamed up with partner KPMG to perform an in-depth analysis to ascertain what net positive means for the ArenA. Furthermore, the topics that will need to be dealt with in order to become net positive were also identified. These topics pertain to climate impact, people and society, or Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).
In addition, the Johan Cruijff ArenA and partner GSES (Global Sustainable Enterprise System) are launching the Global Sustainable Venue Benchmark (GVSB) to measure the sustainability of organisations, events and locations. This standard provides guidance in advancing sustainability. The ArenA has started the measuring and verification process for its own organisation in which her main suppliers will be involved. On the online GSES-platform the ArenA and GSES have equipped a Net Positive dashboard and event module in which the ArenA measures and reports with the entire supply chain. The ArenA will communicate progress and any challenges openly and transparently, thus enabling other organisations such as partners with similar sustainability goals to learn from these and take steps to become net positive too.
Femke Halsema, Mayor of Amsterdam: ‘I am extremely proud of the way in which the ArenA has for many years now been devoting itself to making the area sustainable through innovation. And now to its new ambition to become net positive. It is an ambition that we are eager to fulfil in conjunction with the ArenA. After all, the ArenA is setting an example for the city of Amsterdam and for society as a whole.’
Partners
It is only possible to become net positive when the entire chain is involved. Which is why the ArenA is working with its shareholders Ajax and the Municipality of Amsterdam, founders, partners, suppliers, industry peers, staff and other stakeholders. The goal is to ascertain with this group which topics we will be in a position to collaborate on so as to not only fulfil the ambitions but also create a wave of positive impact.
Further information on the Johan Cruijff ArenA’s net positive ambition can be found at www.johancruijffarena.nl/net-positive/
The ArenA wants to work with us on making the matches as sustainable as possible. That’s a truly fantastic challenge. For Ajax, for our supporters and for the ArenA’
