UEFA Euro 2024: Football is in need of green initiatives
Since last weekend, the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament kicked off in Germany and has been the talk of the town. A big tournament like this has an extra responsibility to showcase its commitment to green initiatives, but will the competition live up to its promise of becoming the most sustainable one?
During COP28, UEFA revealed its €32 million Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy aimed at making Euro 2024 the most sustainable tournament ever. While the world focuses on what happens on the field during 90 minutes, its actual impact extends well beyond that.
Its culture spreads from stadiums to streets, influencing transport, kitchens, pubs, and grounds. However, along with this spread come the associated carbon emissions.
The football industry emits approximately 30 million tonnes of CO2 annually worldwide. This is equivalent to the total emissions of Denmark or Tunisia. Although the tournaments can help boost the host country's economy, the industry also faces the challenge of maintaining environmental sustainability.
Euro 2024 promises
A German environmental research institute, Öko-Institut has projected that UEFA Euro 2024 will result in 490,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. Travel is responsible for almost 70% of the total.
Similar results were seen in the last two FIFA World Cups (Figure 1). So, what is UEFA’s plan to mitigate those emissions now?
Travel
Unlike Euro 2021, which took place in 11 European cities, all the matches this time are happening in Germany. Efforts have been made to arrange for national teams to travel by rail between matches. Teams from Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal have committed to avoiding air travel altogether for their group-stage matches.
Additionally, fan movements to support their countries will contribute significantly to the carbon footprint. German fans traveling by train will generate an average of 41g of CO2 equivalent per passenger. However, mitigating the environmental impact of fans traveling from their home countries across Europe remains a significant challenge.
The organizers are offering a 25% discount on Interrail passes to Euro 2024 ticket holders, along with a 29-euro ticket option for travel between host cities. The ticket holders are also receiving 36 hours of free regional transportation.
Figure 2 shows how much emissions can be saved if the teams travel by coach or train during the group stage. The emissions could be reduced by 57% for this part of the tournament, amounting to over 844 tonnes of CO2. That is comparable to more than 150 times the yearly carbon footprint of an average European.
Food and drinks
UEFA calculated that each fan will generate approximately 0.7 kg CO2 equivalent from food and drink per game. Since vegan bratwurst generates 30% less than pork bratwurst, stadiums are providing vegetarian alternatives with minimal, recyclable packaging.
In addition, stadiums and public viewing areas are introducing reusable cups. Single-use items are being replaced with reusable alternatives or deposit return schemes, and biodegradable items are being disposed of in the appropriate waste streams.
Infrastructure
Qatar built seven stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which resulted in a release of an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent—about three times the total expected for Euro 2024. Although this tournament requires no new stadiums, UEFA has strategies to use fewer materials, select low-carbon alternative materials, and employ lower-carbon fuels if needed to upgrade the current stadium.
The DFB is also committed to using renewable energy sources in stadiums and reducing water consumption.
Related: Germany reaches a record high in the installation of renewable energy
Carbon offsetting
Achieving a carbon balance close to net zero would likely require offsetting measures. However, the practice of claiming “climate neutrality” through offsetting has faced huge criticism in recent years.
Following Qatar 2022's claim as the "first carbon-neutral World Cup," subsequent investigations revealed significant discrepancies, leading to criticism and legal challenges. Despite this, UEFA has integrated offsetting into its sustainability strategy.
UEFA will contribute 25 euros to a Climate Fund for each tonne of CO2 emitted during the tournament. That is estimated to reach seven million euros. This fund will support initiatives in energy, water, waste management, and smart mobility for German amateur clubs. UEFA is also offering grants of up to €250,000 for environmental projects led by amateur clubs in Germany.
Related: Is investing in carbon credits a viable solution to meet climate targets?
But, football is a business
The top 10 highest-earning European football clubs are shown in Figure 3. In the 2022/23 season, Real Madrid generated approximately 831.4 million euros.
But if the football industry is to foster both at the national and international level, they need to acknowledge the significance of ESG. They require implementing eco-friendly initiatives, such as using renewable energy sources and reducing carbon emissions.
Moreover, these clubs should invest in social programs and promote diversity to create a positive impact beyond the field. Figure 4 shows the top European clubs that are ahead in their sustainability initiatives.
Liverpool FC (England) is currently the leading sustainable football brand with 86/100 points among Europe's top 5 leagues. Within the past decade, it has become important for clubs to prove themselves ahead in the complete package of ESG. After all, football is both a game and a business with a significant carbon footprint.
For example, stadiums consume large amounts of energy, and maintaining the pitch requires substantial water resources. Fans travel to support their teams, and there is also the distribution of merchandise and catering services to consider.
Major international tournaments, such as Euro 2024, which last several weeks, greatly influence the global carbon budget. It is time for clubs and countries to develop pioneering plans for future green initiatives.
What do future tournaments, such as UEFA Euro 2024 look like?
In 2020, UEFA pledged to reduce its climate emissions by half by 2030. However, the organization has faced criticism for not outlining a clear strategy on how it plans to reach this goal.
Especially after the Qatar World Cup, which emitted more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 alone, the connection between football and the environment is becoming increasingly evident. Without sustainable practices, the growing market size in global sports (Figure 5) and in football in the coming years will be at risk.
As global temperatures rise, there will be more unpredictable and extreme weather events, such as increased rainfall and flooding. We have already seen the impact in Germany, as the majority of the games have taken place in the rain.
This could be even worse with time. According to the Telegraph, a quarter of Football League stadiums in England could face annual flooding by 2050 due to rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events driven by climate change.
Related: The effects of El Niño is not the only reason behind Europe’s devastating floods
Just as football is a team sport, reducing the carbon footprint of major tournaments requires collective effort. Through strategies such as reducing resource usage, adopting renewable energy sources, and minimizing waste, tournaments, such as UEFA Euro 2024 can diminish their environmental impact while cutting operational expenses and ensuring long-term sustainability.
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