Undersoil heating, floodlights, the arrival and departure of fans – the Bundesliga consumes a lot of energy. However, two thirds of the clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga do not know how much CO2 they emit. This is shown by a survey by ARD radio research sport and the sports show among all 36 professional clubs organized in the German Football League (DFL).
In May, the DFL adopted 39 sustainability criteria – measuring a CO2 footprint is one of them. The clubs have until next March to catch up on the measurement. Then they also have to prove that they have hired a person who is responsible for sustainability. Here, 26 clubs answered that they already meet this criterion. Football and sustainability – so far, these have not really been considered together. Plastic cups, high power consumption and climate-damaging flights are part of everyday football in the league. The DFL now wants to change that in part and establish climate awareness in the league.
Prototype Forest Green Rovers
A role model from England shows how it could work: The Forest Green Rovers are the greenest club in the world and were recognized by the United Nations as the first climate-neutral football club. “Three things are important: energy, nutrition and transportation,” explains owner Dale Vince. “80 percent of the carbon footprint of any person or club is made up of these three factors.” The eco-entrepreneur saved the association from bankruptcy in 2010 and initiated a “green” turnaround. In conversation with the ARD research sport he wears a hoodie from the environmental protection organization “Sea Shepherd”.
“We have to anchor sustainability in the regulations. Every year, the stadium is checked so that people are allowed in here. It’s mainly about safety or whether there are enough toilets. But you could easily extend that to sustainability: Is it recycled? What is there food?”
– Club boss Dale Vince
“Vegans, eat grass!”
The club is 100 percent vegan, and the motto in the stadium is: veggie burgers instead of bratwurst. There are no plastic cups, all packaging is compostable. The Rovers’ energy comes entirely from renewable resources, from Vince’s company “Ecotricity”, solar cells are installed on the stadium roof. There is a large tank with rainwater for the stadium lawn, pesticides are taboo. Some of the transport already works with electricity. There is an e-car and two charging stations in front of the stadium, as well as a small e-bus that has already been used to travel to nearby away games.
“People notice us, some might not like what we’re doing here, the visiting fans sometimes sing songs like ‘Vegans, eat grass!’, but at the end of the day we help the environment and football is a platform for that, our message to spread.”
– Rovers goalkeeper Lewis Thomas
FC Bayern makes climate protection a top priority
FC Bayern Munich and other clubs still have a long way to go before then. FC Bayern is one of the clubs that does not yet measure its footprint. However, the topic of sustainability was recently declared a top priority for the Munich team and is reported to sports director Oliver Kahn. Something is happening.
However, the record champions have started an initiative to work more sustainably. First stop: the stadium. In the future, FC Bayern will forgo part of the lighting in the Allianz Arena and will invest in solar cells, among other things.
“What is very important is that everyone in the 1st and 2nd leagues is screened and they say: Where are you? And this will result in potential for improvement for everyone, because no club is the same and no stadium is the same.”
– Jürgen Muth, Managing Director of the Allianz Arena
Zero CO2 emissions by 2040
From 2024, clubs will have to declare whether they have a specific and measurable target to reduce their carbon emissions. So far, only FC St. Pauli, TSG Hoffenheim, VfL Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen can prove such a goal. These four clubs have pledged to cut their carbon emissions by at least half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2040. This means that for all CO2 emissions that a club then causes, it must take measures to get these emissions out of the atmosphere again.
Measures too lax?
For the time being, the clubs do not have to fear any penalties if they do not meet all the requirements. That causes criticism. Efforts are not fast enough for some clubs, sponsors and fans. “On the one hand, that’s because it’s just a matter of meeting minimum standards that are quite normal in the free economy,” criticizes Anna-Maria Hass from the fan network Future Professional Football. It is not enough “just to report what is happening without actually setting scientifically sound goals behind it”.