It was just over two years ago the Premier League’s Liverpool FC decided to step its sustainability game up a notch and launch The Red Way, a club-wide sustainability programme devised to inspire and encourage positive change in behaviour – both within its own operations and among fans.

Since then, sustainability has had a place at the table regarding all major initiatives or decisions made at the club as it pushed forward in its commitment to “create a better future for its people, the planet, and communities.” Last week, the Liverpool FC licensing team joined the Products of Change Innovation Zone to present what that kind of commitment looks like at a product and merchandise level.

As the dust settles on another successful Brand Licensing Europe and as we prepare for the Sustainability in Licensing Conference taking place on November 8 at the Royal Geographical Society in London, we catch up with Rishi Jain, director of impact at Liverpool FC to get the inside track on what’s been going on at the Premier League’s greenest club.

Hello Rishi, it’s great to chat with you. First, congratulations on the fantastic progress being made through The Red Way initiative. To give us an overview, can you talk us through some of the biggest milestones for the strategy so far?

Rishi: Thank you! We’re really proud of all we’ve achieved through The Red Way and excited by the challenges that lie ahead in our sustainability journey. Our approach to this area is truly holistic and encompassed in our three dedicated pillars of The Red Way – People, Planet, and Communities.

This is an important milestone itself. We have created a strategy that is embedded across our business and allows us to constantly move forward and grow. A standout achievement which supports this is the achievement of the ISO20121 in February 2023. This was a really significant piece of work for many colleagues across the club and a demonstration of our commitment to authentic sustainability across our organisation.

The Red Way celebrated a recent win when it was found that you guys are now seeing a 98% hand-back rate for reusable cups amongst fans at home matches. This is a lovely little snapshot of fan engagement. Do you get a sense that, across the board, fans are clicking with the sustainability measures at LFC?

Definitely. The 98% hand-back rate for reusable cups is great indication of that, and we’re constantly seeing more and more of our supporters engage with the club’s efforts across sustainability. It’s the same for each of our pillars – the fan base rightly expects us to be striving to be the best in all that we do.

The Red Way has created an identity for our overarching approach to sustainability. It sounds simple but to get that right is so important and allows us to build on the power of the badge, what it means to be a Liverpool FC supporter and what it means to be part of a club and make a difference in our communities – national or international.

There’s an expectation at the club for everyone to do the right thing because we’re a values-driven organisation who believes in those principles. The next step in our journey is to continue to develop the messaging and influence to champion sustainability not just with our fanbase but with wider society too.

The latest Red Way report showcases all the efforts and achievements being made and it’s fantastic to get a bird’s eye view of everything taking place to understand the ethos and commitment at Liverpool.

Key areas to us are, obviously, Supply Chains and Merchandise, which fall under Liverpool FC’s scope 3. Can you tell us about ways in which you are working and collaborating with partners and suppliers to measure and reduce emissions in this space?

Our merchandising team does a fantastic job of leading our work in this area and working with colleagues across the rest of the business to embed our commitments to environmental sustainability into their processes. We’re able to work with many of our suppliers to understand what their objectives are and ensure how they align with what we’re trying to achieve.

We appreciate that some suppliers are further in that journey than others, and importantly, that we can learn from them as we continue to make progress. We work with our suppliers to align to our approach as part of the onboarding processes. As a wider objective embedded within the product procurement strategy, we’re currently looking at increasing the traceability of all our current suppliers and their third-party supply bases.

Focusing on the merchandise side, it’s great to see emissions reductions being made. How receptive are partners to the measures in place at Liverpool FC and how do you approach these partnerships to encourage those reductions?

Our supply base has undergone a significant review over the last 12 months and we have selected specialists in their fields who have the ability and desire to fulfil our objectives as outlined in The Red Way. We’re committed to working with those key suppliers and support their needs where we can. It’s a two-way process in our collaborative quest to reduce emissions.

And can you tell us about some of those key partnerships? What did you guys showcase at Brand Licensing Europe this year?

Absolutely! We displayed a range of our sustainable products from both licensees and our LFC Club Retail. From our licensees we had a recycled luggage range produced by FOCO with a duffel bag and backpack both on display. These items are made from 100% recycled polyester fibres, originating from plastic bottles.

As part of our move away from plastic products, we also brought our fully reusable and recyclable aluminium water bottles produced by Water Co. Moving from FMCG into paper and stationery, all our calendars and greetings cards are produced in the UK and are fully FSC accredited, and we had a range of these from Danilo on display.

From our Club Retail, meanwhile, we brought our award-winning plush bear made from approximately 14 bottles. Our bear recently won a Gold Seal Award at the Business Sustainability Awards. For fans of sports outside of football, we also showcased our state-of-the-art LFC Retail cycling jersey, made from 100% recycled polyester.

What plans have you got to introduce greater circularity within the merchandise business? How can Liverpool FC pioneer a circular economy for merchandise?

The merchandising functions are embracing the principles of reuse, recycle, and repurpose where possible across the business, as most organisations are across the world. It’s really important to explore these terms as much as possible to encourage circularity. In Autumn 2023, we pledged to produce fully sustainable ranges and have switched to either recycled card or recycled plastic hangers. Paper, tissue, and packaging is being reused to pack customer orders from our Distribution Centre and although these are small changes, they are making a significant difference.

Rishi, thanks for talking us through the journey so far. Can you tell us, what’s the next step for the Liverpool FC sustainability journey? What’s keeping your job exciting right now?

The most exciting part of my job right now is the opportunity we have to continue to make a difference across the three pillars through The Red Way. The club-wide approach to sustainability means we’re set up for success and continually striving to achieve more – everyone across the club is 100% committed to continuing our journey to lead the way in this area.