A wave of climate action from the forest
Through their global reach, sports like football can significantly raise awareness about climate change and inspire millions to implement more sustainable habits.
Based in a quaint little town two hours west of London, Forest Green Rovers are demonstrating how sports teams can create waves of climate action.
The world’s greenest football club
Nailsworth, a town of 5,700 people in the Cotswolds, is home to one of the most forward-thinking football clubs in the world.
In fact, FIFA described Forest Green Rovers in 2017 as the greenest club in world football. That’s quite a statement for a club many had never heard of.
Founded in 1889, Forest Green Rovers started its sustainability journey in 2010 with an ambition to become the world’s first carbon-neutral club.
It achieved that in 2018, three years after becoming the world’s first vegan football club. As a football club, why would they focus on sustainability and veganism?
For Dale Vince, founder of renewable electricity company Ecotricity and club chairman, football is about more than the 90-minute battle every weekend.
"Football clubs have the same responsibility as everyone else to take care of their impact on the world - but we also have a unique opportunity, few others have - a platform from which to inform and influence billions of people. That's happening now."
- Dale Vince, Owner & Chairman of Forest Green Rovers
As one of the smallest clubs in the English Football League (EFL), Forest Green Rovers have paved the way for other football teams to take climate action.
Top of the sustainability league
The club has been recognised for its sustainability efforts. In 2022, they came first in Sport Positive’s evaluation of the environmental sustainability performance of 72 EFL clubs.
Scored on topics such as clean energy, waste management and biodiversity, amongst many others, they were awarded a perfect 24 points.
Their sustainability achievements and efforts to reduce their environmental impact make them a club from which many can take inspiration.
Forest Green Rovers is also a founding member of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and is committed to a net zero future.
For that, they have a clear target to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030, and they’re already taking concrete steps to achieve these reductions.
Keeping the ball rolling with concrete actions
Forest Green Rovers are taking climate action, with examples available in all areas of the football club:
Energy
Fully powered by renewable electricity, 20% of that demand is met by the solar panels mounted on the stadium’s roof. They have also installed smart meters for energy monitoring and use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the stadium’s floodlights to reduce energy consumption.
Sustainable transport
The club has transitioned from diesel to electric minibuses and aims to use an electric coach for its away games whenever the clubs they go to have charging infrastructure. They have also installed charging points for their players and fans to use electric vehicles at their home stadium.
Waste management
Forest Green Rovers have partnered with waste management experts Grundon to divert their waste from landfills and ensure it can be used to generate energy in recovery facilities. They have also implemented bins for compostable, general and recyclable waste.
Kits
The teams play in shorts and shirts made from bamboo, recycled plastic, and waste coffee grounds. This extends their commitment to eliminating single-use plastics from the club and using recycled materials.
Water management
Rainwater harvesting stadiums on the stadium’s roof and beneath the pitch allow the club to collect and reuse water for irrigation. They’ve even implemented a system that will enable the cleaning up of water from the fans’ toilets and ensure it is pumped back up for pitch irrigation!
Food
Serving matchday classics such as pies and burgers, 100% of the food they make for players, staff, and fans is vegan. They have partnered with leading brands like Quorn and Oatly to offer delicious plant-based and lower-carbon food and drinks.
Biodiversity
The football pitch is organic, with no artificial fertiliser or pesticides used to maintain it. A solar-powered robot mows the grass, and local farmers use the cuttings to condition their soil. The groundskeeper even rips out the weeds by hand.
Creating waves of climate action through sports
With a global fanbase of 3.5 billion, football teams and leagues can raise awareness on climate change topics and inspire individuals to take action.
Forest Green Rovers is using its platform to encourage fans to eat more vegan food, use electric vehicles, and engage in more sustainable behaviours.
“Our fans haven’t just put up with the green agenda that we have, they embrace it and they have changed how they live. It shows me that we can take sports fans and we can make them fans of the environment.”
- Dale Vince, Owner & Chairman of Forest Green Rovers
Beyond influencing their fans, football clubs can lead the way by reducing their environmental impact and contributing to global decarbonisation efforts.
In the next steps of its journey to drive sustainable practices and positive change, Forest Green Rovers will be building a new stadium: Eco Park.
The new stadium will be built entirely from wood rather than concrete, with 1.8 kilometres of hedgerows and 500 trees planted around it to promote biodiversity.
If a club in the fourth division of English football can achieve these levels of sustainability performance, we can only hope clubs with bigger budgets will follow suit.
From football to the wider sports industry, teams can create waves of climate action by raising awareness, leading by example, and inspiring fans to drive positive change.
