A dirty tackle, a great save, a Munster moment and much more
Round up #45
Hello all,
A fortnight is a long time for the football and climate agenda. There's a lot been going on since the last round-up two weeks ago, so let's head straight in.
Fran
Quick links: Dirty Tackle; Great Save; Munster moment; Grassroots sport; Club focus; In other news; Prem + 1; UEFA and infrastructure; and Some wider developments.
Dirty Tackle
What are the total emissions globally from football? It’s a basic question that has remained surprisingly unaddressed until now. FIFA said in 2021 it would "Carry out a global survey and research to estimate the greenhouse gas emission of football globally". This is yet to materialise and progress on it is unknown.
Dirty Tackle: The growing carbon footprint of football is a report by the New Weather Institute and Scientists for Global Responsibility. The authors draw together available data and undertake a wide ranging analysis to provide a first estimate for global football. They estimate emissions to be 64-66 million tonnes of carbon equivalent with over 75% due to sponsorship from high carbon companies. Alongside this the report provides a series of recommendations for future action.
Great Save
Green Football returns this year with the Great Save. It will run from 11th March to 2nd April 2025. A wide range of people and partners will come together to donate, sell or reuse football kits to reduce the amount of sportswear ending up in landfill. Find out more about what green football is here and expect to read more about actions for the Great Save in future round-ups (and there’s a couple to kick-off with below in ‘club focus’) .
Munster moment
Elsewhere in sport, Munster Rugby have published their Environmental Impact and Sustainability Report 2024. It’s a report that people in football and other sports could take a moment to look at as:
It communicates the key issues and Munster’s approach clearly and in an accessible manner (as the graphic above illustrates)
It has a structured and comprehensive approach to looking at Munster’s “spheres of influence” (pg.10) saying also that “Influence is sport’s superpower and the way it can make its greatest contribution to climate action and sustainability”.
It’s upfront in addressing transition challenges and lessons learnt (pg.22) and the reasons why specific categories of emissions are going up and down (pg.41)
It includes a section on climate adaptation (from pg.47), which is so often given no, or cursory, attention in sustainability reports.
Grassroots sport
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK Parliament is examining the health of sport in local communities and schools through its Game On inquiry. It has received 103 submissions of written evidence, which are all available here.
The submissions include one I’ve put in focusing on the impacts of extreme weather on grassroots sport, largely with a focus on football. It says that key bodies are starting to recognise that extreme weather and climate change is impacting grassroots sport. At the same time more needs to be done to understand these impacts and to respond to them.
I've not had a chance to read others yet but hope to catch up with them soon. If you have any feedback, insights or views on any of the submissions, please do share.
Club focus
AFC Bournemouth have partnered with a water drinks company that uses 100% recycled bottles.
Charlton Athletic, as part of Green Football’s Great Save, will host men’s and women’s games with a Greener Game theme, with several on-the-day activities.
Coventry City’s home, the Coventry Building Society Arena, has entered into a sustainability partnership with an energy company to drive its continued decarbonisation.
Forest Green Rovers and Pledgeball have partnered to encourage clubs, fans, and governing bodies to prioritise sustainability as an integral part of football.
Juventus are the focus of a Forbes article following the launch of their new strategy as they look to become Serie A’s most sustainable club.
Manchester United’s owner has blamed Europe’s “high energy costs and extreme carbon taxes” for his company’s alleged failure to make sponsorship payments to the All Blacks rugby team.
Oxford United have produced an ‘Energy Playbook’ for supporters, aimed at reducing energy consumption, saving money, and positively impact the environment.
Real Betis Balompié has launched a new kit made from invasive algae.
Wigan Athletic supported Green Football at their match with Lincoln City on the 1st February with several match-day activities.
VFL Wolfsburg published its seventh sustainability report. It sets out several interesting initiatives and actions. For instance, does anyone know more about the ‘Samba Train’, which is “an entire special train provided by Deutsche Bahn” twice a year? Elsewhere, the club has reviewed its 2025 net zero target and set new targets: a 37% reduction in emissions by 2025 and 55% by 2030. The report also says that VfL Wolfsburg footprint has remained stable since the 2021/2022 season, at roughly 11,000 tCO2e.
Wolves have supported climate projects by making use of a product known as Green Hedging.
A Carbon Boot award went to Crystal Palace for their short flight to Manchester.
Community Sports Trusts in action included: Walsall and Wigan Athletic
In other news
Fossil Free Football is hosting online meetings for fans who are concerned about polluting sponsors of clubs. You can find more details and sign-up here.
I ran 50-plus sustainability articles from sports organisations through a ‘greenwash checker’ by Matthew Campelli for the Sustainability Huddle. It comes as its fellow organisation, Touchline Earth, launched its TRAIN Framework, an approach to sustainability storytelling.
The Guardian reports on the Marshall Islands’ vanishing kit for a team under threat from climate crisis (reported here in December!)
The Nieman Journalism Lab based at Harvard University has picked up on the story of the new outlet that covers climate policy in the language Brazil knows best: Soccer.
Kathy McAllister, executive director of GOALS Haiti speaks to the Cool Down Network about their work in Haiti on youth empowerment, football and climate change
A report from Global Data looks at Net Zero Strategies in Sport. The free sample of the report says the sector has a long way to go on net zero. FIFA and UEFA are included among the ‘laggards’ on climate action that it identifies.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation has implemented new eclectic buggies at its training facilities. It hopes will save more than fifteen thousand litres of fuel.
Inside World Football reports that The Confederation of African Football and the oil company Total Energies have renewed their partnership with a four-year deal. An assessment of Total’s Climate Strategy by Reclaim Finance can be found here.
The Save Today, Play Tomorrow programme provides a useful guide to new recycling regulations in England and what sports clubs need to know.
The Save Today, Play Tomorrow team also have online Carbon Literacy Training for Grassroots Football coming up.
A FIFPRO, report on the workload of African players in men’s football says that “Extreme weather events in many regions, such as droughts, floods, and heat, place additional strain on players. Combined with demanding schedules and limited rest, these factors heighten the risk of injury and mental fatigue”.
Paris-based Reporterre talks to Robin, the “Greta Thunberg of football” who challenges FIFA
Prem + 1
On 9th February 2024 the Premier League published an environmental sustainability commitment including four operational measures for each club to:
Develop a robust environmental sustainability policy, by the end of the 2024/25 season.
Designate a senior employee to lead the club’s environmental sustainability activities.
Develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dataset (scope 1, 2 and 3) by the end of the 2025/26 season and work towards a standardised football-wide approach to measuring emissions
Support the development of a common framework for action via the Premier League Sustainability Working Group (PLSWG).
A year on, what progress has been made on the commitment and measures? A review of available information suggests:
No further detail or update has been provided by the Premier League and it is not clear if any further reporting by them is planned.
A key question remains over who will assess progress on these commitments. Will clubs mark their own homework? Or will the league, or perhaps an independent organisation, assess them?
The status of the commitment and the measures within Premier League rules is not clear. They have not been included in the latest update of The Premier League Handbook (it’s extensive rulebook). What happens, if anything, if any of the commitments are not met by clubs?
This approach stands in contrast to UEFA, who have integrated environmental sustainability requirements into their licensing system. Linked to this there is a question as to what action UEFA will take if clubs in Europe fail to meet these requirements.
It is also still unclear what is considered to be “a robust environmental sustainability policy” in the measures. This stands in contrast to the German and French leagues which have provided guidance for clubs on environmental licensing criteria.
In the meantime, even a cursory look at the published environmental statements from Premier League clubs shows huge variations in information, approach, commitments, and actions, along with important gaps. Elsewhere, an investigation by Warren Menezes for The Asterisk in September 2024 showed that only “just over half of the Premier League clubs have a designated sustainability lead”.
No further detail or information is available yet on the work to create an “emissions dataset”, “a standardised approach to measuring emissions”, or a “common framework for action” for all clubs. In the absence of these core requirements for assessing progress, while several clubs are taking individual actions, its very difficult to assess whether these actions are enough.
Separate to these environmental commitments, the Premier League said in November 2021 that “The development of the Premier League's environmental sustainability strategy is ongoing and will be launched in 2022, outlining central business plans to reduce its own impact and to engage with other stakeholders to achieve the principles outlined in the Framework.”
Fast forward to 2025, and and this strategy has not yet emerged. Reasons for this are unclear. The Premier League’s CEO said to the BBC earlier this season that they “hope to” publish a sustainability strategy this season. As we head in to the business end of the season we may yet see something more on the club commitments and measures and/or the league’s strategy.
UEFA and infrastructure
UEFA has updated its Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. They include a “New provision referencing the UEFA Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines to stress the importance of a culture of sustainability” (see Circular 8). The sustainability guidelines that these regulations refer to are here. If anyone has any insights on what difference that this mention of sustainability in the regulations will make in practice, then please do share!
As reported in the last newsletter, Deloitte has identified 300 sport stadium projects underway globally in 2025. Elsewhere, the Energy Transitions Commission has published a report on Achieving Zero-Carbon Buildings. It shows how a combination of solutions can decarbonise buildings if also supported by ambitious policy. I’ve only had an initial look but it already seems a helpful read for getting to grips with the issues. There could be a useful project to look at how UEFA’s sustainable infrastructure guidelines measure up against the solutions and policy proposals in this ETC report.
In other UEFA news, teams have confirmed their base camps for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025. Teams were offered a selection of options in close proximity to the eight host cities to help reduce the tournament’s climate impact.
Some wider developments
In sport:
ByTheTime is a video by Science Moms, a non-partisan group of climate scientists. It aired during the Super Bowl for viewers in Los Angeles.
SportPositive have put out a save-the-date for their Annual Summit on 7-8 October in London, in collaboration with the UNFCCC Global Climate Action and the International Olympic Committee.
Kits For The World on the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and challenges with its implementation: “its effectiveness is contingent upon overcoming significant barriers … it is imperative that sports organisations not only commit to ambitious targets but also take concrete actions that reflect their dedication”
In climate:
Responsible Investor reports that the European Commission is “expected to heavily water down” sustainability reporting requirements (which are known as CSRD and CSDD). Elsewhere, some big investors have warned that doing so could harm investment and competitiveness. Further details are expected in late February or early March. With a number of larger football clubs in Europe already preparing for the incoming CSRD reporting, this is one to watch.
Related to the sports and sponsorship agenda: Clamping down on fossil fuel advertising: What industry professionals want policymakers to know (and do) from the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations based at the University of Bath.
And that’s the final whistle! As ever, comments, corrections, content suggestions and offers to write guest posts are all welcome.
Fran James (he/him)
Football and Climate Change Newsletter
info@footballandclimate.org
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