The roof of the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine is being fitted with a photovoltaic system. In an interview with STADIAWORLD, Magda Pozzo, CCO at Udinese Calcio, talks about the project as well as the club’s general sustainability endeavours.
Stadiaworld: At the end of September 2023, you entered into a comprehensive partnership with the energy supplier Bluenergy. In addition to the naming right, the main focus was on sustainability. What conclusions can you draw after almost six months?
Magda Pozzo
image: Udinese Calcio
Stadiaworld: You talked about making the stadium one of the most sustainable in Europe. How exactly do you want to achieve this and what measures have you already implemented?
Pozzo: Our goal is to make Bluenergy Stadium the first carbon neutral stadium in Italy and among the very first in Europe. It’s a long process but we’re fully committed to this. We started by supplying our energy from renewable sources as well as a widespread system of separate waste collection, not only in the club offices, but in all areas of the stadium which we’re also introducing for matchdays. Of course, the construction of the solar park will help a great deal in us achieving the goal of becoming a carbon neutral stadium.
Stadiaworld: In February 2024, you announced plans to build a solar power system on the stadium roof. Can you outline the project and provide a few key figures such as the number of panels, total area or the amount of the produced electricity?
Pozzo: We’ve never seen a project like this in Italy. Starting from this spring, we will install 2,409 solar panels on the roof of the stadium, without compromising the safety of the facility or how matchdays unfold in anyway. This will allow us to have a facility capable of generating the production of 1,100,000 kWh of energy per year. That’s a very significant number as it will be enough to cover the entire energy needs for some matches.
A photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof of the Bluenergy Stadium.
image: Petrussi
Stadiaworld: Are there any other specific projects that you have planned for the near future? In relation to the stadium as well as the club?
Pozzo: From summer 2024 Bluenergy Stadium will once again host major concerts, as has been the case in the past, including the great international star Zucchero. We strongly believe in these initiatives – they enhance Bluenergy Stadium’s aim to be a modern and vibrant facility that operates 365 days a year and serves as a point of reference for the community. In fact, with the arrival of the new municipal administration, we also hope to be able to proceed with the Stadium 2.0 project. This involves the construction, in a 20,000 m2 area, of a nursery, swimming pools, gyms and a medical centre, which will be a great service for the community. The project is ready to begin but has stalled due to bureaucracy. We hope to complete it soon.
Stadiaworld: How are you addressing the issue of sustainability with fans and visitors of the stadium? Are there campaigns on match days? If so, which ones?
Pozzo: It’s one of our next objectives. The biggest challenge is to constantly increase the involvement of our fans so that they become more and more aware of the subject of sustainability. Implementing separate waste collection in every area of the stadium, including on matchdays, is an important step in this regard. We also aim to organise initiatives with the fans focused on this theme, which will perhaps also involve the players. Football’s media impact is huge and the duty of the sport is to convey these positive messages to fans. It’s already been mentioned many times but four years ago we became the first Macron-sponsored club in the world to create a football shirt using only eco-sustainable fabric, which now inspires the over 200 Macron clubs around the world who use them. We were especially keen to make this move as it would raise awareness among our fans – they see the Udinese shirt as a real symbol for them. What’s more, for the last two seasons our hospitality areas, which are among the most renowned across the world, have all been plastic-free.
The topic of sustainability will also be addressed on match day at the Bluenergy Stadium.
image: Petrussi
Stadiaworld: In New York and Oxford two clubs, New York City FC and Oxford FC, are planning an all-electric stadium. Do such considerations also play a role for you?
Pozzo: They’re very interesting and groundbreaking projects. At Udinese, innovation is part of the DNA so we’re always eager to look into, in collaboration with Bluenergy and all our partners, solutions that make us increasingly green. This is why the Brand Finance Football Sustainability Index has placed us as the most sustainable club in Serie A and the fourth in the world. Also, for a few months now, we have been ranked among the 20 members (out of 450 applications) of the prestigious Committee ECA for sustainability. Through this we aim to acquire more and more experiences that we can put to good use. (STADIAWORLD, 25.03.2024)