Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be one of the most sustainable in the Premier League.

The £500m build on Liverpool’s northern waterfront is taking shape, with solid foundations being prepared and the first overground elements of the super-structure visible, ahead of the steelwork emerging from ground level later this year.

Since the design and pre-construction phase of the project, the stadium team has done much work to address important sustainability considerations.

Modern methods of construction

Before construction began, the team worked with main contractor Laing O’Rourke to modify the design and identify elements of the build that could be delivered using modern methods of construction. This means they are designed and manufactured off-site at LOR’s specialist factory in Nottinghamshire and then transported to Bramley-Moore dock for assembly on-site. Building using this approach helps in several ways, by reducing waste on site, water usage, energy consumption and carbon emissions.

All mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems in the stadium will also be manufactured off-site in the Oldbury (West Midlands) factory of Laing O’Rourke’s specialist MEP business, Crown House Manufacturing. The six-foot high modules and an innovative product called Techwall, will be delivered to site, lifted into place, connected and commissioned. This approach helps save time, energy and carbon.

All 480,000 cubic metres of sand required for the initial dock infill process were transported to the site by boat, after being harvested from the sea-bed 20 miles out in the Irish Sea, before being pumped over the dock wall.

This prevented thousands of trucks needed to provide that sand, and also allowed the contract partners to control the quality of the sand and avoid unnecessary wastage. Every load of the sand that arrived on site was checked methodically; something that would have been impractical on every single truck load, and potentially led to unnecessary road journeys should any of the sand have failed to meet stringent requirements.

A full assessment of flood levels and future projections for the whole shoreline was undertaken before the build began, resulting in an agreement with the Environment Agency that the site would be raised to a certain height, above projected levels.

Recycling materials

In terms of recycling, contract partner Laing O’Rourke set an ambitious target of re-using 95% of all materials on site and reducing the need for transporting them off-site.

So far, 100 per cent has been re-used, with all steel and glass from demolished buildings separated out for recycling.

All remaining concrete and bricks are then crushed in hoppers onsite and will be re-used twice; firstly as a recently laid piling mat for the heavy machinery to sit on, in order to avoid damaging the ground underneath.

Once the heavy machinery is taken off-site, that material will then be re-spread across the backfill to raise the flood level.

Heritage assets

The only things that have left the site to date are heritage assets dating back to the Dock’s heyday, including railway lines, mooring posts, cobbles and capstans.

A project is well underway to clean these assets and protect them, before they are brought back at a later stage. Any extra assets will be offered to the Council initially, for display, or will go to Peel Land and Property for re-use on the Liverpool’s waters.

Sustainable transport

As the 52,888-seater stadium continues to emerge from the ground, plans are already being implemented in readiness for the new stadium opening.

The Club is set to upgrade facilities at nearby Sandhills train station in readiness for an increase in numbers.

This follows a fan survey held back in 2018, to help inform the planning process, which suggested that 60% of fans wanted to use public transport.

The close proximity to the city also means more fans will have the opportunity to walk to Bramley-Moore Dock, while a looping matchday shuttle bus services will run between the stadium and the main stations in town, for those who cannot make the journey on foot.

Electric vehicle charging points will be installed at the stadium, where accessible parking will be made available, along with dedicated parking for bicycles.

Everton for Change

The Club, working alongside the Everton Fans’ Forum, have set up an Everton for Change project group made up of six supporters, helping to promote green initiatives to fellow fans.

This will include a Green Matchday before the end of the season and a bi-monthly blog in the matchday programme. The initiative was driven by the Club to help us communicate our sustainability aims to the fanbase.

The project group have an insight into what initiatives are taking place across the Club, at Goodison Park on matchdays and on-site at our new stadium.

The group have met twice already and chair of the group, Chris Halsall, will be releasing a blog later this week, explaining their interactions with the Club and some of the initiatives.