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Arsenal 2022

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Policy and Commitment

  • Publicised sustainability policy and strategy available on the Arsenal website:
  • Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) strategy in place and signed off by Exec team, but not public yet, to further drive environmental action whilst incorporating within the broader ESG objectives
  • Carbon baseline report completed across Scope 1, 2 and 3 (Sport Positive verified) but not publicly available – and interim targets being created
  • First Premier League club to become signatory to UN Sports for Climate Action Framework (16th November 2020) and in early 2022 signed up to high ambition track with targets of 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2040
  • Club-wide Sustainability Strategy Document
  • Senior Management Working Group on Sustainability that reports into Executive Team with proposals and actions
  • Established a Sustainability Communications Group
  • New Head of Sustainability role created and filled. New departmental structure to give sustainability maximum impact across club
  • Board members of British Association for Sustainable Sport
  • Working with Islington Council to hit borough emission objectives

Clean/Renewable Energy

  • 100% powered by Octopus renewable energy – all sites including stadium, training facilities, retail and staff offices
  • Trialing electrical appliances to start to remove natural gas. 2 Electric ovens installed for assessment
  • All large grounds equipment and emergency generators now powered by bio-diesel
  • Introduced additional electric mowers are Youth Academy
  • All stadium mowers are now electric
  • Energy Steering Group established – cross departmental working group to reduce energy consumption; chaired by COO

Energy Efficiency

  • Large energy efficiency audit and report completed by external consultancy, with action plan created for improved efficiency across all sites (verified by Sport Positive)
  • Energy efficiency measures put in place across all sites – including turning down room temperatures and signage to turn off air conditioning and lighting when leaving meeting rooms
  • Communicated energy efficiency ideas with fans
  • Training given to casual match day staff giving responsibility to turn off equipment when not required – training given by Area Managers, briefed down from Club
  • TV screens used to promote energy efficiency around offices for staff
  • Environmental policy includes a commitment to ‘Implementing, documenting and maintaining an Environmental Management System (EMS) to review, monitor and measure performance and impacts across Arsenal procedures, operations and policies.’
  • ESOS and SECR regulations in place, energy metering and management across all sites
  • As part of the SECR Arsenal will be reporting sustainability performance in financial accounts
  • Restricting use of heating, ventilation and air conditioning to reduce energy use

Sustainable Transport

  • Travel policy encourages use of public transport – https://www.arsenal.com/emirates-stadium/get-to-emirates-stadium
  • Actively and visibly encourages fans and staff to use sustainable transport and offers incentive to staff via cycle to work scheme
  • Youth academy use public transport for tour
  • Electric vehicles replace one diesel pool van and one car. Other car changed to a smaller engined petrol vehicle. Kit vans remain diesel
  • Subsidied fan travel to several away games – Coach travel to several away games, including Manchester City in FA Cup. Was £40 subsidised to £15. Southampton away also subsidised.
  • EV Chargers installed at all sites
  • London Underground, train, buses and cycling advocated
  • Supporters are strongly advised not to drive to Emirates Stadium
  • Two pool vehicles have been replaced with electric vehicles and other replaced with a more economical version
  • Staff and players transport report for reducing emissions for business travel as part of carbon footprint initiatives

Single Use Plastic Reduction/Removal

  • Systemic effort in place to vastly reduce/remove single use plastic from operations – forms one of our key action areas across the club
  • Plastic bottle usage has been reduced across all sites and, and by approximately 90% at training grounds by installing water machines and water bowsers for pitch side drinking. Bottles are only used for travel and some game days
  • Installation of water dispensers:
    • 5 for fans – 1 in away section, 2 on lower tier, 2 on Upper tier
    • 1 in home team changing room
  • Working with adidas to remove plastic from supply chain
  • All playing kits are 100% recycled polyester and most adidas training and fan wear contains recycled material
  • Swapped supplier of security uniforms so they will now all be made from plastic waste from the stadium
  • Saved over 500,000 single cups via our reusable cup project
  • Extended the re-usable cup scheme to now use up to 40,000 cups per game, by installing more draft beer
  • Worked with our stationery company to remove plastic packing from products and select more sustainable items for use in the offices
  • When covering the seats for the return of fans, post COVID lockdown, bags made from 100% UK waste were used
  • The hand sanitiser dispensers used at the turnstiles are made from sustainable wood and are made in the UK
  • Paper straws and wooden stirrers have replaced the plastic ones
  • Removed all single use drinks bottles from offices and have replaced some glass bottles with aluminium “bottles” on our club and box levels
  • Paper cups phased out in administration offices, reusable plastic cups replacing them
  • Removed plastic from matchday programmes

Waste Management

  • 100% of waste is diverted from landfill across all operations
  • Back of house hand waste sorting process on matchday. Responsible for recycling 40% of waste prior to leaving site.
  • Separation bins across all sites and signage
  • Waste management audit with cleaning contractor being undertaken across several games. Results to define waste management strategy
  • Signed a long term partnership with Ball, the Aluminium packaging company to work on recycling initiatives
  • Repurposing projects underway with up-cycling of old stadium banners. Some will be framed and sold to supporters. Currently working on additional uses of material
  • Donated food from postponed games to local charities
  • We recycle 40% of our general waste on-site, plus remove cardboard, food and grass through separate waste streams. The rest going into general waste which goes to a MERF where they extract another 30% of the waste
  • Food and grass goes to compost al Islington residents to use. It has also be used in community projects, where possible food is donated to local food charities
  • Old furniture has been donated to local sports and community club
  • Emirates Stadium’s old floodlights were donated to sports clubs
  • Pallets are returned to the supplying company for re-use

Water Efficiency

  • Water reduction is one of key objectives
  • All groundsman facilities across all sites have water recycling sytems installed to recycle water from wash-down areas. Removing grass cuttings and re-using water
  • Taps with sensors used across property portfolio
  • Waterless urinals through-out stadium, plus new installs in offices
  • A pitch water recycling system was installed at training ground to re-use irrigation water
  • Pitch water recycling system recycled over 3 million litres of water in 2020

Plant based/low carbon food

  • Plant based options are available in stadium (https://www.arsenal.com/news/food-and-beverage-page), at training facilities and staff kitchens/canteens
  • Food choices carried in matchday programme to promote awareness to supporters
  • SRA approved restaurant
  • Sustainable food sourcing for catering operation – Diamond Club restaurant has achieved 3 stars from the Sustainable Restaurant Association sustainable food sourcing operations

Biodiversity

  • Wild flowers planted around training ground, as part of ongoing project with more planned
  • Rewilding undertaken by Academy on tour – U16 team tour to Scotland included a day working on a rewilding project on the banks of Loch Lomond
  • Tree planting programme at London Colney – on-going programme to plant trees as part of the Colney Wood project
  • Matchday programmes offset by investing in tree planting and a conservation project in Kenya – The Arsenal forest is being planted in Bore, Kenya. It is being managed by Carbon Link.  We are currently in the process of planting 12.5 acres of trees, using local workforce –Arsenal sponsors tree planting project in remote village of Magarini subcounty, Kilifi – YouTube

Education

  • Youth and women’s team attended specific sustainability training
  • First team players and coaching staff Sustainability training programme started. Initial meeting held.
  • Arsenal launched a sustainability module for community department to deliver to local schools
  • Staff education via the “Sustain OUR Game” working group and Yammer site on the Arsenal intranet, where staff are encouraged to be more sustainable and have highlighted actions

Communication and Engagement

Sustainable Procurement

  • Sustainability guidelines established within procurement process and form part of tender process (Sport Positive verified)
  • Sustainability team integral to selection process of new suppliers – Senior Sustainability Manager and Environmental Sustainability Manager work closely with Procurement Manager and Partnership Development team to advise on best practice and included in the vetting process for potential suppliers and partners
  • Contractor agreements in place to ensure sustainability sits as a priority in KPI’s

Sponsorship/Ownership

  • OWNERSHIP
  • SPONSORSHIP
    • Click link here for more information on your club’s sponsors and sustainability efforts. Scroll along the sheet to find your club, they are in alphabetical order

Information sourced directly from Arsenal F.C. staff
Information updated 14th March 2023
To see information on the club from 2021, click here