VfL Wolfsburg Finish Top of Sport Positive Leagues Matrix
24th May 2023, London: Sport Positive Leagues has collated a large cross section of information on the environmental sustainability efforts of Bundesliga clubs for the second time, releasing it today via the 2022/23 Sport Positive Leagues Bundesliga Matrix.
For the second time, VfL Wolfsburg finished in first position with 1. FC Köln in second and for this year TSG 1899 Hoffenheim takes third place. All of the information included has been collated and verified in collaboration with the German Bundesliga clubs respectively.
The 2022/23 Sport Positive Leagues Bundesliga Matrix can be found on the website in both Deutsch and English.
This season, points across various categories have been updated to make it more difficult to achieve top points unless the club is working holistically across all sites, in a systematic way and with continued ambition. Policy and Commitment, Biodiversity and Education have been added as new categories.
Responding to the release, VfL Wolfsburg Managing Director, Michael Meeske said “Climate protection, resource conservation and sustainability are the major issues of our time. We started taking on this huge challenge some time ago and are happy when our broad commitment is reflected in rankings like these and can serve as a positive example for VfL Wolfsburg. Of course, we don’t see this nice result as a final result but are also encouraged to continue on our way.”
With regards to the work that clubs are doing in this space, Sport Positive Founder Claire Poole commented, “Across the Bundesliga there are great examples of leadership from many clubs, we congratulate clubs for their efforts towards a sustainable future.”
She went on “For those clubs that aren’t as far ahead, we hope that the publication of this information raises awareness, and that support and progress continues apace. With inclusion of mandatory sustainability criteria in the licensing regulations from next season, the league has taken a decisive leadership role, and because of that we will only see clubs become increasingly ambitious in this area I’m sure.”
Sport Positive Leagues have endeavoured to share environmental sustainability information on football clubs in an easily digestible matrix format since 2019, having carried out four editions on English Premier League clubs, one for the English Football League (EFL) and one for the French Ligue 1. Other matrices are in progress.
For the 2022/23 Sport Positive Leagues Bundesliga Matrix, clubs are evaluated on: commitment and policy, clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, waste management, single use plastic reduction/removal, water efficiency, the availability of low-carbon/plant based food, biodiversity, education and communications/engagement.
These matrices are released every year and the categories that clubs are evaluated on will continue to evolve for each edition – making it more difficult to reach the maximum points unless a clubs is working consistently, holistically, and with ambition, across the organisation and properties. Whilst the matrices are only released once a year, clubs can update Sport Positive on their efforts at any time, and the website will be updated accordingly.
For more information on Sport Positive visit the website for full information: www.sportpostiveleagues.com
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Sport Positive Leagues is part of the Sport Positive group, who also run the annual Sport Positive Summit in collaboration with UNFCCC and IOC, host the The Climate of Sport podcast, as well as supporting the global sports industry towards increased action and ambition on climate change, sustainability, environmental justice and biodiversity.
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