Liverpool FC has reached a new milestone in its efforts to reach Net Zero by 2040, having transitioned to more sustainable materials and production methods across 90% of its retail packaging and materials.
Part of the football clubs overarching sustainability strategy, titled The Red Way, the team has been engaging with suppliers to help transform its retail activities. Among the actions taken within this area of the business is the switch in packaging materials to use sugar-based poly bags, recycled paper, and card.
The move has contributed to the wider success the club has seen in achieving a 29% reduction in emissions this season against the previous season (2021-22), which includes running 94% of the club’s operations on clean energy and offsetting 100% of its emissions from its football operations.
It’s all been detailed in the latest sustainability impact report from the club, its Red Way 2022-23 season report which has been published today to celebrate the team’s sustainability achievements in its commitment to ‘creating a better future for its people, planet, and communities.’
Since its launch in January 2021, The Red Way has been embedded into all aspects of the club’s operations. Since then, LFC has – for the second consecutive year – topped the Sport Positive League as the most environmentally sustainable Premier League football club. This is the first of several award wins for LFC’s sustainability strategy, including at the Football Business Awards, Sports Business Awards, Brand Finance Awards, and Seal Awards.
Among its biggest achievement for the year, LFC has seen an increase in positive behaviour among its fans which resulted in plastic bottle waste recycling on matchdays increasing from 25% in 2021-22 to 90% in 2022-23.
The club is also leading the way on its use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to fuel its team buses, which creates a reduction in carbon emissions of up to 90% from regular diesel.
The club’s work with the United Nations also continues to develop, as it works towards meeting 14 of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, from attending the Eradicate Hate Global Summit sports event in New York to hosting the UN Eradicate Hate work summit at Anfield.
The newest report also reflects the considerable role official club partners continue to play in helping to drive The Red Way, including SC Johnson’s collaboration on LFC’s plastic bottle recycling collection campaign, and the Play On initiative spearheaded by Standard Chartered to inspire, empower, and educate girls in sports.
Rishi Jain, director of impact at LFC, said: “The Red Way is a priority for the club and it has been fantastic to see how quickly it has been adopted and implemented into every aspect of the business.
“The commitment our fans, staff, partners, and stakeholders have demonstrated to The Red Way has also played a significant role in its success to date and will continue to support its ambitious goals to build a better future for our people, planet, and communities.”
