The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has reaffirmed its commitment towards sustainability following a comprehensive review of its social responsibility strategy. For the next 4 years the governing body of European Football has committed to ambitious goals in the areas of sustainable event management, child protection, social inclusion and tackling discrimination, ensuring that its business is conducted in a way that is environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially responsible.
After a competitive tender process, the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee has confirmed to renew the partnership with South Pole on carbon neutrality. The sustainability solutions provider will calculate and track the CO2 footprint of flights booked and taken by UEFA and provide high quality carbon credits to compensate for it. South Pole will also assist UEFA on how to move towards CO2 neutral business practices and how to organise CO2 neutral competitions and tournaments. UEFA started first offsetting its carbon emissions with South Pole's Australian subsidiary Climate Friendly in 2009, making it the first major sports organisation to invest in certified carbon compensation projects.
"We are proud to have been supporting UEFA on their sustainability journey since nearly a decade," says Natalia Gorina, Sales Director Carbon Renewables, South Pole. "Our team has conducted extensive due diligence on the projects that will be included in UEFA's social responsibility strategy to ensure that they help drive the transition to sustainable use of energy and have quantified positive social and economic impacts for local communities. Only projects that have been certified by the Gold Standard Foundation will be supported by UEFA."
"We believe that through our partnerships we can provide a platform for European Football to act in a socially responsible, sustainable manner," Peter Gilliéron chairman of the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee. "We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with South Pole and supporting projects with proven impact contributing to much needed climate action."
An example of the projects that UEFA supported in the past is the
Cakirlar Hydro Project in Turkey, which not only generates renewable electricity but also provides funds to the local school's football team.
Read more about
UEFA's social responsibility and sustainability plans here.
