RECYCLING GROWTH
- 2025 has already recycled 25,960 kg by September - 73% more than all of 2024 (14,999 kg). Fun fact: That’s about 5 parking spaces worth of landfill footprint kept free!
NEW WASTE STREAMS CAPTURED
- 2025 added batteries, cans, and e-waste. Fun fact: Recycling 282 kg of batteries prevents enough toxic heavy metals to contaminate the water for 1,000+ people for a year.
ELECTRONICS & BATTERY DISPOSAL IMPROVED
- Electronics: 76 kg → 564 kg.
- Batteries: 0 → 282 kg. Fun fact: Recycling electronics avoids mining of precious metals - 1 ton of e-waste can yield more gold than 17 tons of ore!
REUSABLE BEER PINT CUPS (JUN–SEP 2025)
- 3,571 reusable cups collected.
- Prevented ~64 kg of plastic waste. Fun fact: That’s like removing the plastic equivalent of 4,000 water bottles from circulation.
WASTE MANAGEMENT & REDUCTION
- General Waste Reduced by 24% Year-on-Year (YOY) through improved processes and fan-facing recycling efforts.
- 15,057 kg of Waste Recycled (plastic, cardboard, and glass) in the past year — a 29% increase YOY.
- Mega Pint Return Program: Fans are incentivized to reuse their branded cups across events, reducing single-use plastics in the venue.
- Fan-Facing Recycling Stations: Strategically placed throughout the arena with playful signage under the “Cheering for Sustainability” campaign.
- Increase of all waste streams recycling process by dedicated cleaners to pick up plastic waste and waste segregation at recycling room
- 2024 (full year): 14,923 kg
- 2025 : 24,920 kg
- Already 67% more recycling than all of 2024, and the year isn’t finished yet.
WATER & PLASTIC WASTE ELIMINATION
- Air2Water Machine Installed in the production office — capable of producing clean drinking water from air humidity. Over time, this could eliminate the need for up to 22,000 single-use plastic bottles annually.
TICKETING & TECHNOLOGY
- 100% Digital Ticketing Transition has helped eliminate paper tickets, reduce waste, and streamline event entry.
- Beaconless Entry System via the Yas Island app reduces infrastructure needs and lowers power consumption.
HIGHER DIVERSION RATE
- Diversion nearly doubled:.
- 2024: 8.4%
- 2025 (Jan–Sep): 15.6%
Fun fact: That’s like turning almost 1 in every 6 bags of trash into something useful instead of dumping it.
STRONGER PLASTIC & GLASS RECOVERY
- Plastics recycled: 5,770 kg vs 3,118 kg in 2024.
- Glass recovery: 3,590 kg vs 600 kg in 2024. Fun fact: Recycling that much glass is like saving enough energy to power 40 homes for a month.
SWITCH TO 100% BIODEGRADABLE PAPER CUPS
- Eliminated 113,000 plastic cups (~1,356 kg of plastic) from 2024 usage. Fun fact: That’s about 3.66 metric tons CO₂e saved.
REUSABLE CUP PROGRAM (MEGA PINT CUPS)
- Started in End of May and rolled out for certain events, collected about 3,571 cup
- Plastic avoided: 64–71 kg
- CO₂ saved: 386–429 kg CO₂
CARBON & UTILITIES
- 13% Reduction in Carbon Emissions Per Head, calculated from overall utility consumption and waste generated.
- LED & Motion-Sensor Lighting in back-of-house areas help reduce unnecessary electricity use.
- Optimized HVAC & Water-Saving Fixtures across all restrooms and backstage areas.
- 10. Installation of new meters, sensors along with a new energy management system to monitor and optimise building energy use (Installation work on going)
- Total meters - 402 units
- Total sensors - 60 nos
INFRASTRUCTURE & CERTIFICATION
- ESTIDAMA Pearl Rating: Etihad Arena was designed and built to meet the 2 Pearl Estidama sustainability standard – the UAE’s benchmark for green building performance.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
- In-venue signage and digital messaging drive behavioral change among fans, encouraging better recycling habits in a fun and accessible way.
- Sustainable operations are supported in collaboration with artists, promoters, and F&B partners who are aligned with our environmental goals.
