Scoring net-zero

Heatwave. Pints. Euros. Now that’s what I call summer.

While I’m not a die-hard football fan, I do love the passion, joy, and excitement that the Euros bring. And what makes this European Championships a little more special (for me!) is UEFA’s bold statement: “The most sustainable European Championship of all time.”

We don’t tend to associate climate change with sports, but they sure do impact each other. Remember when athletes fainted and running events were moved to different locations due to the heat and humidity in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics? Or when tennis matches were disrupted by bushfires in the 2020 Australian Open?

At the same time, large sporting events have huge carbon footprints; mostly from travelling. UEFA’s EURO 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy focuses on 11 areas of actions ranging from renewable energy and circular economy to local public transport incentives for ticket holders and a climate fund. Whether this is “the most sustainable European Championship of all time” remains a question mark. I suspect that Euro 1976, held in then Yugoslavia, with just four teams (Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, West Germany, plus the hosts) was quite a lot lower than today’s 24-team event!

Europe is taking the centre stage this summer with Olympics scheduled following Euros, and Paris braces for a big test as Météo-France, the national weather service, warns of extreme heat expected this summer.

And in the UK, football faces its own climate challenges. The increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, such as flooding and drought induced by a changing climate, pose significant risks to stadiums and grassroot games. A study by Rapid Transition Alliance reported that a quarter of UK football grounds will be flooded by 2050…

However, football is adapting. Six Premier League clubs have net-zero targets and efforts such as on-site clean energy generation, rainwater drainage and harvesting systems, as well as serving plant-based food to reflect a growing commitment to sustainability. And let’s not forget Tottenham Hotspur Game Zero day back in 2021, the world’s first net-zero-carbon elite football match.

International sporting events are a calendar highlight we’ve become used to – but there’s a lot of work to do to make sure they can still go ahead over the next century.