Hydro goes greener as it gets new name
Glasgow's biggest concert arena has pledged to step up its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint after being rebranded by an energy firm.
OVO Energy, which has secured the naming rights to the 14,000-capacity Hydro on the Clyde Waterfront, say they will be working with the venue to reduce its environmental impact.
The £125 million complex opened its doors in 2013 and quickly became the world’s second busiest concert venue, after Madison Square Garden in New York.
The OVO Hydro is expected to welcome more than 1.2 million ticket-holders through its doors in 2022 – more than ever before – for shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Shawn Mendes, Little Mix, Billie Eilish, Ozzy Ozbourne, The Weekend, Dua Lipa, Blondie, Simple Minds and Anne-marie. However, management at the venue are bidding to secure official "greener arena" certification from a global initiative aimed at helping events, festivals, and venues become more sustainable and reduce their impact on the environment.
A Greener Festival have previously assessed more than 400 events around the world.
Early measures taken include a paperless ticketing system for the venue’s postcovid reopening, ensuring 80 per cent of food on sale is grown in Scotland using sustainable and responsible processes, and the planting of more than 170,000 trees over the past decade.
OVO Energy has taken over SSE’S long-term commercial partnership with the Hydro, part of the wider Scottish Event Campus, in the wake of a £500 million deal last year to buy SSE'S retail arm.
The company, which is now the third biggest energy supplier
in the UK, said it would be available to offer nearly five million customers “amazing benefits” for shows at the venue.
Bill Mcfadyen, director of finance and development
at the SEC, said: “OVO are the perfect partner for SEC to help achieve our sustainable goals and objectives.” Colin Banks, head of sponsorship and partnerships at OVO said: “We want to develop purposeful partnerships which reflect our commitment to make zero carbon living a reality - not just in the home, but in the things we love doing too.”