Worlds current unstability
It has been a strange world in these past two years. We have seen many major events postponed from 2020 to 2021 through the global pandemic.
The European soccer competition, Euro 2020, the Olympics, London Marathon, and many more were all rescheduled for 2021.
A by-product of the pandemic became apparent. People working from home and events canceled, all leading to a decrease of traffic on roadways, fewer flights, a decline in shipping, and a reduction in manufacturing.
All of these, although temporary, started to have a positive impact on the planet.
So what would a small to medium size sports club’s carbon footprint actually be? Are those organizations’ leadership and public concerned about their impact on the environment? Do they believe that by changing they can help create a positive impact? So what footprint does a sports club have?
Covid impact
The coronavirus pandemic impact was estimated that 2.4GtCO2 of lower emissions from 34 Billion Tonnes the previous year. This was the largest absolute drop in emissions ever recorded (Carbonbrief.org).
This year the atmospheric CO2 levels will be over 412 parts per million. The total of 40GtCO2 is a 48% rise from before the industrial revolution era.
It’s not all negative. Fossil fuel burning industries including companies such as cement factories and other processes have decreased by 7%. On a number scale that has been a 2.4GtCO2 reduction since 2019.
With the world gradually returning to work and life, will we return to pre-pandemic levels?
COP26
The UN (United Nations) climate change conference was held in Glasgow this year. Known as COP26, the conference is the 26th annual summit for the ‘Conference of the Parties’.
COP21 held in Paris in 2015 was pivotal. It was the first time that every country had agreed to work together by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees celsius. Initially, the commitment is to aim for 1.5 degrees. The Paris agreement, signed by 197 countries, was born.
leading up to the COP26 summit, many organizations have established projects that will allow the wider community to be included.
United Nations and FIFA
FIFA pledged support to the United Nations (UN) created project, Sport for Climate Action Framework. FIFAs pledge is to cut carbon emissions by 50% in the next decade and net-zero by 2040. Major national professional leagues are following suit.
One league, in particular, the Premier League (England), is planning to launch its own sustainability strategy within the year.
Premier League teams Chelsea and Tottenham’s fixture in the fall of 2021 was publicized as the greenest soccer match to ever take place.
Four of the best premier league clubs currently taking climate action are, Arsenal FC, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Southampton FC. The Premier League has awarded Tottenham Hotspur as the greenest premier league club.
Arsenal has adopted a water recycling system at their training ground. Recycling 4.5 million gallons in 2020 alone. The club planted over 29,000 trees, installed automated LED lighting and invested in water dispensers.
Water dispensers have saved 150,000 single-use plastic bottles from reaching landfills.
Tottenham Hotspur was a founding member of the 10:10 initiative. This project asks its members to commit to a 10% cutting of emissions each year. As a frontrunner club for climate change, they also were a founding member of ‘count us in.’
Count us in aims for a billion people to take 16 steps in the mitigation against carbon pollution. The new state-of-the-art stadium incorporates features such as a reusable beer cup scheme whilst banning plastic straws and cutlery.
Liverpool created the ‘Red way’ which collates sustainability activity. Southhampton launched the ‘Halo Effect’, a sustainability strategy.
Net zero, zero-carbon and carbon neutrality
Those terms are often thought of as the same. Confusion or misunderstanding can misguide the strategies implemented by organizations. Outcomes are important as they are used as a measurement of cutting footprints.
understanding the differences:
- Carbon neutrality is the result of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint.
- Net-zero carbon emissions can be achieved through balancing emissions against carbon emission reductions and offsetting strategies.
- As well as reducing and offsetting, Net zero also requires the inclusion of other anthropogenic greenhouse gasses. These can include methane, nitrous oxide, and CO2.
- Zero carbon is meaning that no carbon emissions are being produced at all.
- An example of this would be a family with a home with all solar paneling as their energy source. Therefore they are producing zero carbon emissions and can be labeled as Zero-carbon.
- Carbon neutral has us considering our own holistic approach to carbon emissions.
- For example, a business has consideration of their own direct emissions as well as their indirect emissions from suppliers and customers in relation to their business and products that they create. An example would be a cellular phone company.
- The company would take responsibility for their carbon emissions and reduce them.
- They also take responsibility for emissions of the products their customers use. In essence, the cell phone company tackles emission reduction and carbon footprints in both operations and end-user product manufacturing and usage.
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Implications
There have been many arguments with Net zero, opposed to real zero. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg argues the ability to ‘offset’ carbon emissions allows organizations to not actively reduce emissions but to cover their emissions through purchasing carbon offsets. These carbon offsets are purchased by way of other companies/organization reductions or by investing in green projects such as tree planting.
Sports for climate action
The United Nations created an initiative for sporting organizations. The Sports for climate action unites sporting leaders to unite and collaborate to position the sector on a path to low carbon operating.
By collating organizations regarding size through taking responsibility for their climate footprint the hope is that it will incentivize climate action beyond the sports sector.
The two goals championed by Sports for climate control are:
- A clear trajectory for the global sports community to combat climate change. This can be achived through commitments nad partnerships.
- Using sports as a unifying tool to creare solidatery among citizens for climate action
Sports for Climate Action Principles
Organizations need to agree and pledge to the five underpinning principles. These principles need to be incorporated into organizations’ strategies, policies, and procedures. Pledging to be vocal allows a stage for a wider diffusion of the long-term message.
The principles adhered and pledged to are the following:
- Principle 1: Undertake systematic efforts to promote greater environmental responsability
- Principle 2: Reduce overall climate impact
- Principle 3: Educate for climate action
- Principle 4: Promtoe sustainable and resposible consumption
- Principle 5: Advocate fro climate action through communication
Applying those principles
Measuring and understanding the footprint of a person, household or organization is the single most important task. By creating a baseline starting point it will give a robust quantitative measure of current GHG emissions.
Measuring each component of the organization’s footprint can help in taking the action required. Action includes:
- Avoiding – Actiosn to eliminate GHG emissions in the first place
- Reduce – actions designed to lower the impact on the climte of current activities
- Substitute/replace – Actions designed to improve efficiency. Actions such as “cleaner” equipment, fuels, materials and processes
- Compensate – Actions designed to compensate for all or some of organizations by investing in other emission reducing projects
- Report – Provide a credible account for companies or persons climate footprint and the climate actions that have been undertaken. Share this information for lessons learned and for knowledge shared.
Meta Criteria – The four ‘Ps’
- Pledge: Head of organization level to (net) zero GHGs as soon as possible. Then to commit to interim targets to achieve in next decade.
- Plan: within 12 months of joining the race to zero, explain what actions are or will be taken for mid to long term pledges.
- Proceed: Take immediate action to achieve net zero, consistant with interim targets
- Publish: Commit to report publicly the progress, actions taken, adn report back to UNFCCC Global Climate Action Portal.
Soccer Clubs and how to reduce, offset and replace
The very first soccer club to be recognized by FIFA as the greenest soccer club in the world was founded in 1889. Forest Green Rovers began life in a tiny village in the English county of Gloucestershire. The United Nations certified that Forest Green Rovers is the world’s first carbon-neutral soccer club.
The club is also the first professional club to serve and sell vegan-only foods. FGR has spent a lot of time in all aspects of the soccer club. Some ways that FGR have reduced, avoided, and substitute:
- Soccer field: The ‘new Lawn’ is powered by 100% solar energy and windmills.
- The playing surface is mowed by a solar power robot mower
- The ground keeper sprinkles scottish sea Algae and removes weeds by hand
- Recycling cooking oil into Biofuel
- Players and staff championed vegan only menus (along with other sports stars such as Lewis Hamilton, Alex Morgan and Venus Williams)
- Encouraging players, staffand fans to ride share or take pubic transport
- Carbonating the onsite dronks using a novel new CO2 capturing device on the stadium roof.
- The owner, Dale Vince, also uses the CO2 captured to make carbon-negative diamonds!
- Jersys are neon green and manufactured from used ground coffee beans and recycled plastic.
Sustainablity tables
There have been a couple of projects that have helped put sustainability at the forefront of conversations. Both Premier League sustainable table (communicated via BBC Sport) and CUP26 (run in conjunction with COP26) were successful in messaging and engagement in environmental conversations.
The Premier League sustainability Table was created by the principles listed above, points were awarded as follows:
- Clean energy: 2 points
- Energy efficicent: 2 points
- Sustainable transport: 2 points
- Single use plastics reduction or removal: 2 points
- Waste amangement: 2 points
- Water efficiency: 2 points
- Plant based or low-carbon food options: 3 points
- Communications and engagement: 3 points
- Bonus points for actively engaging with fans, club being a signatory, and the club tracks and reports on the fans taking different modes of transport to games.
COP 26 produced a fun way to compete with neighboring clubs. Created and operated by planet Superleague, 54 clubs signed up to participate.
Fans and communities can represent their favorite club by tackling it through some activities. completion of the activities earns goals for your chosen club.
Every week would be a new game, for example, Arsenal v Cambridge, the following week Arsenal could be away to Northhampton Town.
Each week there is a list of activities to do “at home” or “away”. Home activities such as eating a non-meat meal or turning off lights would earn goals. Away activities could be chosen from cleaning your local street, beach, or local park. A fun play on words with activities was ‘No Moura Landfill’ for a recycling challenge (led by Lucas Moura of Tottenham Hotspur).
So where can youth sports organizations reduce their footprint?
Where do clubs start? knowing what needs to be reduced and by how much? just some of the questions that many sports ask themselves.
Let’s be honest, professional organizations have a lot more resources to dedicate to the sports for climate action initiative. The local village club, may not own the fields they play on nor the training ground. That makes certain opportunities and strategies unrealistic.
Purchasing enough solar panels to power everything can be far too expensive, with the cash needed elsewhere. So let’s take a look at realistic ways in which to reduce, replace, or substitute.
Club areas:
- Irrigation and fields
- sustainable water ideas, collecting water from rain in a sustainable pond, using water from a well, using naturel weed control and fertilizing methods.
- Using cut grass for feeding local animals, or creating a compost pile.
- Plant trees
- Replace lighting with LEDs
- Recycle waste by having seperate bins.
- Players and staffing
- Ban the use of single use plastic bottles
- recycle training equipment
- Look after training equipment to last longer
- replace non sustainable training gear with more sustainable ones
- Encourage ride share
- Apparel/uniforms
- Recycle used uniforms and pass on
- Don’t renew uniforms too often
- Sourcing uniform and spiritwear items that are manufactured sustainably (flights, material, manufacturer processes).
- Create programs that reuse cleats, shin guards, gloves etc.
- Offices
- Reduce paper use and move to electronic uses
- subscribe to a green elcetric supplier
- Source shipping carriers that are better carbon reducers
- Turn off all lights and equipement
- Utilize eco-freindly temperatures
- Recycle waste
- Events
- Ask for city or organisation facility carbon footprints
- Meet with vendors and understand their footprint
- Commiunicate through electronic means not paper
- Provide ways to recycle waste
- Reward rideshare
- Provide atendees or vendors a way to offset carbon emmissions
- Reduce particpants that use large carbon footprints, such as teams needing flights, and non sharing rides.
Read More: Small clubs and lowcost sustainability projects
Applying in the real world
The decision to become more conscious of global climate concerns is a dedicated one. Organizations need to live it. Those that pick and choose when to be and not be conscious of environmental impacts will never embrace it fully. Nor would they be ‘all in’.
“It’s going to cost us money!” certainly not a false statement. However, there are certainly ways in which to move forward and implement the easier methods. Removing plastic single-use bottles, recycling uniforms, not renewing uniforms or equipment too often, instead of repairing and reusing.
The biggest way to create a change is to communicate and design events or challenges so like-minded organizations or people can participate. This would increase through crowdsourcing a bigger impact on the reduction of carbon emissions.
Writing this has helped me to understand and provide clarity on areas of our organization that we can immediately reduce and replace.
From the initial question in this article, all people, organizations, and corporations have large footprints. The real question is, can non-profits and sporting clubs that work with low budgets have a sustainability strategy?
Yes, they can. In fact, many policies can be implemented immediately and not cost anything.
Where do you start? try a carbon emissions calculator, it will give a great way to start understanding the amount of CO2 we are responsible for individually.
The biggest question on where to start isn’t the right question at all. It should be, we start now!
