Mario Götze's winning goal for Germany may have signaled the end of the World Cup in Brazil, but work is already beginning to ensure that the next tournament in Russia will be the greenest ever staged.

 

It was confirmed this week that six of the new stadiums set to be built for the 2018 tournament are being assessed under green building code BREEAM to help ensure they follow sustainable design and construction principles.

 

Sustainable features of the stadium designs include automated lighting controls to reduce energy bills, facilities for segregated waste collection, water saving fixtures and valves for all toilets, layouts designed with public transport information points, and measures to enhance local biodiversity.

 

Some of the stadia are aiming for overall energy consumption that will be 40 per cent lower than comparable projects, with savings achieved through reduced building fabric, efficient heating through heat recovery technologies, and ultra-efficient ventilation featuring CO2 sensors.

 

The Russia World Cup will look to build on the progress delivered at this year's tournament, which saw a 1MW solar system on the roof of the Maracanã stadium, sustainable pitches, and six stadiums obtain LEED certification, while the Brazilian national team flew to games in planes powered by a biofuel blend.