Glasgow’s biggest concert venue pledges to go greener as it gets a new name

Glasgow's biggest concert arena has pledged to step up its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint after being rebranded by an energy firm.

OVO Energy, which has secured the naming rights to the 14,000-capacity Hydro on the Clyde Waterfront, say they will be working with the venue to reduce its environmental impact.

The £125 million complex opened its doors in 2013 and quickly became the world’s second busiest concert venue in the world, after Madison Square Garden in New York.

The OVO Hydro is expected to welcome more than 1.2 million ticket-holders through its doors in 2022 – more than ever before – for shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Shawn Mendes, Little Mix, Billie Eilish, Ozzy Ozbourne, The Weekend, Dua Lipa, Blondie, Simple Minds and Anne-Marie.

Glasgow's biggest concert venue has been rebranded.

However management at the venue are bidding to secure official "greener arena" certification from a global initiative aimed at helping events, festivals, and venues become more sustainable and reduce their impact on the environment.

A Greener Festival have previously assessed more than 400 events around the world.

Early measure put in place at the Hydro include a paperless ticketing system for the venue’s post-Covid reopening, ensuring 80 per cent of food on sale is grown in Scotland using sustainable and responsible processes, and the planting of more than 170,000 trees over the last decade.

OVO Energy has taken over SSE’s long-term commercial partnership with the Hydro, part of the wider Scottish Event Campus, in the wake of a £500 million deal last year to buy SSE's retail arm.

The company, which is now the third biggest energy supplier in the UK, said it would be available to offer nearly five million customer “amazing benefits” for shows at the venue.

Bill McFadyen, director of finance and development at the SEC, said: “OVO are the perfect partner for SEC to help achieve our sustainable goals and objectives. We’re working hard to build on our existing, multi-layered sustainability programme and look forward to working with A Greener Festival towards achieving ‘Greener Arena’ Certification’ for the OVO Hydro.

"We’re grateful to OVO for their support towards this incredibly important consultation and certification process and look forward to working together to further strengthen our sustainability credentials, build upon the work we have already done, and make Scotland’s flagship entertainment venue as low impact as possible.”

Colin Banks, head of sponsorship and partnerships at OVO said: “We want to develop purposeful partnerships which reflect our commitment to make zero carbon living a reality - not just in the home, but in the things we love doing too, like going to see our favourite band or comedian.

“That’s why we share in the OVO Hydro’s ambition to help live entertainment in becoming more sustainable. It’ll take time, but together, we want to make lower-impact live events a headline act in their own right and the ‘Greener Arena Certification’ process is an incredibly positive step on that journey.

"We’ll also be supporting the venue in identifying practical ways in which we can help to further reduce its environmental impact, without detracting from the OVO Hydro’s first-class visitor experience.”