SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Brighton & Hove Albion FC, My Albion My Planet
In 2024 the club signed the UNFCCC Sports For Climate Action Framework which committed the club to reducing emissions 50% by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2040 and published an environmental sustainability strategy, My Albion My Planet.
The strategy focused action on six priority areas of impact; energy & water, travel & transport, waste, supply chain, biodiversity, culture & community.
Results include upgraded LED pitch grow lights using 40% less energy, fixing hidden water leaks and upgrading water efficiency to reduce daily water by 41,203 litres. 24,000 trees replacing 5 hectares of deforestation have been planted by our members goodies sacrifice. New travel incentives for away fan travel by train and remade merchandise from old kit stocks have been popular with supporters. Along with an education plan on waste minimisation for all staff and suppliers.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC is a leader in sports sustainability, driving impactful environmental and social initiatives. Notable achievements include securing third place in the Green Football Weekend (GFW) campaign, reducing CO2 emissions from food by 51% and plastic waste by 68% for a selected matchday. The club’s partnership with MSC Cruises created the MSC Meadow with 100 trees planted to raise awareness of biodiversity loss, generating over 2.6 million impressions globally. Chelsea’s Foundation delivered sustainability education to over 3,800 young people, with 93% finding the sessions inspiring.
Sustainability efforts extend to fan engagement through the Sustainability Supporters Group and proactive environmental education presented via the Fan Advisory Board. Chelsea provides staff with carbon literacy training and earned awards for its non-matchday sustainable event practices. Its innovative energy-monitoring system reduced energy consumption, while the club switched to fully LED pitch-grow lights, a Premier League first.
With 42 matchday locations offering vegan/vegetarian options and a commitment to zero waste to landfill, Chelsea has drastically reduced waste, saved water, and switched to compostable packaging. The club’s sustainability impact is amplified through industry collaborations and representation in key climate discussions. Supported by a robust governance structure, Chelsea is setting new standards for sustainability in sports.
kitround
kitround is an innovative marketplace platform dedicated to the reuse and redistribution of sports kit, addressing both sustainability challenges and financial barriers to participation in sport. Launched in June 2024, kitround collaborates with sports governing bodies, clubs, charities, schools, brands, and grassroots organisations to ensure sports kit remains in circulation rather than being discarded.
In partnership with Visa, kitround introduced the “Declutter & Do Good” campaign to promote sustainability and equity in sport through the recommerce of sports kit. This initiative successfully engaged communities, selling pregamed sports gear and raising substantial funds for grassroots sports. The campaign leveraged Visa’s sponsorship of football and other sports to demonstrate its impact at the grassroots level while highlighting sport’s role in sustainable and inclusive practices.
The campaign exceeded expectations, collecting over 7,000 pieces of kit and surpassing donation targets by 120%. It generated over 30 million impressions, 35,000 clicks, and raised significant funds, with Visa committing £1 per item purchased, up to £20,000. Influential figures such as Fran Kirby and Adam Peaty amplified the campaign’s reach, setting a new standard for sustainability in sport and reinforcing the potential of recommerce to drive positive environmental and social
Lewes FC x Who Gives a Crap
Lewes Football Club, a community-owned, equality-driven football club, partnered with Who Gives A Crap, an eco-friendly toilet paper company, to create a sustainability-driven sponsorship that redefined ethical branding in sports. The partnership challenged traditional sponsorship norms by using humor and bold messaging to promote sustainability awareness.
With Who Gives A Crap’s branding integrated into Lewes FC’s kit design, the campaign generated over 1.2 million social media impressions, 250,000+ engagements, and was featured in 50+ major media outlets. The campaign also inspired record-breaking kit sales and helped fund global sanitation projects, demonstrating the commercial viability of sustainable sponsorships.
Beyond branding, the partnership included matchday sustainability activations, educational initiatives, and stadium waste reduction programs, reinforcing the club’s commitment to environmental responsibility. Fan surveys showed that 89% of supporters felt more positive about sustainability after the campaign.
Looking ahead, Lewes FC and Who Gives A Crap are expanding their sustainability efforts, setting a new standard for ethical football sponsorships. This partnership proves that football can be both commercially successful and a powerful force for positive environmental change.
London Stadium Roof Solar Membrane Project
London Stadium is known as one of the world’s best multi-use venues, built for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, transformed into the home of West Ham United and a history of hosting sports and arts events.
Sustainability was at the heart of the Olympic promise from London 2012 and remains a core strategic pillar of all activity at the venue. The Mayor of London has an ambitious sustainability and environmental agenda and has highlighted London Stadium as the flagship investment project as part of his 2030 Net Carbon Zero vision.
The Solar Membrane Project was the first to receive funding from the Mayor’s Green Finance Fund, helping public sector bodies decarbonise and accelerate London’s transition to Net Zero. The £4.35 million project will enable the Stadium to save more than 200 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and generate enough to power all the venue’s major events, and 10% of its annual electricity use.
The initiative is first of its kind in the UK, and the largest solar array on any Premier League venue. The installation will be completed by summer 2025 and drive a reduction of over 850,000-kWh per annum, a saving of 10% on electricity costs.
Oxford United FC
As part of its commitment to tackling climate change, OUFC has created a robust low carbon business strategy to integrate sustainability into the club’s entire value chain.
The club sees its new 16,000-capacity stadium as a key enabler to achieve its carbon reduction targets. Working with its design partners who share their ethos and commitment to meaningful change, the team are designing the UK’s first all-electric stadium, setting a benchmark design in sports venues, adopting low carbon practices.
With fan travel being one of the club’s largest emission sources, the club are taking advantage of the new stadium’s close proximity to Oxford Parkway Station to significantly reduce reliance on cars, setting a benchmark for greener travel in sports.
As well as designing a resilient stadium to withstand the effects of climate change including extreme weather conditions, the stadium enhances biodiversity through green walls, roofs, and rain gardens and provides opportunities for enhanced local community benefits through green spaces.
The club demonstrates leadership in driving systemic change by promoting the adoption of low carbon technologies with their principal partner BAXI who share their commitment in promoting the role of sport to drive climate awareness and positive change within the local communities.
Pledgeball
Pledgeball is a research-led charity focused on driving pro-environmental behaviour change in the sports industry by encouraging fans, players, clubs and officials to make sustainable pledges.
Leveraging the collective power of sport, Pledgeball reduces stigma around behaviour change and translates It into sporting language through initiatives like Pledgeball fixtures and leagues. The charity works to empower individuals, highlighting their impact within larger communities.
Pledgeballs’ core team of 8 members, supported by 20-25 volunteers who’s diverse expertise drives campaigns such as the Pledgeball League, where fans pledge actions to reduce CO2 emissions. They collaborate with clubs and organisations, including UEFA and the Football Supporters’ Association, to foster systemic change.
Pledgeball’s’ research-led approach has proven successful, with campaigns like the ‘Champions League Innovate Pledge League’ reaching 6.2 million fans and generating pledges saving over 21million kg CO2e annually. This increased fan engagement by 38% from 2023.
Through the strategy of combining academic insights, impactful partnerships and simple, replicable action to create lasting change in the sports community, Pledgeball has an optimistic view of the future – but recognises there are simple steps we can take to achieve this future closer to today.
Sustainability at Brentford FC – Taking care of our planet and our people
Brentford has from strength to strength over the last few decades. As the club experiences growth, we cannot ignore the environmental challenges our world faces. We operate on a global platform, and we must acknowledge our impact on the environment and the influence we have.
We want our club to thrive in a world that where we take care of our planet and our people, and our ambition is for Brentford to be an industry-leading example of good, responsible practice. In 2024, we made more progress on our sustainability journey than in any other year in the club’s history.
Our league-first partnership with trainline offers fans 20% off rail tickets to away games outside of London. 34% of fans surveyed switched from driving to rail as a result.
We published our first sustainability report, trained over 250 staff on the impact of climate change, opened a community garden to cultivate nature in our community, and established an advisory group of sustainability experts to guide our action and fan engagement.
What we do now will help our fans and community thrive for generations to come. 2024 was just the start.
