This week, we're getting hot and sweaty for the sake of sustainability. How's it going? Thank you so much for hitting play on Earth Care the podcast where we have climate conscious conversations in a not so overwhelming way. I'm your host, Sarah Christie and welcome to episode four of the Sustainability and the live music Industry series. Now, before I introduce you to this week's guest, I just wanna extend the biggest.
Thank you to you. Whether you've listened before, whether this is your first time hitting play, I really do appreciate your time and that you're joining this conversation. Swg three is a venue in Glasgow Scotland that embodies the creative innovation that a green future calls for in your conversations about sustainability. The phrase use what you have may
have come up. This call to action is a big proponent of waste reduction because it isn't dependent on more, right, more extraction, more emissions, more waste, which yeah, it can easily be put in motion on an individual level. You don't have food containers to store leftovers. Great. I'll just use old jars and old take out containers that I have ran out of rags. No problem. I'll cut up an old T shirt and
turn that into rags. But what does that look like for a venue though, especially one of Scotland's busiest venues that welcomes 250 1000 people year round. In 2021 swg three began their substantial shift towards Net zero. They began measuring the carbon footprint of their operation to better understand their environmental impact.
With that. They developed a baseline that allows them to continuously move that sustainability needle as a business, they want guests to keep dancing, they want to keep working and have made it their mission to operate in a manner that recognizes the climate crisis. By 2022 swg three caught the world's attention by introducing a form of renewable energy that no other venue had tapped into. They started using the heat generated by all of the dancing fans.
Body heat. I remember reading about that here in Canada and a being so jealous that it wasn't here. It was all the way in Scotland and B being so energized at the fun strides being made for the environment. Body heat is just one of the items on the very long and growing list of systems in place that are getting swg three closer to
net zero. I'm so thrilled to introduce you to Hannah George sustainability coordinator at SWG three who is here to break down how exactly body heat works, what other green practices are in place and what's next for SWG three's sustainable journey. Here it is episode four of the sustainability and the live music industry series on Earth Care with Hannah George. Hannah George sustainability coordinator over at SWG three. How are you doing? I'm good,
thanks. Yeah, how are
you? I'm great. I, like I said, so excited, beyond excited to be talking with you right now. Can you tell me as we get into it just to kick it all off the back story on SWG three deciding to kickstart the journey to going to Net
Zero. Back in 2021 SWG three hosted the New York Times climate hub during COP 26. So that was, it is a really big turning point for us. We began to ask ourselves the question, you know, are we doing enough for the environment? Yes, we're recycling. Yes, we're trying to be energy efficient. But is that enough? And I think the truth is we could always be doing more.
So that's when we decided to start our journey to going Net zero and just looking at all aspects of sustainability across the venue and across our events,
what is the capacity of the venue?
So we have four different venues within our venue. So, so the largest is around 1500 the smallest is around 100 and 25. So we can put on a huge kind of range of events and there is a really big diversity in the kind of events that we get at the venue and
a lot of potential for waste for a venue that size. That is a large number, right? So when you are thinking about this transition, I am wondering what were some of the roadblocks that or the hurdles that you had to overcome to really start chipping away at this mission?
Yeah, I think anyone who has tried to implement will probably agree that one of the biggest hurdles is behavior change. So it can be difficult to kind of get people on board with change with sustainable change. That's kind of different to business as usual or what they have expected when they've been to the venue before or
other venues. So yeah, whether that's like a different recycling system or reusable cup system, um it all kind of takes a level of communication, but I think there's definitely like a slow but certain change in people's attitudes towards environmental issues and people are being more open to these changes as they become more common in other venues and around the place as well. Definitely starting to see a shift in
that, right? And communication plays such a major role and you think about it for an event space, right? You have to be communicating with your entire team, but also the guests who are then coming and letting them know about all of the new projects you have in place like body heat, which was implemented in 2022. Can you walk me through this technology? How, what is it, how does it work?
Yeah, definitely. Body heat is a thermal heating and cooling system. Basically, it allows us to harness body heat from club and gig goers and guests attending our events. So essentially the heat from our venues is transported using a carrier of fluid through a closed network of pipes to heat pumps in a plant room. And then that heat is then
stored 200 m underground in our 12 boreholes. And then when that energy is ready to be used, it can travel back to the heat pumps where it's upgraded to a suitable temperature and then it's emitted back into our spaces. So that was a very brief rundown. But I hope that makes sense.
Dancing is encouraged, sweaty is sustainable, you know, the sweatier, the better is that what you're saying here?
Definitely. Yeah, we kind of realized like, I mean, anyone who's been to a club will know how hot it gets in there. Um So we, yeah, we just thought, let's see what we can do. How do we harness that, how we use it?
I was laughing when I was uh doing some prep for this interview because I read that you often get asked, does it smell and does
it? No, it doesn't. So all we're capturing is the heat. We're not capturing the sweat or the smell or anything like that. So yeah, actually it
doesn't smell. How long did this take to install? Because this sounds like a major project. Yeah, it
was so I wasn't actually sure when body heat was being implemented, but as a rough timeline, I think it took around two years from kind of the initial idea to the installation. And this is very much a project that began during lockdown when the venue wasn't able to operate. So, um you know, we were thinking, what, what can we do with this time? How can we work towards our sustainability goals? And it was kind of like a perfect opportunity to focus on a much bigger project like this and that
required that time and resource. Wow,
turning lemons into lemonade for sure. Was this the first of its kind, I've, I've never read about anything like this. Yeah.
As far as we know, um this is the first of this kind of system that's been implemented in a venue. And the interesting thing is that it does use kind of off the shelf technology. So it uses heat pumps and it uses the kind of technology from geothermal storage to store that energy. So kind of putting different pieces of the puzzle together to create something new. Wow,
that's super cool. Now, you also touched on the reusable cup system that you have in place and you know, for a venue of your size, I imagine there's a lot of upkeep. What is that like for SWG three?
Yeah. So our reusable cup system um only kicked off in December of last year. So it's pretty new. But we've partnered with an amazing company called Stack Up who basically help us with the logistics of the system. So they've also implemented um a similar system in the hydro which is a neighboring venue with 14,000 capacity. So they definitely know what they're doing. And yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to communicating again how the system works with our visitors
through social media and posters. And also making sure we have an effective cup collection system at the end of the night. So we're gathering them all back in to be reused. So
this is for everything you go up to the bar, you order your drink, whether it's whatever beer, uh cocktail water and then it's given to the guest in a reusable cup. Yeah, exactly. And are you guys looking after washing it or is it then given back to your partner that you, that you mentioned that cup
will at the end of the night, take all the cups away and wash them and return them. So, and they're locally based. So yeah, it was a really great kind of partnership,
right? So then you're working with the, you know, within the economy too, for green initiatives, which is so important. I have to tell you about the water bottle that I never leave my house without. This is the most convenient reusable water bottle, it's collapsible. So when you aren't using it, you squish it down into a little disk size and put it in your pocket purse. Fanny pack. Think about when you're traveling and you don't wanna take up too much space in your luggage or hiking and
you don't want to carry around a heavy bag. This bottle is space saving, leak proof, ultra light. Then whenever you pass a water refill station, you expand it hydrate for free and help reduce plastic bottle pollution. My favorite place to bring it is concerts. I take it with me to every show. As long as the venue allows reusable water bottles, then fill it at the concert for free. It's the best though because it's suitable with
venue regulation. It's so small that it fits in your tiny bag, which is perfect since most venues only allow small bags. Now check out the hideaway collapsible water bottle in the show notes and use the discount code podcast for 10% off your first purchase. What is the circular swap shop? How does that work?
Yeah, so that's another recent one. We're not just a venue at SOG three. We also have 23 artist studios on site. We kind of wanted to create a platform for our resident artists to be able to like donate and swap and sell items. So they have a lot of art supplies, books and materials. So yeah, it's just an online platform that we've created for them to kind of be able to share things reduce waste and also kind of contribute to the circular economy.
It sounds like the venue is just leading in that conversation of a circular economy. What about the active travel initiative? What's
that? Our active travel initiative is a strategy that we're kind of in the process of developing, to encourage our staff and audiences to travel to the venue more sustainably. So it kind of began back in 2022 when we carried out an audit of how our staff travels to the venue and what those behavior patterns look like and kind of asked them, what would they like to see what would encourage them to travel to the venue more sustainably and a lot of that was
to do with um facilities. So this year, we're getting much more cycle parking facilities installed and also looking at ways to engage staff with cycling such as proficiency lessons and bike maintenance workshops. And then hopefully, if the staff program is successful, we can start to expand some of these initiatives and with our audiences as
well. It really sounds like you're just part of such a bigger conversation and leading in so many ways, which is just really encouraging and hopeful to see you're on this journey to be net zero by 2050. What are the goals do I have that correct? 2050 still? So
2030 is our, is our goal that's kind of aligned with the Glasgow City. Um It's your target. So that's what we're aiming
for. So, one of the other goals by 2030 is to be working with artists reducing their touring emissions. Has that started yet? Have you had any artists come to you? For, in that aspect, we
definitely are hearing more artists coming to us and you know, asking what our sustainability credentials are like, what are we doing? But I think there's still a long way to go with that. One of the things that we're doing this year is we've put together a green events guide which is being distributed to every single artist and event organizer that comes into the venue. So essentially this sets out the key areas for environmental consideration.
So like waste energy, food production and kind of giving them tips on ways that they can reduce their environmental impact. How do you
handle the rider situation? Yeah. So
this is kind of our first step in that. It's, it's not something we're mandating, it's just suggestions starting that conversation because I think that's what needs to happen first and then eventually we'll maybe look at including that in more of a formal rider for artists.
Have you had other clubs reach out to you and, and other venues reach out to you trying to follow suit. Yeah.
So we are really kind of connected with um other venues um in the Glasgow scene, I guess. And So we work quite closely with the f concerts who um put on a huge range of uh concerts and events and have their own sustainability strategy. So looking for ways to, you know, align those things to link up with promoters and other venues and yeah, event organizers to find ways that we can collaborate
on this. Because I think that's, that's what this issue needs, it needs kind of that cross sector collaboration.
Yeah. All hands on deck and now that you've had time to really spend in the sustainability space and see it be successful. What do you hope to see more of moving forward from, you know, the live music industry?
Yeah, I think more artists communicating with their audience. I think artists have such an influence. There's only so much we can do as a venue. But I think um if artists are communicating these issues to their audiences, that could have a huge kind of ripple effect. So yeah, I'd love to work with more artists um to see what we can do to make change in the
industry. If I ever find myself in Glasgow swg three is gonna be the first stop on the travel bucket list. Hannah George. Thank you so much for sharing your time with Earth care. It's been such a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you. How much harder would you dance if you knew it was supporting renewable energy? I can't get over how reassuring it is. To learn that innovation like this is successfully in motion
and it's such a populated place. The word we keep going back to in this series is community because that's what live music effortlessly creates. Swg Three has organically welcomed a community of a quarter of a million people annually who are celebrating live events while simultaneously embracing green alternatives. The body heat technology is such an ingenious creation that addresses the climate crisis
without interfering with the norm. You know, you still get to go to the concert, you still get to dance. In fact, it's encouraged, imagine how this technology could be used.
Not if but when it catches on at other venues, gyms, hot yoga studios, schools the mall during the holiday season, when you trekked in from the back of the parking lot and your winter coat, if you live somewhere that gets winter, you know, the technology hasn't made its way to Canada yet, but there are a ton of venues here in Canada, major ones too that allow guests to bring their own reusable water bottles, which is a really simple way to take
climate action. The fans choose to reuse pledge is a call to action that I launched that encourages music lovers and concert goers to bring a reusable water bottle to live music events. Whenever the venue allows it, if you choose to reuse, this is so great, you can prevent up to 156 plastic bottles from being discarded annually, which is important when you hear that 1 million bottles are purchased every minute. If you want to learn more about the pledge, add your name, join that
community of music fans taking action. I'll include the link in the show notes each episode. I promise to do the research. So you don't have to and tell you about more venues across the country that are cool with personal bottles. This is all based on where you want me to look though. So keep messaging me about venues and cities. You're curious about this week's message is from Luke and Edmonton who said he saw Noah Khan at Roger's Place but wasn't
sure if he was allowed to bring his bottle. Not only are you allowed to bring a reusable water bottle there, Roger's Place is actually Lead certified, which is a green certification and one of their other initiatives. This is so neat, ensures prepared but unserved food from events is then donated to the Edmonton Food Bank. So, hey, cheers to reusing at the next concert you go to if you've been enjoying the series so far, I invite you to leave a review rate. This podcast.
This really helps get the word out about the podcast and then encourages new listeners. And if we've been learning anything about this conversation, it's that we need as many people as we can get in these climate conversations and everyone is welcome to them. I truly do appreciate you making time for this conversation. Thank you so much for joining episode four of the sustainability in the live music industry series on Earth Care.
I'm your host, Sarah Christie. I'll talk to you next week when actually, we're taking a deep dive into that lead certification at Canada's largest Convention Center.