RAC Arena welcomes recognition as Australian Event Awards' Venue of the Year

The team at Perth’s RAC Arena have welcomed its recognition as Venue of the Year at last week’s 2023 Australian Event Awards and Symposium.

Judged by a panel of industry experts, the award was given to a venue that demonstrates leadership and innovation over a 12 month period and significantly enhanced the event experience.

Welcoming receipt of the Award, RAC Arena General Manager, Michael Scott stated “I know I speak on behalf of everyone at RAC Arena when I say we’re so honoured to have been awarded Venue of the Year at the 2023 Australian Event Awards and Symposium.

“We’re exceptionally proud of our team and the work that’s required to host worldclass events such as UFC 284, Telethon 7 2022 and Billie Eilish.

“This award is a testament to our team’s dedication to excellence, innovation, and collaboration, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

RAC Arena leads on green initiatives
The venue is also on track to become one of the greenest and most sustainable in the country with a mission to streamline its waste management process in order to attain a landfill diversion rate of 70%.

Since the start of this year, RAC Arena has diverted more than 120,000 containers as part of the Containers for Change program, recycled more than 34 tonnes of cardboard and glass and diverted almost 38 tonnes of organics and compostable packaging from landfill.

The organic and compostable packaging composted equates to eliminating 72,067.00kg C02 emissions from the atmosphere and is the equivalent to powering one household for 6,434.00 days.

Working on a sustainability roadmap with Perth-based sustainability consulting experts WRITE Solutions, the arena has adopted reusable cups in their retail bars, swapped single-use plastic packaging for compostable alternatives from BioPak, and installed additional green bins across the venue to capture organic food waste.

Commenting on this, Scott explains that the venue’s environmental practices all form part of a bigger global picture, noting “together with our international ASM Global network, we’re working towards an ambitious plan to transform the live entertainment industry.

“ASM Global Acts, the group’s corporate social responsibility platform, has the goal to convert its 350+ strong venue portfolio into the most sustainable on the planet, and we couldn’t do it without wonderful partners like WRITE Solutions and BioPak.”

WRITE Solutions’ Managing Director, Daragh Maher added “our mission is to change people’s perceptions of waste and working with a venue like RAC Arena provides us the perfect platform.

“RAC Arena is always open to our new suggestions and ideas to reduce waste and when possible, to eliminate altogether.

“By increasing recycling options for patrons, and with a strong focus on education, together we are changing perception of waste and hopefully impacting a large audience across Perth.”

Images: RAC Arena during UFC 284 in February this year (top) and RAC General Manager Michael Scott (below). Credit: RAC Arena.