British football is making a rousing comeback in high-stakes fight against climate change with the unveiling of a new Premier League Environmental Sustainability Commitment.
All 20 of the topflight football clubs within the League have this week – and after extensive consultation – agreed to develop a robust environmental sustainability policy by the end of the 2024/25 season.
This policy will make up just one part of a commitment to four new measures across each team within the Premier League, which also includes:
Designating a senior employee to lead the club’s environmental sustainability activities.
Developing a greenhouse gas emissions dataset for scope 1, 2, and 3 by the end of the 2025/26 season and work towards a standardised football-wide approach to measuring emissions.
Supporting the development of a common framework for action via the Premier League Sustainability Working Group.
The Premier League said the measures had been developed following ‘extensive’ consultation with clubs and its sustainability working group, first established last year to help shape and inform environmental practices across the division.
Clubs agreed to adopt the new sustainability pledges after a two-day meeting.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Premier League said the Commitment “introduces a minimum standard of action on environmental issues” that would “build on existing action made by clubs to reduce their environmental impact and provide a foundation to underpin long-term environmental ambitions.”
The Premier League has itself committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040 stating earlier this year that it was “finalising an environmental sustainability strategy which will set out plans to deliver climate action.”
“As part of this strategy, the League will continue to engage with clubs and current partners to find practical ways of reducing football’s environmental impact,” the statement added.
Within the Products of Change community, both Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur have shared plans to address the environmental impact of areas of the clubs’ fan engagement that reaches licensed merchandise and products. At Liverpool FC, this falls under the club’s own sustainability strategy, The Red Way.
According to Sport Positive Leagues dataset, the majority of Premier League clubs have an environmental policy or strategy in place.
Sport Positive’s founder, Claire Poole, said that the “development of a common framework for action via the Premier League Sustainability Working Group is an important commitment, as the power of collective and unified action in football is key to ambition, actions, and success at scale.”
