Emirates hosts UEFA launch

Collective action is the name of game – as a club, league, nation and sport, we can achieve so much more than we can as individuals. And on Wednesday, March 6, Emirates Stadium hosted the launch of the UEFA carbon calculator. 

This represents a significant step towards helping clubs, venues and associations from across the football pyramid begin their own journeys towards reducing their environmental impact.

The event, expertly hosted by Sky Sports’ David Garrido, brought together more than 200 people from across Europe, and it was great to see so many of our friends and colleagues from Premier League clubs and the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS). 

We at Arsenal have been involved in the development of this calculator from the start as we recognise the importance of collective action. Driven by UEFA and involving input from across Europe, we have been able to create a tool to help measure the impact of clubs both big and small, and from that identify areas where we can all improve. 

The project has plenty of support. With Garrido and Mike Lloyd, Arsenal’s environmental sustainability manager, above are Thomas Seille, the head of project & CSR coordinator at the French Football Federation; Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Sports for Climate Action lead, UN climate change, UNFCCC); Matous Michnevic, vice-president & ESG lead for Europe, Mastercard;and Ariela Caglio, associate professor of management accounting at Bocconi University and a senior advisor for UEFA.

This is a start – and hopefully just the start of football collectively measuring and ultimately reducing emissions. With the FA, Premier League and UEFA all committing to driving sustainability in club football, it is clearly a great opportunity for us all, the football family across the world, to work together and make positive progress towards reducing our emissions.