In the last several decades, the potential damaging effects of climate change have been thrusted into light. Our generation has seen what will happen to the earth if no action is taken. More and more damaging effects of the lack of sustainable practices are being revealed as the years go on. Most of our attention is placed on huge industries and corporations that produce tons of waste and carbon dioxide emission, as many conservationists have tasked themselves with turning climate change around. However, one industry that is often overlooked is the sports industry, specifically soccer. Recently, sports have been under major criticism for lack of sustainable practices; soccer, the most popular sport in the world, has headlined this criticism, as the masses that watch and play this sport create a great amount of waste. Soccer stadiums alone consume tons of plastic, water, and electricity, and the fans produce mass amounts of waste. Individual soccer clubs have also contributed to these metrics behind the scenes. However, plans are currently being implemented both organizationally and operationally to combat climate change induced by soccer.
Operationally, huge soccer events around the world have begun to make changes to the game-day experience to create a more sustainable atmosphere; there is also much more work to do in this field. Simple additions to soccer stadiums may include reusable food and drink containers, compost centers for food waste, paper tickets, and solar panels and wind turbines to reduce energy use. Sporting arenas can also lower carbon footprint by implementing electric vehicle charging stations on site. Transportation currently causes 29% of all U.S. air pollution, and this change could influence fans to buy electric vehicles more readily.
Organizationally, soccer clubs around the world have begun to act more sustainably as well. According to a recent statistic, only 11% of soccer clubs around the world have a strategy to address sustainability. A board called the UN Sports for climate action framework has been created to address sustainability at a club level within the sport, and only four major European teams have joined. Several clubs have taken direct action to reduce their climate footprint. For example, Manchester City Football Club has recently created a coffee cup that one may eat. This may eventually go a long way in reducing the 2.5 billion disposable cups thrown away in the UK every year. Johann Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, owned by Ajax Football Club, is a newly created sustainable stadium with features such as 4200 solar panels and wind turbines.
One club in particular that has captured recent headlines is English club Forest Green Rovers, the most sustainable soccer club in the world. All of Forest Green Rovers’ kits and training gear is made out of recycled plastic, coffee grounds, and bamboo. For players and fans, the club has committed to serving all vegan food on match days, as going vegan has been shown to reduce carbon footprint tremendously. The club’s current stadium, The New Lawn, has the world’s first organic soccer pitch and a local habitat for wildlife around the stadium. Forest Green Rovers have also pledged to offset the carbon emissions generated by every single fan that travels to the stadium to watch the match. In the past several years, the club have decreased their carbon footprint by 3%, decreased waste production by 14%, and recycled over 8% of water used.
Soccer, being the most popular sport in the world, has a responsibility to become more sustainable, both operationally (at matches) and organizationally (at the club level). Patrick Gasser, head of Football and Social Responsibility in Europe, said, “It’s important to run a football club or organization as a socially responsible business.” Sustainability campaigns from sports teams also have a very high change of influencing fan behavior. If more teams can adopt sustainable practices likeForest Green Rovers, the effects would ripple throughout the world.
References:
https://medium.com/climate-conscious/how-football-clubs-should-market-sustainability-fd499b7bd5c0
https://www.amplifiedsoccerathlete.com/coachguide/how-are-soccer-events-becoming-more-sustainable
https://www.ecowatch.com/soccer-sustainability-2654946993.html