The Football Association (FA) has launched a new five-year sustainability strategy, titled
‘Playing for the Future’. The crux of the initiative rests on achieving net zero status by 2040, which will mean the FA investing over £35m (US$44m) to deliver on its targets for 2040.
This work is intended to reduce overall CO2 emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline, whilst reducing electricity consumption by 30% by 2028, and reducing gas consumption by 20% by 2028.
The statement released also pointed to the protection of biodiversity across FA venues and reducing water consumption by 30%
Logistics
The FA says it will create the operational framework to embed this strategy across the whole organisation, including its facilities, and increase awareness and environmental sustainability practices across football, whilst governing and supporting wider change.
“Through our new five-year commitment, we want to make tangible progress through our own sustainability initiatives, while raising awareness, and bringing the wider football community with us on this journey,” said chief executive Mark Bullingham.
The launch of this new sustainability strategy builds on the extensive works across Wembley Stadium
and St. George’s Park, which include an ISO 20121 certification in 2019, recognition of its event sustainability management system.
These efforts marked the growth of its focus on zero-waste-to-landfill, sustainable procurement and cross-industry collaboration, among others.
A sustainable future
The strategy will be reviewed every two years and further updates will be provided in due
course.
Ruaidhri Dunn, The FA’s head of procurement and sustainability, said “We are very proud of our achievements in recent years to become more environmentally friendly, and added, “however
we want to make further progress.”
