I’ve written about Forest Green Rovers before, as the ‘world’s greenest football club‘. But it’s worth mentioning again, because the UN recently announced that FGR are the world’s first certified carbon neutral football club.
It’s part of the UNFCCC’s Carbon Neutral Now programme, which invites companies and organisations to go carbon neutral and share their learning. With Ecotricity owner Dale Vince as chairman, Forest Green Rovers already ran on renewable energy, with vegan catering services and support for electric vehicles. Carbon neutrality was not a big reach, and as the first football club to acheive the status, they can serve as a model for others.
Forest Green Rovers are a small club, actually the smallest to have ever played in the professional leagues. Whether they will continue to thrive at their current level remains to be seen, but on the environmental front they are punching well above their weight, with UN and FIFA recognition as leaders in sustainability. If you’re a supporter or season ticket holder at a football club, or another sport entirely, could you start asking what your team is doing about climate change?
Here’s a short FIFA documentary about how it’s been achieved.
The Earthbound Report 