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Sustainability round-up: October 26
This week’s sustainability round-up includes the 100th country to implement FIFA’s Football for Schools programme; the environmental impact of European club football’s expansion; McLaren’s recycled carbon fibre first; and a university stadium’s bid for green lighting.
East African country Burundi has become the 100th country to implement FIFA’s Football for Schools programme. The Football for Schools scheme aims to make the game more accessible to young people by interweaving football activities into the education system. It is also supported by UNESCO, a programme that contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by empowering children.
With European club football expanding next season, BBC Sport research has suggested that fans and teams could rack up roughly two billion air miles across the 2024-25 campaign, up from 1.5 billion in 2022-23. An additional 177 fixtures are set to take place across UEFA’s three major tournaments, increasing European football’s impact on the environment.
The McLaren Formula 1 team has become the first to use recycled carbon fibre on a car in the championship with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the car manufacturing process and reducing resource usage. An aspect of McLaren’s sustainability strategy is a circular economy, with the long-term goal to research and develop a fully circular F1 car.
Donnelly Energy has helped William Paterson University’s Wightman Stadium in Wayne, New Jersey, to become more efficient and sustainable. The partnership has resulted in an upgrade to LED stadium lighting at the university’s home venue. The new lights have a long lifespan of over 100,000 hours.
Image: Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash