AGF awards international venues with Greener Arena certification
We are proud to announce that arenas from across the UK and Europe have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and successfully certified events in 2025. Recipients include Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BE), Co-op Live, Manchester (UK), M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool (UK) and AsiaWorld-Expo (HK).
Receiving certification for a second year are Forest Green Rovers FC, “the world's greenest football club,” according to the UN, and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, the first-ever arena to obtain the certification (in 2022).
Our AGF Certification is the world's first and most comprehensive standard for sustainability in the live events sector, designed to support arenas, festivals, and events in reducing waste, cutting emissions, and enhancing equality and biodiversity.
AGF CEO, Claire O’Neill said:
“Venues are the backbone of the live indoor sector and touring circuit. The more venues that take sustainability seriously, the more artists have a song sheet to sing from that connects with their values and perpetuates a greener event sector for everyone. Hats off to the greener arenas and venues who made the grade in 2025.”
To be certified, venues undertake a thorough assessment using the AGF Framework with self-assessment, site visits, and post-event evidence submitted to AGF’s assessors for an independent auditors’ report. The AGF Framework includes 11 key themes, including local environments, community, travel, food, energy, water, waste, EDI, and governance.
M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Eddie Dos Santos, Director of Operations and Venue Management at the ACC Liverpool Group, said:
“To see the M&S Bank Arena recognised alongside other leaders in sustainability is incredibly rewarding. Our journey has been rooted in making meaningful, measurable change - whether that’s rethinking how we power our events, reducing waste at scale, or working closely with our audiences and partners to protect our local environment. Earning this accreditation reinforces that our approach is working, and it motivates us to keep pushing further. We’re proud to represent Liverpool in this movement and to show that venues like ours can set a positive example for the industry.”
Sara Tomkins, Sustainability & CSR Director, Co-op Live commented:
“We are delighted to see Co-op Live’s focus on giving back to the planet recognised by A Greener Future, testament to the innovative efforts placed in our design, supply chain, and daily operations. Sustainability sits at the very heart of the venue, leading industry-wide conversation on reducing the live entertainment industry’s carbon footprint. We continue to encourage ourselves, our friends, partners, and peers to strive for meaningful positive impact, and indeed a better future."
Arenas making the grade in 2024 are:
Outstanding:
Forest Green Rovers FC’s The New Lawn, Stroud (UK)
Highly Commended:
Co-op Live, Manchester (UK)
M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool (UK)
Commended:
OVO Hydro, Glasgow (UK)
Improvers:
ABBA Voyage (UK)
Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BE)
AO Arena, Manchester (UK)
AsiaWorld-Expo (HK)
P&J Live, Aberdeen (UK)
The International AGF Awards 2026 ceremony will take place during the Green Events & Innovations (GEI18) Conference, in partnership with ILMC, on 24th February in London.
A certification ceremony will take place as a part of the International AGF Awards 2026 ceremony, which is held during the Green Events & Innovations (GEI18) Conference, in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), on 24th February in London.
Arenas who achieve certification are automatically nominated for the International AGF Awards. The event is sponsored by Skydiamond and will feature the most innovative and green-aspiring global events, venues, organisations, and individuals from the last 12 months. Awards include the International Greener Festival Award, supported by Earth Positive Future, the Greener Power Award, supported by GeoPura, and the Greener Arena Award. The shortlist of nominees will be announced in January.
Last year’s roll call included 34 nominees from 14 countries, with nine taking home one of the prestigious awards.
There are more arenas, festivals and events currently completing their assessments, which will be announced in due course, and applications for 2026 assessments are open. Find out more information and apply here.
