Sustainability in the beautiful game: is football going as green as the pitches?

In an age of mega-rich clubs and increasing levels of sustainability awareness, football clubs are doing their bit to create a better world, but it’s not so easy at every level

Sustainability has been a hot topic in football for some time now. For example, the FA developed its first sustainability strategy in 2009, the Premier League offers sustainability awards, and the clubs have been ranked for the last two years by Sports Positive Summit, who will be holding their annual conference virtually this year.

The league table

At the top last season were Manchester and North London, with City, United, Spurs and Arsenal in the sustainability Champions League places and Crystal Palace, Southampton, Norwich and Bournemouth (the latter two having the same score) taking up the relegation spots.

These rankings are based on clubs’ ability to meet eight criteria: the top four all scored maximum points, with bottom club Palace hitting the mark in 4.5/8.  Getting a full score means satisfying each of these categories: clean energy; energy efficiency; sustainable transport; single use plastic production or removal; waste management; water efficiency; plant-based/low-carbon food; and comms & engagement on sustainability.

Of course, the categories reflect the environmental impact of putting on a football match, including how fans get to the ground, but they do more than that: they reflect how many initiatives are ongoing at clubs, and the level of success of them. What they don’t show is carbon footprint; moreover, some clubs play in European competition, which will obviously up that considerably. To give this information, the study would need three further stages of assessment:

1. Emissions generated by the club directly

2. Emissions produced by others as a result of the club's activities

3. Emissions from any businesses or activities linked to the club's supply chains

It’s not just in England, of course: clubs throughout the world are trying to do more, with varying levels of success. Both FIFA and UEFA signed up to the Sports for Climate Action Framework at Cop24 just over two years ago. It contains sixteen principles, with working groups formed from the initial signatories.

Football, pitch, stadium. Photo: Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

Focus on Manchester

Given we’re a Manchester-based consultancy (though with an office in Oxford, too, which hosts League One side, Oxford United) let’s use City and United as case studies to look a little deeper into what’s happening locally. As well as our acknowledged bias, both clubs are world-renowned and rich, with United third and City fifth in the world in the most recent rich list. No excuses, then!

As you would expect given both clubs’ position in the sustainability league tables, they’ve been at the forefront of attempts to green the game in recent years. Here are ten examples of what City have been doing:

·         Holding a special sustainable walk a year ago

·         Trialled a car sharing scheme

·         There are electric charging points and 120 cycle parking spaces

·         The Academy has reached the highest possible environmental standards – the gold standard under L.E.E.D. guidelines

·         A reusable beer cup scheme has been introduced at the Etihad Stadium, capable of being used 100 times, plus it can also be fully recycled at the end of its life

·         As a result of this, an average of 29,000 single use plastic cups will be removed on each match day and it is anticipated this will save 800,000 per season

·         The removal of all plastic straws, sauce sachets, knives, forks and spoons

·         Water recycling systems are in place that use rainwater, which is harvested

·         There is a dedicated section in the club’s annual report

·         Sustainability stories are covered in club news articles, social media, across match days and by third parties

If we move west to Old Trafford, here’s ten examples of what United are up to:

·         A ‘Reds Go Green’ initiative that focuses on waste efficiency and recycling

·         ‘United to Switch Off and Save’ is an energy efficiency programme that encourages members of staff to act as energy champions and promote energy efficient practices at work

·         The purchasing of certified green electricity for all buildings within the portfolio

·         They are certified to the Carbon Trust Standard for Carbon, which recognises the Club’s achievement in managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

·         Running a ‘cycle to work’ scheme for staff to reduce and spread the cost of purchasing a bike and accessories

·         All single-use plastics at concourse condiment stations have been replaced with wooden forks, stirrers and paper straws

·         Zero waste to landfill; non-recyclables are used for energy; waste food is composted

·         There is a vegan option – spicy potato and cauliflower pie – available around the stadium and a dedicated vegan menu is available in all hospitality suites

·         There is an Environment and Sustainability page on the website

·         They have installed rainwater harvesting and taken steps to manage our water use

While these are selective lists, they show that both clubs are making great strides, and show where one club is ahead of the other: for example, Utd lead in website communication regarding sustainability; City, on beer cups. What would football be without a bit of healthy competition? Though, of course, we’re a long way from seeing fans engaging in games of sustainability one-upmanship with each other.

Football and the Covid crisis

Of course, no fans are currently going into grounds in the UK, after a brief respite before Christmas when some clubs (though not City or United, due to Manchester being in Tier 3 at that time) were permitted to allow 2000 home fans in for games. Recently, we’ve seen a very sensible attempt to stop players embracing after a goal. The entire picture for the game has changed, including in terms of sustainability; at the level of survival, some smaller clubs are struggling, which makes it unlikely that they’ll invest much in sustainability measures.

To give one example, and there are many, Barnet, currently in the Conference Premier but in the Football League as recently as 2018, were losing £100,000 a month and laying off all non-playing staff at the start of the pandemic last spring. That is going to have an effect on all matters considered non-urgent.

However, in the context of a pandemic that has its roots in environmental damage, clubs and fans are going to have to consider this an urgent matter, and think about their teams’ roles in the world in which we live. Covid is a zoonotic disease, meaning it is transmitted between animals and humans. Such disease outbreaks are occurring more frequently. According to a 2020 survey

“69% would be happier to attend football matches if they were more environmentally friendly, while 86% agreed that football should address environmental issues with the same vigilance it does with other major issues, such as racism”.

Yes, it’s a difficult environment for all but the rich, but the backing from the fans is there. Clubs must match it.