ACC Liverpool secures £1.4m green funding

The money will be used to retrofit the M&S Bank Arena and the adjacent convention complex, with plans to save more than 4,200 tonnes of carbon across the buildings’ lifetimes.

The ACC Liverpool Group, operator of the M&S Bank Arena, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, and the convention centre, is set to receive £1.4m from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, delivered by Salix Finance.

The money from the Department for Energy, Security, and Net Zero has been awarded to Liverpool City Council as owners of the campus.

As a result of the funding, the organisation will replace the hot water boilers in the arena and convention centre with air-sourced heat pumps in order to reduce carbon emissions and maintenance costs. These plans are in line with the group’s goal to achieve net zero status by 2030.

Eddie dos Santos, director of operations and venue management at The ACC Liverpool Group, said: “Environment, sustainability, and climate action are key focuses for our Social Value Impact Plan, which we launched in 2021.

“We have already made significant progress across the campus with a number of initiatives and are striving to implement as many changes as we can to make events that we host as sustainable as possible for organisers and visitors.”

CorEnergy will carry out the project.

Tom Griffin, managing director of CorEnergy, said: “Having worked closely with The ACC Liverpool Group over the previous 12 months, CorEnergy is very pleased to continue our relationship with the organisation to support its journey towards Net Zero.

The project is a fantastic example of how a multi-technology approach involving LED lighting and controls and air-sourced heat pumps  can be used to drive material carbon savings and reduce energy costs.”

Simon Pettett, assistant director of programmes at Salix Finance, added: “Salix is delighted to be able to support this project and work with the city council on its decarbonisation journey and meeting the challenges around meeting net zero.

“This work should have a significant impact, reducing the carbon emissions, and making these buildings more comfortable buildings in which to work.”

This is not the first step that ACC Liverpool has taken towards sustainability and decarbonisation. The organisation recently installed LED lights across the waterfront campus and aims to support the development of super low carbon events and reduce single-use plastics.

In February, ACC Liverpool also became the first large-scale conference venue in the UK to join Isla, an independent industry body created to support the events sector’s transition to a net-zero future.

Liverpool City Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, said: “I’m delighted that The ACC Liverpool Group is taking decarbonisation extremely seriously and is making as many changes as possible to how it operates and functions.

“It’s a great example of how a business can reduce its carbon footprint whilst continuing to be successful.”

The ACC Liverpool Group owns the waterfront venues and is set to receive £1.4m from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, delivered by Salix Finance.

As a result of the funding, the organisation will replace the hot water boilers in the arena and convention centre with air-sourced heat pumps in order to reduce carbon emissions and maintenance costs. These plans are in line with the council-owned group’s goal to achieve Net Zero status by 2030.

Eddie dos Santos, director of operations and venue management at The ACC Liverpool Group, said: “Environment, sustainability, and climate action are key focuses for our Social Value Impact Plan, which we launched in 2021.

“We have already made significant progress across the campus with a number of initiatives and are striving to implement as many changes as we can to make events that we host as sustainable as possible for organisers and visitors.”

CorEnergy will carry out the project.

Tom Griffin, managing director of CorEnergy, said: “Having worked closely with The ACC Liverpool Group over the previous 12 months, CorEnergy is very pleased to continue our relationship with the organisation to support its journey towards Net Zero.

The project is a fantastic example of how a multi-technology approach involving LED lighting and controls and air-sourced heat pumps  can be used to drive material carbon savings and reduce energy costs.”

Simon Pettett, assistant director of programmes at Salix Finance, added: “Salix is delighted to be able to support this project and work with the city council on its decarbonisation journey and meeting the challenges around meeting net zero.

“This work should have a significant impact, reducing the carbon emissions, and making these buildings more comfortable buildings in which to work.”

This is not the first step that ACC Liverpool has taken towards sustainability and decarbonisation. The organisation recently installed LED lights across the waterfront campus and aims to support the development of super low carbon events and reduce single-use plastics.

In February, ACC Liverpool also became the first large-scale conference venue in the UK to join Isla, an independent industry body created to support the events sector’s transition to a net-zero future.

Liverpool City Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, said: “I’m delighted that The ACC Liverpool Group is taking decarbonisation extremely seriously and is making as many changes as possible to how it operates and functions.

“It’s a great example of how a business can reduce its carbon footprint whilst continuing to be successful.”