Forest Green Rovers lead charge on eco-friendly football

How does climate change relate to football?

You may have noticed players taking additional water breaks during the midway point of each half due to extreme heatwaves across Europe over the summer.

These became mandatory as record-breaking temperatures soared (about 40 degrees), but it’s not only the health and wellbeing of dedicated athletes at risk.

One quarter of all stadiums in England are at risk of climate disasters, with Premier League contenders West Ham, Chelsea, and Southampton’s home stadiums susceptible to flooding in the coming decades.

Extending their efforts to mitigate these types of climate related disasters, the Forest Green Rovers have begun this year’s season with a campaign to encourage fans to travel to their stadium by foot.

In a partnership with Bolt, supporters can log their gameday step counts into the club’s wellness app YuMuuv. After doing so, they will be entered in a competition to win a selection of prizes, including home season tickets.

This rewards system not only works to get fanbases on board with becoming more eco-conscious, but will reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions of every game played.

Are any Premier League clubs going green?

Yes, there are.

Arsenal FC might not have a timber stadium, but it became an eco-friendly trailblazer in the British football community by switching to 100 percent green electricity way back in 2016. It also was the first in the league to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.

The Emirates stadium has fresh-water dispensers for its visitors, saving an estimated 150,000 single-use bottles annually. The club’s training ground also has a water recycling system that utilised 4.5 million litres during 2020.

Arsenal FC has planted over 30,000 trees to foster Colney Wood forests on the east cost of England.

Their North London rivals Tottenham may have only signed the Sports for Climate Action Framework last year, but the club does take noteworthy steps to foster sustainable action in its community.

It is a founding member of the 10:10 initiative which encourages organisations to cut emission levels by 10 percent each year. Since its new stadium opened in 2019, fans are served beer in reusable cups, and bans on plastic cutlery and straws are in place.

Finally, Liverpool FC runs entirely on renewable energy, its club catering comes in 100 percent biodegradable packaging, and rainwater is preserved to keep its training pitches green.

While these may seem like small steps towards making the football industry more sustainable (let’s not forget players still travel to compete across Europe in fuel-hungry jets), it’s encouraging to see clubs making changes to improve their impact on the planet at home.

Let’s hope we see more clubs – particularly those in the Premier League – following in the footsteps of the Forest Green Rovers, who have accomplished their mission of being carbon neutral from day one.