Is Sustainability High Enough On The Sports Sector’s Agenda?

In football, there’s been a far greater focus on how clubs can improve their sustainability credentials. Forest Green Rovers, a Gloucestershire-based EFL League One football club, is a leading example of promoting the benefits of sustainability in sport. 

The United Nations cited Forest Green as the world’s first carbon-neutral football club thanks to its use of entirely renewable energy, its vegan kitchen, and its players’ kits being made from coffee bean waste and recycled plastic bottles. 

This business model has brought the club much acclaim, and they now have 100 fan clubs in over 20 countries. It’s also bought commercial deals with leading brands such as Oatly, Quorn, Ecotricity and Bolt.  Premier League teams are also bolstering their efforts towards carbon neutrality. Arsenal FC, for example, now recycle 80% of matchday waste and offer only reusable cups.

This has led to new partnerships with companies such as Octopus Energy and Camden Town and elevated the club’s brand among its fans. Meanwhile, Sky Sports and Tottenham Hotspur teamed up for Game Zero, the world’s first net zero football match conducted at elite level. It took place between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, with the aim of inspiring fans to consider how they can reduce their own carbon footprint.

“Some clubs and venues are doing great work, but I think governing bodies need a push to really get it in motion. As an example, the Bundesliga in Germany have made sustainability a licencing requirement. Clubs in the first or second league must now meet sustainability criteria to participate. That includes appointing a dedicated sustainability impact officer, reporting on their energy and water usage, and finding ways to reduce waste. There needs to be more of this to make it front and centre.” Irwin Mitchell’s sport law expert, Ted Powell, highlighted the potential to introduce a similar licencing system in English football.

“In February 2023, the Government published its White Paper on reforming football governance. In a series of significant recommendations, the White Paper proposed that an independent regulator is introduced and operates a licencing system. To obtain a licence to compete, it is proposed that clubs must comply with “threshold conditions.”

“As things stand, the proposed conditions don’t include anything about the club’s environmental impact or strategy. This feels like a missed opportunity. As the recommendations in the White Paper evolve, it will be interesting to see whether climate issues are incorporated into the threshold conditions. This could be an effective and structured way of monitoring and improving the impact that football has on the environment.” The White Paper’s failure to mention anything about climate issues raises an important question – is the sports sector taking sustainability seriously enough?

“The short answer is no,” says Sports Positive’s Claire Poole. Sports Positive is focused on increasing action and ambition on climate change across the global sports community. “There’s loads of great work happening, and it’s higher up on the agenda than it’s ever has been.

“But when you step out of the bubble of our community, you start to think about how many sports organisations there are globally and how few public commitments there are comparatively. It’s probably higher up the agenda than it has ever been, but it’s still not high enough yet.”

Ted Powell discussed the rise in climate litigation, which demonstrates some of the legal issues that can arise when sports organisations don’t put sustainability high enough on the agenda.