Driving Stadium Performance Improvements by Optimising Sustainability Certification Systems and Green Building Rating Schemes

Annes Elsa Francis; Cheryl Desha; Savindi Caldera; Irfaan Peerun; Chamari Jayarathna

doi:10.3390/su18073550

Back

Driving Stadium Performance Improvements by Optimising Sustainability Certification Systems and Green Building Rating Schemes

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Driving Stadium Performance Improvements by Optimising Sustainability Certification Systems and Green Building Rating Schemes

Annes Elsa Francis, Cheryl Desha, Savindi Caldera, Irfaan Peerun and Chamari Jayarathna

Sustainability, Vol.18(7), pp.1-27

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su18073550

Files and links (1)

pdf

sustainability-18-03550-v3670.46 kBDownload View

Published Version Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

stadiums

built environment

sustainability

environmentally sustainable stadiums

sustainability certifications

green building rating schemes

Due to their unique structural and operational characteristics, stadiums create substantial environmental impacts throughout their lifecycle. Assessing the environmental sustainability (ES) of stadiums is important to identify opportunities for targeted improvements and enabling a transition towards environmentally sustainable stadiums (ESSs). This paper investigates how sustainability certification systems and green building rating schemes (GBRSs) can be optimised for effective application in stadiums to improve ES outcomes. A qualitative exploratory approach using in-depth semi-structured interviews, followed by the thematic analysis of qualitative data using NVivo, was applied to examine the suitability of existing certifications and rating systems in stadiums. Twenty stadium and sustainability experts from diverse global regions participated in semi-structured interviews. Three overarching themes emerged, offering insights into how ES certifications and GBRSs can be optimised for use in stadium settings. These themes encompass the ES challenges that stadiums face and the benefits and limitations of existing assessment tools. This study identified " Green Operations and Advanced Leadership " (GOAL) as the only sustainability certification designed specifically for application in venues and stadiums. This paper proposes a set of recommendations to improve the application of certifications and GBRSs in stadiums. These recommendations enable designers, stadium owners, and decision makers to advance stadium sustainability through the more effective use of certification frameworks and rating systems.

Details

Title: Driving Stadium Performance Improvements by Optimising Sustainability Certification Systems and Green Building Rating Schemes
Authors: Annes Elsa Francis - Griffith University
Cheryl Desha - Griffith University
Savindi Caldera (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Irfaan Peerun - Griffith University
Chamari Jayarathna - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Sustainability, Vol.18(7), pp.1-27
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.3390/su18073550
ISSN: 2071-1050
Copyright note: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Data Availability: The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because of confidentiality reasons.
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991216650802621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

1 Record Views