Carbon neutral my sports club
Most of us will have an existing club that we need to work with, so what can we do?
The club house matters
Our existing built environment is the number 1 emitter of carbon emissions consuming about 40% of our total energy, 70% of electricity, 60% of raw materials, 12% of drinkable water, and roughly half of all greenhouse gas emissions!
14 steps your sports club can take to become carbon neutral
- See better for less. LED Lighting uses a fraction of the energy that fluorescent and halogen lights use
- Smart landscaping includes consideration of tree shade, lawn alternatives (which use less water) and permeable pavers
- Use electric vehicles and buses for all club transports
- Efficient waste management systems such as recycling, composting, and reusing will reduce landfill and associated methane gasses
- Use energy-efficient appliances such as fridges, kettles, ovens to reduce your load. Use automatic electric sports field mowers to make significant energy savings as well as of labour
- Encourage plant-based menus on match days
- Remove single use plastics from the club – no water bottles or disposable coffee cups
- Use compost and organic matter if feasible on pitches with a good aeration program
- Purchase from sustainable suppliers for sports equipment, kits, balls and bats etc
- Use locally sourced materials wherever possible whether renovating or rebuilding, with less embodied energy
- Renewable energy such as rooftop solar systems with batteries (usually the best scenario for sports using facilities primarily at night) will allow you to supply your own energy
- Efficient HVAC systems for heating and cooling the clubs, with sensors to automatically turn off and keep low reducing wasted energy
- Rain water harvesting (using rooftops and tanks) to collect and store rain and utilising the water for sports field watering and garden watering systems
- Sustainable construction. The design, construction and operation of a building all contribute to that buildings carbon footprint. If you are building a new club you can consider sustainable design solutions, eliminate resource waste, incorporate passive heating and cooling techniques, smart systems and sensors., etc integrate wall thickness, material selection; a blank slate.
Can your club be carbon neutral?
Need help to start?
The sports world has its own version of the Paris Agreement called the Sport and Climate Action Framework. The two main goals of this framework are for sports organizations and teams to measure, reduce and report their greenhouse-gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and for sports to be a “unifying tool to drive climate awareness and action among global citizens.”
Get renewable, improve energy efficiency, address waste, use less water and manage biodiversity… There’s a lot to manage. Start here with are our current go-to tips on the best resources for Sporting clubs.
Future Proofing Community Sport
The Victorian State Government and the Sports Environment Alliance have published a helpful Roadmap for Future Proofing Community Sport and Recreation Facilities. Click here to download their 7 steps towards making a commitment to cleaner air, water and greener grass for sport.
Work for Climate
Sponsored by the Sunrise Project, Work for Climate helps organisations to ask the right questions internally, understand the energy situation and set goals about how to “go renewable” by stepping through their “Renewable Energy Playbook” here.
Environmental Sustainability Pack
The Government of Western Australia, Dept of Sport and Cultural Industries, has distributed an Environmental Sustainability Pack, to equip sporting organisations with the tools and skills to reduce their environmental impact.
Counting Carbon webinar
If you like a webinars and workshops environment, consider trying thinkstep anz. You could start here with the webinar on Counting Carbon; developing a carbon reduction plan.
Acknowledgement of Country
We would like to acknowledge that this website and our company exists on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay our respects to Elders both past, present, and future.