MEMBERS ON SPORTING STAGE - Melbourne Cricket Club

CLUB NEWS
ENERGY, WATER, WASTE
ON THE WATCH LIST
Environmental considerations are
high priority at the People’s
Ground. There’s a concerted effort
to ensure that the MCG is a good
corporate citizen, complying with
regulatory bodies and striving to exceed
the expectations of an increasingly
“green” community.
Among several research projects on his
books, executive manager for environment
and turf development Tony Ware is charged
with improving the carbon footprint at the
ground. This involves developing energy,
water and waste management practices that
can be costed on a carbon-equivalent basis.
In conjunction with Spotless and the
facilities management team led by Peter
Wearne, Tony is examining every possible
avenue to increase the MCG’s overall
effi ciency. Perhaps the ground could
generate more of its own power through
wind turbines and solar panels, and when
should lights be turned off. They’re all in
the mix.
On the water front, rainfall is harvested
from the new grandstand’s roof and
stored in a 1.5 million litre tank. It is used
to clean the seating bowl. But with the
MCG using about 80 million litres of
water annually, there is scope for
improvement and alternative sources are
being investigated.
“By far the biggest water use at the
ground is for toilet fl ushing,” says Peter
Wearne, “and you don’t need potable
water for that function.”
We’re winning with waste. Event-day
MCG REDEVELOPMENT
SNARES TOP AWARD
The MCG’s magnifi cent new
grandstand has been delighting
members and patrons for almost
three years now, but recognition of its
quality keeps on coming from within the
construction industry.
At the prestigious Excellence in
Construction Awards, hosted by the
Master Builders Association of Victoria
in July, Grocon was named Master
Builder of the Year for its MCG
redevelopment project.
The association’s executive director,
4 MCC NEWS
DECEMBER 2008
waste recycling from the seating bowl is
virtually 100 per cent, while in recent
years the recycling of all MCG waste has
risen from about 20 per cent to above
80 per cent. There is more improvement
in the pipeline.
The carbon footprint project will lead
to a better MCG, a superior venue in
every respect. It’s part of the back-room,
behind-the-scenes activity that provides
essential support to management and
those who are putting on the show.
“The MCG is a big business, a mini-city
that deals with virtually all the obligations,
risks and responsibilities of a major
corporation,” says the facilities manager,
who is conscious of the club’s obligation to
provide a safe and secure environment.
“On match days we have a duty of care
for up to 100,000 people and there are
usually 400-plus working here at any given
time, plus many hundreds who could be
attending functions around the ground,”
he says. “We’re ultimately responsible for
their welfare while they’re at the ground,
and we take that very seriously.”
Portable
pitches are
now under
the facilities
management
umbrella.
Brian Welch, said the MCG
redevelopment joined a long list of
Master Builder projects as “an iconic
structure which demonstrates technical
engineering excellence”.
“Every Australian can be proud of
Grocon’s redevelopment of the MCG,”
said Mr Welch. “Taking almost four
years, the redevelopment was a
complicated project with several major
events scheduled throughout the process.
“Construction has resulted in a sporting
facility capable of holding 100,000
Peter Wearne has cleaning,
security, operations and arenas
management under his watch
and he’s well prepared for the task.
A Bachelor of Business, Peter spent
13 years with the public service,
including fi ve years with the Liquor
Licensing Commission, as well as
seven years managing a food
processing fi rm.
More recently he managed
Spotless’s cleaning contract at Crown
and was with caterer Delaware North
in a marketing role before joining the
club in 2006.
His arrival at the MCG was predestined.
Peter was one of 2000 babies
who Honorary Life member Donald
Cordner was proud to deliver, nearly
all of them in the Diamond Creek
region, and the Wearnes remain fi rm
friends of the good doctor to this day.
spectators, with 55,000 new seats
installed much closer to the action. Due to
Grocon’s sterling effort, the MCG is now
truly one of the greatest stadiums in the
world,” he said.
And so say all of us.