Croke Park
The sustainability journey at Croke Park Stadium began in 2007 and has put in place state-of-the-art environmental programmes covering the stadium’s electricity, waste, and water management systems with the aim of reducing emissions by two thirds.
100% WASTE DIVERSION
Croke Park achieved full waste diversion from landfill in 2014, and 100% of stadium waste is recycled, reused, or recovered as solid fuel. In the past five years there has been a 12% reduction in the amount of waste produced, and compost made from stadium food and grass waste is made available to local residents and community groups. After Covid, we also restarted a partnership with Dublin City Council and WEEE Ireland to provide a post-Christmas recycling scheme for the local community.
Peter McKenna, Croke Park Stadium Director, explains: “Croke Park is committed to act with the understanding that we are each dependent on one another and that all business ought to be conducted as if people and place matter. Our focus in this area brings an awareness of a new way to measure business success.”
REFILL YOUR WATER BOTTLE
In 2021, 23 water bottle filling-points were installed throughout the stadium, with seven more stations installed in 2023. Staff, volunteers, and supporters are encouraged to bring their own empty water bottles to matches, thereby further reducing the amount of plastic rubbish that is generated on match days. To facilitate cyclists, more than
100 cycle racks have been installed at the Cusack Stand side of the stadium and more are currently being placed at the Davin Stand side.
All stadium departments meet monthly to monitor sustainability objectives and practices, and the Croke Park Community Fund supports local projects. Since 2009, over €1 million has been allocated to local voluntary groups, resident associations, and sports clubs. Croke Park also partners with An Garda Síochána on the Garda Youth Awards, and works with the North East Inner City group on improving the physical environment of the local area.
CUTTING OUT DIESEL MOWERS
We recently replaced our diesel mowers with a range of battery powered mowers. They make less noise and their low CO2 footprint will enhance stadium sustainability. Turf for pitch maintenance and replacement is grown on an ownedfarm in North County Dublin, and growing the turf locally reduces carbon emissions associated with importation. The farm also grows herbs and vegetables which are served to meeting and event guests. Compost from stadium food and grass waste is used in our polytunnel and for nourishing native fruit trees and shrubs.
SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION
Croke Park has been a champion for sustainability, not just in Ireland but on a global scale maintaining sustainable event management and environmental management standards for over a decade. Croke Park is playing its part as a socially responsible citizen and promotes the message that we all belong here in this place. We belong not because of who we are, or where we come from, but knowing we are part of a community.
LEARNING FROM OTHERS
In 2023 Payzone engaged in a partnership with Charities Institute Ireland (Cii) as part of our commitment to expand our CSR activity and make a difference. This partnership allows us to engage with charities and corporates, it creates a space to share learnings and best practices for corporate fundraising.
To mark the beginning of our partnership with Cii, Payzone hosted a Lunch and Learn in May where we invited leaders in the sector to discuss the importance of mutually beneficial partnerships and the key elements of building longterm strategic corporate charity relationships. During the session, we heard from Mary O’Kennedy of OK Consulting on how the evergrowing focus on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors as a key strategic pillar for corporates is leading to an increase in values-aligned and mutually beneficial partnerships between corporates and charities. Companies are expected to not only maximise profits but also prioritise sustainable and responsible practices.
One of the key takeaways from the session was that it is imperative that the chosen charity and corporate partner have similar values, and a shared purpose to effectively drive support for the charity.
BRINGING STAFF ALONG
In 2022, we decided to change our approach to corporate giving. We wanted an all-organisation approach, to get our employees more invested and involved in the selection process. We shared a list of charities from three differing categories — Mental Health, Family Services, and Health — with our Payzone employees and asked them to select one option from each category that they would like to support in 2023. Our employees choose The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Aoibheann’s Pink Tie and Alone as our charity partners for 2023.
STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE
Payzone’s first initiative as part of our new corporate giving journey was sponsoring The Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s Waterford Greenway Challenge on 1 July 2023. Participants cycled 46km from Dungarvan to Waterford City to raise vital funds for services to support those living with dementia. Getting involved in this campaign was important to Payzone, as it is to many. Every day in Ireland, 30 people develop dementia, while there are more than 64,000 people currently living with dementia.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Building on their relationship, Payzone has now committed to a three-year support partnership for the annual Memory Walk organised by The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. The fourth annual event takes place this year on 24 September across 30 locations around the country. It is a familyfriendly event suitable for all ages. The aim is to unite friends, families and communities to raise awareness and funds for dementia supports.
Payzone is proud to support the Memory Walk, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s flagship event. Unfortunately, many at Payzone have first-hand experience of the effects
that Alzheimer’s can have, a reason The Alzheimer Society of Ireland was voted as one of Payzone’s charity partners by our employees. The team at Payzone is excited to come together this September, honour and celebrate those with dementia, and raise much-needed funds for continued support.
DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS
Payzone recently launched a new ‘all-in-one’ fundraising platform to help charities, businesses, schools and clubs better manage their fundraising activities. In the making for over two years, with a charity-led development approach, Payzone aims to allow charities to fundraise in a more secure and efficient manner.
Payzone has facilitated electronic payments for over 20 years and is bringing over two decades of customer payments experience to the fundraising sector, offering fundraisers support to securely incorporate digital transformation into their activity. Payzone’s fundraising platform bridges the physical and virtual worlds, allowing individuals and corporates to support their chosen causes using multiple digitally-enabled tools for collecting funds.
Payzone provided crucial help to charities during the Covid pandemic, enabling donations that would typically happen in the physical world to keep flowing through digital mediums. This work formed the genesis that inspired and led to the development of the new fundraising platform.
Jim Deignan, Chief Executive Officer, Payzone Ireland, explains: “Through our discussions with charities and their corporate partners, we recognised that many of their fundraising activities are being managed using multiple platforms, which makes monitoring and reporting very challenging for both parties. We identified a gap in the market for a single all-in-one fundraising platform to manage and track their impact more effectively.”
To date, monies fundraised by charities and non-profits have come from disparate sources, making them difficult to
track and measure impact. Payzone highlights how its new platform allows for all fundraising initiatives to be managed in one place, on a single platform, saving organisations both valuable time and money. For both charities and corporate partners, the platform promotes greater visibility on funds raised. A key feature of the platform enables all fundraising activity to be tracked, monitored, and reported on from one place, with donations paid directly to the bank account of the charity.
In addition, the new platform is also designed to facilitate other cashless fundraising touchpoints such as campaignspecific QR Codes, NFC (Near Field Communication) tags, virtual payments over the phone and campaign links to increase donations.
In building out its new offering, Payzone has already successfully supported a number of other recent fundraising campaigns with charities such as GOAL, Make-A-Wish Ireland, and Look Good Feel Better.
Commenting on the new fundraising platform, David Burns, Senior Fundraising Manager at GOAL, said: “We partnered with Payzone to support our corporate partner, AIB, in its recent Ukraine appeal to staff which has raised €93,000. We were really impressed with the platform and how it supported our relationship with AIB. We found Payzone’s fundraising solution easy and intuitive to use, clean and professional looking. The Payzone platform supported our own GOAL branding which increased our visibility in the partnership with AIB which is a unique feature of this platform.”