Brighton looks to embed sustainability into club culture with new strategy

The strategy sets out the club’s approach to achieving goals across six key areas of impact: energy and water, travel and transport, waste, supply chain, biodiversity, and culture and community.

In order to do this, it is aiming for everyone working with the club to consider the environment in everything they do, in order to foster a culture of sustainability.

“We will seek to integrate sustainability across all aspects of the club through the development of relevant policy, staff training and on-going engagement with staff, fans, suppliers, commercial partners and other key stakeholders,” Brighton & Hove Albion Sustainability Manager Thomas Harris told Global Sustainable Sport.

“Not only will this help reduce our own environmental impact through working in partnership with others but also aims to use our position in football to promote environmental responsibility more widely.”

Brighton has already implemented some green measures but has recognised that it is lacking in some areas.

It has started to keep track of more important figures and aims to be more transparent when it comes to reporting its energy usage.

“Work has begun on measuring our carbon footprint in order to establish a benchmark to track future reductions,” said Harris.

“We currently publish data on the club’s scope 1 and 2 emissions in our end-of-year financial report but this doesn’t include emissions from areas such as third-party business travel, fan travel, waste, water and purchased goods and services, which we are now starting to calculate.

“Measuring our greenhouse gas emissions will help prioritise our action plans as we seek to maximise the impact of this work.”

By becoming a signatory to the UN Framework, Brighton has committed to reducing its own greenhouse gas emission by 50% by 2030 before reaching Net Zero a decade later.

This is in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to limit global warming to less than 1.5C°.

In May the English club won a gold award for sustainability at the Football Business Awards in recognition of its progress made.

However, it acknowledges there is still work to be done.

“As a club, we know we can make a difference with our own initiatives, both now and in the future,” said Brighton & Hove Albion Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman Paul Barber.

“This strategy is a great step forward for the club and its fans, we know we can make a difference with our own initiatives, both now and in the future, and we are totally committed to doing so.”