Supporting global sports organisations to increase ambition and action on climate change
Tottenham commit to halving carbon emissions by 2030 and issue 2040 net zero target after joining United Nations’ Race to Zero initiative; Spurs hosted world’s first zero carbon football match – #GameZero – in conjunction with Sky Sports in September 2021
Green policies over transport, food and waste assessed in ranking for 2021
Premier League clubs have been ranked in a new league table – but this time not for their football scores.
England’s top sides have been given marks for sustainability after their green policies were assessed by BBC Sport and the United Nations-backed Sport Positive Summit.
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur will join the UN Race to Zero and have committed to halve their carbon emissions by 2030, the club said after they and Liverpool were named the Premier League’s greenest clubs on Wednesday.
They topped Sport Positive’s 2021 Green League, published by the BBC, which rates each of England’s top-flight clubs in measures they are taking to combat the threat of climate change.
Tottenham have come out on top in this year’s Premier League Sustainability Rankings, following the latest study from BBC Sport and the United Nations.
It marks the second year in a row that Spurs have come out on top in the rankings, with Liverpool joining them at the summit this time around.
Arsenal were the second-highest ranked London side, sharing fifth place with Manchester United, while Chelsea only mustered a 10th-placed finish, behind Norwich City, Everton and Brighton.
West Ham and Crystal Palace both dropped down the rankings and shared 15th in this year’s table. Newcastle United prop up the table with a score of just 10, 13 fewer points than Liverpool and Tottenham managed.
Eight clubs ranked higher than Everton in the 2021 Green League but the Blues’ new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be one of the most sustainable in the Premier League
Just as the first team are now aiming to do under Frank Lampard, Everton are aiming to climb up the Premier League table when it comes to sustainability with the move to their new stadium.
BBC Sport have devised a ‘Green League’ to measure the environmental awareness of all 20 clubs currently in the top flight of English football.
Working with the United Nations-backed Sport Positive Summit, teams were asked to provide evidence of their efforts in 11 categories – policy & commitment; clean energy; energy efficiency; sustainable transport; single use plastic reduction; waste management; water efficiency; plant based/low carbon food; biodiversity; education; communication & engagement.
Eight clubs bettered Everton’s score of 16 with their neighbours Liverpool (23) coming joint top with Tottenham Hotspur.
However, going forward, the Blues new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be one of the most sustainable in the Premier League.
Southampton Football Club is proud to be at the forefront of environmental sustainability in the Premier League having been announced as the joint-third greenest club in the 2021 Premier League Sustainability Table.
The club has been recognised by Sport Positive and the BBC for demonstrating its commitment to ensuring a sustainable future, launching The Halo Effect at the beginning of 2021 alongside a range of initiatives to lessen our impact on the environment.
Over the course of the last 12 months, the club launched its new away kit with a beach clean to highlight the renewable materials used to produce it, and also committed to planting trees for every Academy or RTC graduate to make their first team debut, helping to offset the club’s carbon emissions.
Sport Positive Leagues Release 2021 Update To Premier League Environmental Sustainability Matrix
2nd February 2022, London: For a third consecutive year, Sport Positive Leagues have collaborated with all 20 English Premier League football clubs to understand the work they are doing on environmental sustainability, releasing it today via the 2021 Premier League Environmental Sustainability Matrix.
Tottenham Hotspur FC have retained their first place position for the third year, joined by Liverpool FC who have made huge improvements to become joint-champions this year. Both clubs scored 23 points out of a maximum of 24, showing their holistic commitment to environmental sustainability through every part of the organisation. All information about the clubs efforts and the entire league table can be viewed here.
Reacting to the news, Billy Hogan Liverpool’s CEO commented “This is a great achievement for the club, as we continue to create and build a sustainable business, and a sustainable club. Congratulations to Tottenham Hotspur who we share this top spot with.
“As a football club with a global fan base we’re proud to be leading the way on important environmental issues. The Red Way has achieved a lot in its first year. There is so much more to do, but the club has created a solid foundation and is committed to building on this achievement. As we move forward, we will constantly evaluate the way we operate, to operate in the most sustainable way.
“We will continue to strive to provide the tools and opportunities for everyone connected to the club to take meaningful actions that will create a healthy planet and thriving communities.”
Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director, Tottenham Hotspur, said “To have once again been named at the top of the Sport Positive League Table is fantastic recognition for the work that continues to be delivered across our organisation – now we must challenge ourselves to go further.
“Joining the UN Race to Zero is a significant next step on our journey and provides us with a clear pathway and emission reduction targets that we are prepared to meet. We look forward to working collectively with our staff, players, fans, partners and suppliers to achieve our goals.”
Since the 2020 edition, Sport Positive Leagues has continued to evolve the categories that clubs are evaluated on, now adding in categories on biodiversity and education and splitting out commitment and policy into it’s own category. In addition the points system has been updated so that it is more difficult to reach the maximum points, unless a clubs is working strategically and holistically, across their entire organisation and sites, as well as making external, long-term commitments to taking action on climate.
In regard to the 2021 matrix update and the work that clubs are doing in this space, Sport Positive Leagues Founder Claire Poole commented, “Year-on-year the progress around environmental sustainability that can be seen by the majority of clubs is really impressive. It is very clear how seriously clubs are taking their role in tackling the climate crisis.”
As for two clubs taking top spot, she went on to comment, “Joint champions may be impossible in football, but I’ve got no problem with it when it comes to tackling climate change.”
The categories that clubs are evaluated on currently include: commitments and policy, clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, waste management, single use plastic reduction/removal, water efficiency, the availability of low-carbon/plant based food, biodiversity, education and communications/engagement.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “Sustainability continues to be a priority for the League and our clubs, as we all look at alternative methods and practices to help reduce emissions and environmental impact.
“Clubs have demonstrated their commitment to positive change in this area and continue to play an important role in raising awareness of the issue among fans, while also working on policies to improve their environmental sustainability.
“We recognise the significance of education and action in this area and continue to work on our own strategy. This will support the principals outlined in the UN’s Sport for Climate Action framework, which the League became a signatory of earlier this season.”
Sport Positive Leagues have released a short Q&A paper to answer questions that the organisation have received in regard to this work. That paper can be accessed here.
Every Premier League club is doing positive work in the area of environmental sustainability, some highlights include:
For all the information on the environmental sustainability efforts from Premier League clubs in 2021 and our rankings, click here.
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Sport Positive Leagues are part of the Sport Positive group, who also run the annual Sport Positive Summit and put out The Climate of Sport podcast, as well as supporting the global industry towards increased climate action.
For press enquiries please email [email protected]
By Philip Jenkins, Sport Positive Leagues
Southampton Football Club finished second-to-last in the 2019 Sport Positive Premier League sustainability table, but rose to 4th in the 2020 edition. Philip Jenkins (Sport Positive Leagues) caught up with Caroline Carlin, Operations and Sustainability Manager at Southampton FC, to see how the south-coast club’s sustainability initiatives over the past 12-months have propelled the team up the sustainability table.
St Mary’s – Image provided by Southampton Football Club
When one thinks of Southampton Football Club, the names of cult heroes Matthew Le Tissier, Francis Benali and Mick Channon, or, its excellent football academy that produced the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Luke Shaw (to name a few), may initially come to mind. What may be less well-known is the club’s sustainability initiatives.
Introducing Southampton Football Club’s sustainability strategy, ‘The Halo Effect’.
Implemented in January last year, The Halo Effect not only has the link to the club’s crest and heritage, but it is the impact of several initiatives that the club is looking to have on its people and community.
Comprised of four strands; environmental, corporate, fan and social responsibilities, The Halo Effect strategy represents the club’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable future for the club, its fans and its community.
Of particular interest to Sport Positive’s 2019 and 2020 Premier League sustainability tables were the environmental initiatives of Southampton FC’s operations, the club’s engagement with its fans to encourage positive behavioural change, as well as the club’s long-term commitment to combatting climate change.
But in 2019, Southampton FC finished a lowly 19th in the now-annual Sport Positive Premier League sustainability table.
Looking back on what was the key driver for change, Caroline Carlin reflects that the club “needed to design a strategy and get the right people around the table. We now have a vision of where we want to get to”.
The club’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030 and it has already implemented several environmental initiatives, including:
• Sending zero waste to landfill
• Switching to 100% renewable ‘green’ energy
• Upgrading St Mary’s floodlights to full LED
• Introducing a reusable cup scheme for matchdays
• Offering vegetarian and vegan options in concourse kiosks
Synonymous with Southampton FC’s world-class academy, the club also launched the ‘Home Grown Initiative’ whereby for every academy player that makes their first team debut, the club will plant 250 trees locally in Southampton and preserve another 250 in the Amazon region. The overall commitment by the club is to offset over 3,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the next four years. “This initiative is not only a celebration of our academy achievements, but a great legacy for Southampton as a whole. We are really proud of this initiative” Caroline added.
Southampton’s men’s and women’s footballers have also been actively engaging with the club’s environmental initiatives.
In August, players from the Women’s team, B team and Academy took part in a beach clean at Calshot beach, to unveil the new 2021/22 away kit. The beach clean highlighted the importance of looking after the environment, particularly as the club’s new away shirt uses hummel’s Eco8 material – a fabric that uses recycled plastic bottles.
Furthermore, Southampton FC’s trio of Armando Broja, Harry Lewis and Alex McCarthy celebrated October’s National Curry Week, by taking on Kingfisher’s cooking challenge of a vegan red lentil sweet potato curry. Meanwhile, Southampton Women’s FC footballer Katie Rood is a passionate environmentalist, vegan and social justice advocate and has been a member of Champions for Earth since mid-2019.
Whilst the club’s sustainability strategy is still relatively in its infancy, there is a togetherness throughout the club to act in a sustainable way.
“There is a real shift in culture towards a sustainable way of thinking” explains Caroline. “Players are making better lifestyle choices; our youth team players are so happy to play for a club that do so much work in the environmental sustainability space and our fans are really proud of the environmental initiatives. It is a real combined effort from the club and the fans”.
Southampton FC recently worked with the University of Southampton to measure its total carbon footprint. The study found that one of the club’s biggest impacts on the environment was player and fan travel to and from matches. Currently 64% of Southampton’s fans attend games in single occupancy vehicles. Despite this, Caroline confirms that a strategy is in place to advocate more sustainable modes of transport.
“We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of matchday travel. We are currently carrying out an extensive review of the entire travel plan that will enable us to actively promote and encourage people to choose more sustainable ways of travelling to and from the stadium for matchdays and events”.
Whilst the club has made great strides to become more environmentally sustainable, Caroline appreciates that there is still a lot of work that the club can do to combat climate change and that “it will take time, it’s a journey and we will get there”.
Sustainability is now a daily conversation at Southampton Football Club. For any club that has yet to embark on its environmental sustainability journey, Caroline advises that clubs “don’t have to be perfect or an expert, you just need to get started”.
To view the full list of Southampton FC’s environmental sustainability initiatives, visit https://www.sportpositiveleagues.com/team/southampton-2020/
By Philip Jenkins, Sport Positive Leagues
Image by Bernhard Oberle via Canva
From standing in Borussia Dortmund’s breath-taking “Yellow Wall” in the Südtribüne (south stand) of Signal Iduna Park, to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena where an army of fans are ever-expectant of another league title for the Bavarians, thousands of fans flock to watch their favourite German Bundesliga team play on a weekly basis. But what impact do fans travelling to stadiums have on the environment?
In a study conducted in January 2021 by Christian Loewen & Pamela Wicker titled ‘Travelling to Bundesliga matches: the carbon footprint of football fans’, they identified that the average seasonal carbon footprint of a Bundesliga fan amounted 311.1 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2-e), with car travel accounting for 70% of the emissions. To give this some context, 311kg of carbon dioxide is about the same as an average passenger vehicle driving 782 miles, and CO2 emissions per capita in Germany are about the equivalent to 9.44 tonnes per person.
So how can fans attend German Bundesliga matches in a more environmentally friendly way?
Below, we have selected some of the best sustainable transport initiatives available from German Bundesliga teams across the country, that enable fans to travel to matchdays in the an environmentally friendly way.
By public transport
According to The European Environment Agency, the average greenhouse gas emissions by motorised mode of passenger transport in the EU between 2014-2018 showed that passenger cars produced a significantly higher amount of greenhouse gases, compared to public transport; consisting of buses, coaches and passenger trains:
• Passenger cars = 143gCO2e per pkm
• Buses and coaches = 80gCO2e per pkm
• Passenger trains = 33gCO2e per pkm
Key: gCO2e per pkm = grams carbon dioxide equivalent per passenger kilometre
1. FC Köln is one of 11 German Bundesliga teams that enable fans to use their matchday tickets for public transport at no additional cost – known as a Kombi-Ticket. With a total fleet of 293 light rail vehicles across the Cologne Public Transport Authority (Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe/KVB), a survey conducted by the club found that 40% of Effzeh fans use public transport to attend games at the RheinEnergieStadion. Dirk Wunderlich, Head of Business Unit German Cities at Bombardier Transportation states that the light rail vehicles have been developed for sustainable and energy-efficient operation with low noise emissions and low energy consumption that contribute to more climate-friendly traffic in the cathedral city of Cologne.
Eintracht Frankfurt have created an impressive initiative to encourage fans to use public transport, by offering a complimentary ticket. A survey conducted by the club found that more than 60% of supporters use public transport for matchdays. Additionally, in 2013, the Frankfurt transport company Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF) launched a climate-neutral tram that runs on Mainova green electricity and takes fans to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park, ensuring that the journey to the stadium is 100 percent emission-free.
By bicycle
BikeRadar states that cycling has a carbon footprint of about 21g of CO2 per kilometre (coming from manufacturing emissions and extra calories needed to cycle) which is less than a tenth the emissions of driving. Currently in Germany, 10% of journeys are made by bike and the country aims to increase the average number of bike journeys each German makes by half – from 120 a year at present to 180 in ten years-time. Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said that compared to driving, this would result in greenhouse gas emissions savings equivalent of 3-4 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Within the German Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt provides fans with the option to use nextbike bicycles to travel to and / or from the Deutsche Bank Park, where fans will receive the first 30 minutes of the journey free of charge from Deutsche Bank.
In addition to Borussia Mönchengladbach’s offer of free public transport for arrivals on matchday with a free shuttle bus available, the club also advocates fans to cycle to BORRUSIA-PARK with 1,000 bicycle parking spaces available directly outside the stadium.
1.FSV Mainz 05 has a particularly inventive initiative to get fans cycling to the MEWA Arena by providing a free bike check for home games. As an additional incentive, the club randomly distributes free VIP tickets to fans arriving by bike.
By electric car
A study carried out by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) into how eco-friendly are electric cars, found that the greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle of a contemporary electric vehicle are around 30 percent lower than those of a petrol vehicle and around 23 percent lower than those of a comparable diesel vehicle.
For those of Borussia Dortmund’s fanbase that have electric vehicles at their disposal, fans are now able to charge their electric cars outside of the Signal Iduna Park at the BVB FanWelt. Currently there are four charging stations open and a further five are planned by the club.
Each of the 18 German Bundesliga teams are working strategically across all club operations, engage with fans to encourage positive behavioural change and show long term commitment to combatting climate change as seen in our 2021 Sport Positive Bundesliga Sustainability Table.
With numerous sustainable transport options available, how will you attend your next German Bundesliga match?
By Phil Jenkins, Sport Positive Leagues
After a strong start to the 2021/22 Belgian First Division A season, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is currently battling alongside Club Brugge and Antwerp at the top of the table. Philip Jenkins (Sport Positive Leagues) spoke to Raphaële Moeremans, Head of Sustainability at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise who attended Sport Positive Summit 2021, to see how the Brussels-based club is also combatting climate change, through the implementation of environmental sustainability initiatives.
Stade Joseph Marien – Image provided by Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
“As a soccer club with the visibility that we have and with the impact that we have on our local community, we had to do something” reflects Raphaële on the key driver of implementing the club’s environmental sustainability initiatives. “We have a role within society and we need to live up to it”.
Winner of eleven titles as Champion of Belgium and having graced European Cup competitions firstly in the early 1900’s, late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the club that is often referred to as ‘Union’, has also experienced relegation within the Belgium football league tiers. Following Union’s promotion in the 2020/21 season back to the top league of Belgium’s footballing pyramid, the club is once again competing with the country’s elite teams at the top of the table.
Whilst Union continues to compete well on the pitch, the club is also making great progress to tackle climate change off it, as seen on a dedicated eco-responsibility page on the club’s website. The page lists some of the environmental initiatives that have been implemented so far, including:
• Partnering with Eneco (a recommended supplier of Greenpeace) for gas and electricity at the club’s Stade Joseph Marien. Eneco wants to become the most sustainable energy supplier in the country, with 100% of its green electricity produced in Belgium by 2025.
• Provision of reusable Eco Cups made from recycled plastic. Fans deposit 1€ at the bar and can reuse the cup throughout the day.
• Using recycled paper for burger paper wraps, napkins, toilet rolls and hand paper towels.
• Encouraging fans to use e-tickets rather than printed paper tickets, to save trees.
• Partnering with Brussels-based supplier Eco-Multi who provide eco-friendly cleaning supplies.
Furthermore, to achieve a greater understanding of Union’s operational emissions and its impact on the environment, Raphaële explains how the club teamed up with a local environmental consulting firm based in Brussels.
“We asked them for their support because it was the first time that we had carried out such an exercise and they have experience. They guided us through what data we needed to collect and transform that into amounts and emissions.”
The study identified fan mobility as the greatest impact on the environment.
Following the study, Union conducted a survey of its own by asking season ticket holders in early 2021, which modes of transport they took to and from the stadium on matchdays. The survey found that fans travelled:
• 37% by car
• 30% by public transport
• 25% by foot
• 8% by bike
Union’s Stade Joseph Marien sits in the middle of the city of Brussels meaning that it is possible for fans to attend match days by bike. Despite this, the fan mobility survey found that just 8% of supporters cycled to games.
“We knew that there was no infrastructure for bike parking and so that was probably something that prevented a lot of people from coming by bike, because they didn’t know where to park it and they were afraid that if they had really nice and fancy bikes, they will be stolen in the three or so hours that they are at the game or in the stadium” Raphaële describes.
The club has since installed secure bike parking facilities and has communicated this option to its fans. Raphaële hopes that this will increase the number of fans cycling to games.
“We have to track how that affects the numbers for our different modes of transportation. Hopefully it has a positive impact”.
Alongside the option of cycling to the stadium, Union encourages fans to either walk, car share or travel by public transport as methods of reducing CO2 emissions. The club has a tram stop called ‘Union’ directly outside the stadium.
Whilst Union’s fan mobility survey provided the club with useful insights, the club’s season ticket holder base has since tripled following the club’s promotion to the top division at the end of the 2020/21 season. Consequently, the club is aiming to refine its understanding of fan mobility for the current season.
On matchdays, the club has a mission to reach 100% recycled bottles by encouraging all fans to use the recycling stations located throughout the stadium. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as per many clubs across the world, Union was unable to have fans in attendance at its stadium. However, since the return of fans, when carrying out visual inspection of the bins, Raphaële suggests that fans are separating the materials into the relevant bins.
“We look at our plastic bin and we’re like okay is this really just plastic or are people just throwing anything in there. So far it looks like it’s pretty well done. The fans are sorting their waste pretty well.”
Raphaële believes the environmental sustainability initiatives of the club has generally been well received by Union’s fans.
“We are lucky to have a fan base that is very responsive to sustainability and all topics into sustainability. Based on the survey that that we’ve conducted, we know that for most of the issues, they feel that it is something that we should tackle”.
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise’s strong start to the 2021/22 season has also helped communicate the sustainability initiatives to the fans.
“Luckily for us, we are doing well right now in the division and so our sports performance is very high and so it’s a nice setting to actually talk more about sustainability, because it will not be viewed as us having our priorities wrong” Raphaële explains.
Despite the club being in the early stages of its sustainability programme, Union is actively engaging its players with the environmental initiatives, having provided training at the beginning of the season.
“They [the players] have a very important role as role models to be involved in some of those projects” says Raphaële. “We’ve had really positive feedback from the players on that training. They interacted well, they participated and they learned”.
Whilst Raphaële maintains that the club “still have a lot to do” with implementing environmental sustainability initiatives, the club is continuously working on developing new initiatives that will not only benefit the club, but the community in the future.
“We’re finalising our strategy now and then we’ll have to have it approved by our board”.
For clubs that have yet to implement environmental initiatives, Raphaële advises that “you may worry that you don’t have a big impact or that whatever you are going to do or put in place is just going to have a very little impact. But what I would say is that it shouldn’t be a barrier. As with everything, you have to start with small steps”.
Raphaële was in attendance at this year’s Sport Positive Summit 2021, a chance for those who operate in sport to learn, discuss, network and connect with global colleagues to accelerate positive climate action. Find out more about the Sport Positive Summit 2022 here.
