Euro Hockey League takes steps to enhance sustainability
The Euro Hockey League (EHL) has teamed up with The Wave Foundation, Circlarity and hockey club Pinoké to make this month’s ABN AMRO EHL Final 8 the most sustainable European hockey event yet.
Host club Pinoké in the Netherlands is also working with The Wave Foundation and sustainability partner and recycling solutions provider, Circlarity, to make the event as sustainable and circular as possible.
According to the EHL, all sports clubs in the Netherlands already account for 53 million kilos of waste per year, of which 76% is incinerated or sent to landfill.
Sustainable steps at the event include preventing waste by purchasing more sustainable products such as re-used coffee cups and oyster mushroom bitter balls; the collection of waste by Pinoké youth teams who will clean the site on a daily basis and separate the waste, and better separation of waste by Circlarity.
After the EHL Final 8, Circlarity will report on the total use of the event on aspects such as purchasing, waste flows and circular products.
The league will also aim to inspire visitors through a special, circular stand with a Waste Lab, where Circlarity and The Wave Foundation will offer daily demonstrations. A work of art by Refunc was commissioned by Circlarity and will be exhibited on site, so that viewers can look at waste differently and become aware of their own ecological and social footprint. Visitors can even donate their old hockey sticks, balls and bibs to the Hockey Dreams Foundation.
The Foundation helps to create local learning opportunities for children and young adults in Uganda, Zambia and Malawi. Donations made to the EHL also help to contribute to these hockey programmes.
The Wave Foundation was founded in 2020 and its mission is to help sports clubs in the Netherlands to become plastic-free, litter-free and circular. The organisation does this by supporting clubs with the correct knowledge and tools, with help from Circlarity and the Netherlands Clean Foundation. Youth members, municipality, sponsors and stakeholders work together to make sporting clubs more sustainable.
The province of Noord-Holland is a sponsor of EHL Hockey and works with organisers to make the EHL more sustainable.
Image: Squirrel_photos from Pixabay