It is half way through the football season and many of you would have journeyed far and wide in order to give your loyal support to your team. As a regional or international brand as well as a club, football clubs have the power to be viable vehicles of social change. With a global reach, they can have influence over the lives of millions. Thus, while we follow our club for its sport, it is not unheard of to hear football clubs acting as philanthropic bodies to support charitable organisations or social causes. Yet, in addition to this, have you ever wondered what your club is doing to tackle change on environmental issues? Do football clubs even care? The answer is yes.
Whilst still managing to concentrate on the results, and the football, football clubs are also contributing in various ways to make a positive impact on the environment at the same time as improving their sustainability.
Promoting Football, Off the Pitch
A host of clubs have been linked with a variety of different initiatives, aimed at improving their environmental credentials, whilst still managing to concentrate on their football. Manchester United only just recently, topped the Environmental Agency’s “Energy Efficient Performance League Table”. A list which ranked 2,000 CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) organisations based on energy use management [1].
Tottenham Hotspur too succeeded in their campaign to tackle carbon. Signing up to the 10:10 campaign along with other businesses and individuals, they aimed to cut emissions by 10 percent over the course of just one year. Smashing the target by reducing emissions by 14 percent, Spurs cut their emissions by 400 tonnes over the past year and in doing so managed to curb their energy bill in the process [2].
The club deployed measures such as, motion sensitive lighting controls at training facilities, push taps to save water, and they reduced the heat setting for the training ground washing machines.
Chelsea FC, the first football club signed to London’s Green 500 Campaign, like Tottenham FC, also encourage better environmental performance practices such as the washing of football kit at lower temperatures [see 3].
Regardless of the lucrative funds received from being in the Premier League, other non-premier clubs have also shown that they can play their part. Ipswich Town in 2007 became the UK’s First Carbon Neutral Football Club. In order to achieve this, fans pledged to uphold energy efficient measures in their own homes! The undertaking of 14,000 pledges resulted in a total carbon dioxide saving of 3, 200 tonnes. The club itself also working hard; decreased energy consumption by 20% in comparison to the year before [4].
Not all ambitions go rewarded however. Manchester City wanted to partly power its floodlights with electricity generated by a 360ft wind turbine outside its stadium, but in 2008 it was blocked following fears that icicles might fall from its blades and injure passers-by. Similarly, plans by Deveronvale FC in Aberdeenshire to build a wind turbine were rejected in 2009 [5].
Thus, whatever the aims or goals of such initiatives; implementing proposals is not always easy. Furthermore, despite the rankings of a club’s environmental practices, football is not an area in which people will shop around for the best and most environmentally friendly club. Sticking and showing loyalty to one’s club is of upmost importance in the game. Although boycotts do occur, few if ever change their club indefinitely. Furthermore, it is the fans if anything that contribute highly to the carbon footprints of the clubs. In an analysis by Dr. Andrea Collins of Cardiff University, the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Millwall saw the average fan, that day, leave a carbon footprint seven times higher than the average UK resident [6]. As such, we probably won’t be seeing a boycott on the over use of flood lights any time soon; or boycotts, against the pitfalls of long distance travelling, from one set of fans to another; especially when football fans in the UK have shown that they are never one to refrain from travel.
The only thing that really matters, then, is that clubs at least are taking action. And that they continue to encourage others to do so too.
[2] http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2134009/spurs-scores-carbon-cutting-victory
[3] http://www.chelseafc.com/page/Social_Responsibility_Details/0,,10268~1658262,00.html
[4] http://www.itfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10272~1020556,00.html
