AIPC CEO Sven Bossu says progress depends on all parties agreeing on standards for measurement
Venue energy is a big challenge for venues wanting to become carbon-zero, as they are dependent on a number of factors which are not necessarily within their control. The volatility of energy prices, as seen over the last year, helps to make the case and move forward. Measurement remains a key issue.
Energy prices, especially in Europe, have been subject to extreme volatility over the last year. The wholesale price of electricity in Germany for example, went from €129 per megawatt-hour in April 2022 to €469 in August of the same year, before dropping again to €130 in March.
As a result, energy has become much more than just a line in the budget and it is not unlikely that it will be the CFO taking the lead in addressing the energy challenge in many convention centres.
Typically, venues will go through a number of phases, the first one trying to save energy. This requires taking a couple of steps back and questioning procedures and processes in place. Sustainable IT is definitely an area to consider – just have a walk around the venue at night and detect all the devices still using energy without any need. Another one is to sit down with event organisers and agree on the temperature required – reducing from 20°C to 19°C can make a serious difference when it comes to large surfaces.
The second phase will consist of moving to renewable energy, either via the grid or on site. It is interesting to note that trade frictions and competition between US, China and Europe are triggering European authorities to come up with a mechanism for companies to be supplied with cheap electricity from offshore wind farms, as Chinese companies for example have 50% lower energy bills than their European competitors.
While there is a clear dependency with geographical location and the rationale is not to become carbon zero, such mechanisms do offer a long-term solution to achieve that objective.
However, the big difference will be made by venues moving to renewable energy on site, both from a sustainability and a financial perspective. Many venues are investigating putting in place solar, thermal, wind or other sources of energy. Here, it is important to realise that the majority of the venues will need to implement a mix of solutions and that local legislation needs to be looked into. Just to give an example: energy sharing between buildings, even if owned by the same company, is not allowed in all countries.
Independently of the solutions chosen, the next big hurdle will be the measurement. Event organisers are increasingly asking venues to provide data on the energy usage for their events, in order to demonstrate sustainability efforts on their level. This comes with a number of challenges: not all venues are equipped with sufficient meters to provide this data and even if meters are in place, assumptions still need to be applied.
Just to give an example: how do you split up the energy used by the catering facilities over the different events – with preparing sandwiches requiring less energy than a buffet? When it comes to measurement, it will be important to come to a number of standards which all parties agree on.
The good news is that this is being addressed via the Net Zero Carbon Event initiative, more specifically the Venue Energy Workstream. It once again demonstrates that our industry can make a major difference by working together.
