Sustainable Events in Colombia: The Movistar Arena Experience

Worldwide, there are numerous venues destined for the performance of cultural and recreational shows, among others; whose purpose is to offer experiences to their attendees. However, carrying these out entails a series of positive and negative impacts, which depend largely on aspects such as planning, security, sustainability, and other characteristics inherent to each event. The realization of an event implies the use of various resources such as energy, water, transportation, food production, and solid waste management, among others. This dynamic can generate a considerable environmental impact if not managed responsibly.

Movistar Arena: A benchmark in sustainability for events in Colombia

Nowadays, many artists are increasingly aware of the environmental impact their performances can generate, as well as the responsibility they have in caring for the planet. For this reason, they seek stages committed to sustainability that guarantee their shows are developed with the least possible impact. A key question then arises: How can a show be turned into a sustainable experience? In Colombia, the Movistar Arena has consolidated itself as the home of major concerts and a high-level experience center. Beyond its infrastructure and capacity, it stands out for being a venue committed to sustainability and environmental care, implementing various strategies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of each of its events, but how do we achieve it?

Environmental management system for sustainable venues

We have an environmental management system focused on 4 fundamental pillars:

1. Integral waste management: Towards a circular model

Taking into account the great impact entailed by waste generation and the overload presented in the sanitary landfill, we carry out strategic alliances to give a new life cycle to approximately 90% of the waste generated within the Arena.

• Alliances for recycling with local associations Our usable waste is managed by the Association for Recovering Recyclable Materials of Kennedy – Remarek, who support us in the classification, handling, transportation, and delivery to third parties, giving a new life cycle to this waste.

• Transformation of organic waste into compost One of the great services offered to our artists, collaborators, allies, and attendees is the gastronomic offer, where we have a variety of foods produced by our allied company Venues Snacks. The pre-preparation and production of these foods generate a considerable amount of organic waste; complying with our zero-waste policy, we established an alliance with the company "Más compost Menos basura," to whom we deliver our organic waste for the production of organic compost, which is the basis for our projects focused on reducing the carbon footprint.

• From used oil to biodiesel: Circular economy As a product of the preparation of foods found within the gastronomic offer, Used Vegetable Oil (UVO) is generated, which is delivered to the company Green Fuel, who use this oil for the production of second-generation biodiesel. This is how we ensure our waste moves on to have a new life cycle, avoiding being sent to the landfill and contributing to the protection of our resources.

2. Efficient use of electrical energy in large venues

• LED lighting and energy efficiency systems Our venue has LED lighting, motion sensors, and a bioclimatic system; therefore, it is not necessary to have air conditioning to maintain a fresh space with an appropriate temperature for all our visitors within our arena.

3. Sustainable management of water resources

• Rainwater harvesting and utilization system We have a rainwater harvesting system, which conducts the resource to a tank to be subsequently treated, allowing its later distribution in the venue's sanitary units.

• Reuse of water resources in events Additionally, in alliance with our collaborating company Venues Snacks, we perform the collection of excess ice, which is reused in cleaning and irrigation activities. This practice allows us to significantly reduce the consumption of potable water in these tasks, reaffirming our commitment to the responsible use of water resources.

4. Complementary sustainable practices

With each of the sustainable practices developed within the Arena, we seek to reduce the carbon footprint, contribute to the care and protection of our natural resources, and involve our artists, collaborators, allies, and visitors. These strategies are focused on:

• Sustainable transport for attendees and artists Sustainable transportation, seeking to reduce the amount of polluting gases.

• Urban Garden "The Heart of Bogotá" Production of vegetables and aromatics in the urban garden "The Heart of Bogotá."

• Movistar Arena Forest: Environmental compensation Tree planting in the name of our artists in the Movistar Arena forest.

• Cap donation program: Social and environmental impact Donation of caps to a partner Foundation that provides protection for animals in street situations.

How to be part of the environmental change in events?

Each of these pillars and strategies makes our arena a center for sustainable events, contributing significantly to the protection and care of the environment. Now that you know them, would you like to be part of the change and make the planet a better stage?