Corporate Social Responsibility
ACC Liverpool recognises the role it plays in the local community and economy and has a strong corporate social responsibility agenda. Not only is the venue amongst the greenest in Europe, but ACC Liverpool has a positive remit to support Liverpool, Merseyside and Northwest-based employees and businesses.
ACC Liverpool’s CSR framework consists of:
• Company values – working together and demonstrating understanding and care of our employees
• Sustainability and environmental awareness – implementing energy saving programmes in both the design and build of ACC Liverpool and in the future, helping to reduce the effects our events have on the environment
• Community links – our involvement and investment in the local communities, which we support and with whom we do business
• Charity involvement – our participation and work with our chosen charity (Liverpool Unites), encouraging staff involvement in charitable fundraising activities
Company values
Our people are ACC Liverpool’s main asset. As a company we invest time and effort into our people, products, processes and profile. See our vision, values and mission here.
We respect and support the privacy of all employees and casual workers through both our data protection policy and confidentiality policy. We promote flexible working hours where operational commitments allow and have implemented family-friendly policies; all of our policies are reviewed regularly to ensure that they respect current legislation. We have been accredited with Healthy Stadia, which recognises our efforts to promote healthy living amongst our staff and visitors, and also have been awarded Gold in the Green Business Tourism Scheme.
When it comes to our suppliers we practise sustainable procurements – all tender documents demand both a commitment to and demonstration of a company’s green practice.
Sustainability
ACC Liverpool has been designed to be one of the greenest venues in Europe and we have high expectations for environmental management in the workplace. Since the organisation began in 2005, sustainability has been at the heart of everything we do.
We recognise that we have a responsibility to act as a leader in advocating a sustainable approach to development and our close proximity to a UNESCO World Heritage site means we have a responsibility to respect the local environment.
ACC Liverpool has been specifically designed to reduce CO2 emissions by half while using 20% less electricity. The design of the building – along with its insulation and air control system – is inherently efficient and requires significantly less energy than a traditional build. The roof of the Galleria, which links the arena and convention centre, is based on the roof at the Eden Project, designed to keep cool in summer and warm in winter; lighting is high efficiency and controlled by motion detection.
Outside, rainwater is collected on the roof of the building and used to flush toilets, accounting for about 40% of the water used for flushing toilets in the venue; five 20-metre low noise wind turbines on the river side of the venue contribute to ACC Liverpool’s power supply.
Our commitment to the environment doesn’t stop there. ACC Liverpool is home to the Green Dream Team, a team of enthusiastic staff and service partners who create ideas that change the way we do business, making it greener and cleaner and encouraging our hotel and tourism partners to do the same.
Community and charity
The local community and environment are important to us. ACC Liverpool sees itself as a strong resident of the local community of Liverpool’s waterfront and surrounding areas.
Our key objectives amongst the community are:
- Listening and engaging in dialogue with interested parties on issues of mutual importance
- Understanding the local environment and adapting to local needs like noise, traffic and parking initiatives
- Working in partnership with the city council on the Year of the Environment 2009
- Working in partnership with community organisations and charities
ACC Liverpool is the first corporate supporter of the Liverpool Unites charity, a local charity formed in the wake of the tragic death of schoolboy Rhys Jones. Our support of Liverpool Unites allows us to engage as a company with young people and local community groups and use our venue for maximum impact. Our in-house Liverpool Unites ‘champions’ organise and manage our fundraising events.
The charity began life as a campaign against guns and gun crime in the wake of the Rhys Jones tragedy, symbolised by a purple ribbon (the purple combines the red and blue of the city’s two famous football clubs). In August 2008 a Concert for Rhys at the ECHO Arena saw 8,500 people celebrate Rhys’ life and spread the message that gun crime will not be tolerated on Merseyside. The night saw performances including Melanie C, Tony Christie, Barbara Dickson and Stan Boardman, raising over £60,000 for Liverpool Unites.
By the time of the Merseyside Derby on 27 September 2008, Liverpool Unites had raised £100,000 for the Rhys Jones Memorial Fund, which was presented to his parents. Liverpool Unites continues to raise money for the Rhys Jones Memorial Fund, but also supports other local charities and community groups that aim to engage children and young people by inspiring them to break the cycle of crime and poverty, giving them hope, purpose and ambition for a brighter future.
Economic contribution
ACC Liverpool contributed approximately £200million to the city’s local economy in our first year of operation.
With more than 71,000 delegates attending conferences and events at the BT Convention Centre in 2008, the contribution to the local economy is estimated at £108 per delegate. The business tourist is a lucrative asset to the local economy in terms of the disposable income they spend in the city’s bars, restaurants, cultural attractions and retail outlets.
The Echo Arena attracted over 665,000 visitors in 2008. The opening of the venue coincided with a significant increase in footfall at the Albert Dock and an increase in business for local restaurants and bars. When Liverpool One opened, the immediate local economy was boosted further as access between Albert Dock, Liverpool One and ACC Liverpool was made easier than before.
In our opening year, £58million was generated in positive media coverage for the events held at ACC Liverpool such as the MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the World Firefighter Games.
Awards/accreditations
• CONFEX 2009 – Best CSR Initiative
• Healthy Stadia accreditation
• BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) rating of ‘very good’; BREEAM is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings
• Green Apple award – building
• Green Apple award – ISS cleaning & waste services
• Working towards Green Tourism Business Scheme – Gold Award
• Northwest Business Environment Awards – Sustainable Procurement (shortlisted)
• Northwest Business Environment Awards – Environmental Leadership (shortlisted)