Sustainability

Oak View Group and Canada Life Place is committed to being environmentally responsible and reducing our impact with green initiatives.

Canada Life Place became a member of Green Operations & Advanced Leadership (GOAL) sustainability program in 2022. The GOAL sustainability program, founded by Oak View Group (OVG), the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena, Fenway Sports Group, and green building expert Jason F. McLennan, includes a collective of major venues from across the globe who have joined the fight for social impact, climate action, and responsible change. As a member of GOAL, we are committed to leading, learning, collaborating, and, in all cases, making a positive impact on their communities and for the planet.

 

Canada Life Place is a current member of the Green Sports Alliance and are actively participating in an energy reduction program through EnerNOC for demand response in Ontario. Below are a few things we are currently doing and involved with, along with a look at future projects.

WASTE

  • Recycling program includes separation of food waste, cardboard, cans, and bottles.
  • Food waste (organics) are collected from our main kitchen and all our suite locations diverting approximately 4.5 metrics tons of food waste yearly.
  • Cardboard is separated and bailed diverting 15 metric tons per year of cardboard from landfills.
  • Cans, bottles, and plastic cups are separated diverting 19 metric tons yearly from landfills.
  • Luxury suites use compostable utensils, cups, plates, napkins, soup containers and take out containers.

ENERGY

  • A total of 4,434 light bulbs, 237 ballast, and 1,823 batteries have been Recycled since 2009
  • Use post-consumer recycled paper products.
  • Summer 2017 removal of 112 metal halide sports lights to be replaced By LED sports lighting, this will reduce consumption and the strain of Hydro by 345.000 kWh per year.
  • Main bowl lights are LED with various modes that allow us to drop them down or brighten them up. Only 100% lighting for hockey and basketball games, and if another event requires it.
  • Emergency and office lights are LED.
  • LED exterior lighting retrofit.
  • London Knights Green Game.

WATER & ICE PLANT

  • An upgraded Reverse Osmosis water treatment system has reduced the amount of electricity and water needed to maintain the ice while increasing the quality of ice.
  • We use steam to heat our water in the building.
  • Ice plant start-up of compressors are sequenced to reduce start up load
  • Have minimized use of the third compressor on non-game days and is only used during games. This is done by a lock out system which drops the horsepower of our refrigeration system allowing us to conserve energy.
  • Utilize a nighttime set back which is a warmer ice temperature to reduce compressor load during off hours, essentially saving hydro.
  • Keep ice at an inch and a quarter, which is industry standard, to provide proper heat transfer resulting in less hydro consumption in our plant.
  • Shut off certain HVACs and compressors to decrease hydro consumption in the building during peak performance hours.
  • Fast ice system on the Zamboni we use during floods, so the water can fast freeze allowing the plant to run on less energy.
  • Increased ice temperature in “covered” mode during concerts and other non-ice events
  • Energy efficient appliances such as dishwashers.
  • Fridges not used during summer months are unplugged.

FILTA

  • OVG Hospitality has partnered with Filta to use two of their services; FiltaFry and FiltaBio which have had a significant reduction on their environmental impact. FiltaFry is an eco-friendly, mobile onsite service for the micro-filtration of cooking oil, the vacuum-based cleaning of deep fryers, and full fryer management.  Oil is an expensive consumable that has a limited lifespan.  Crumbs, salt, and other impurities introduced to the oil through the deep frying process, reduce the lifespan of the oil, requiring frequent oil changes.  Using FiltaFry to filter out the impurities extends its usefulness and useable life cycle – decreasing the dependency on new oil.
    • From August 2018 to June 29, 2019 Canada Life Place saved 17,652 pounds of oil with the FiltaFry service and collected and recycled 3,570 pounds of waste oil with the FiltaBio service.  The reduced coking oil usage has led to a 1,008lbs of packaging savings, a reduction in greenhouse gases of 21,018lbs and 1,450lbs of fertilizer and pesticides which when all combines is the equivalent of planting 1,049 trees!

*The program was suspended during our Covid shutdown but was restarted in 2022.

GREEN INITIATIVES

  • Living Wall – In 2019, Canada Life Place partnered with New Earth Solutions to have a living wall installed on the 100-level main concourse of the venue. The wall, which measures 18’-5” x 7’-5”, is located across from the King Club and is made up of a variety of plants including; Arboricola plants, Crotons, Ficus and others. In addition to the esthetic benefit, living walls have been found to help purify the air, reduce stress and increase the feeling of wellbeing.
  • Green Game – We have hosted a Green Game during each of the last 3 London Knight’s seasons. As part of the Green Game we undertake the following initiatives:
  • Partner with the London Transit Commission (LTC) to offer free bus transportation for all fans and staff by showing a valid game ticket. This runs from 5pm through end of service.
  • Saves For Trees – we partner with ReForest London and commit to planting a tree for every save that the London Knight’s goaltender makes during the game. This total is then matched by our Downtown BIA who sponsor the game. Through 3 games we have been able to plant over 110 trees!
  • Offer free concourse space for venue and community partners who help support our sustainability initiatives