Sport Positive Leagues

Ranking top flight clubs on their environmental sustainability initiatves

Menu

Brentford 2021

By

Policy and Commitment

  • The club has an environmental policy in place for all employees which is included within the Staff Handbook
  • Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has recently aligned the current business plan with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • To meet local planning policy objectives, we instructed BREEAM assessments of the stadium that assessed the environmental quality of the designs including the detailed evaluation of the sustainability of the Energy, Water, Transport, Materials, Waste, Ecology, Pollution and Management practices adopted at the site – https://www.greengage-env.com/case-studies/brentford-fc/

Clean/Renewable Energy

  • Solar path optimisation enhanced the efficiency of the rooftop photovoltaic installation (on new stadium) generate more clean power and reducing operational emissions
  • Training ground plans
      • Photovoltaics to be installed on the roof of performance centre

Energy Efficiency

  • The new stadium has a comprehensive Building Management System (BMS) which provides detailed monitoring of energy consumption and easy central control of plant and equipment
  • The new stadium has a BREEAM certificate of Very Good – https://www.arup.com/projects/brentford-community-stadium.
  • Brise soleil shading and overhangs are in place to help to cool the building and stadium glazing designed to minimise winter heating needs
  • Lighting sensors control lighting in the stadium based on occupancy and use of energy efficient lift system
  • During the planning and construction of the stadium, a range of environmental and sustainability services were provided by Greengage in support of the Masterplan application to redevelop a constrained west London site into a mixed-use residential, hotel, commercial and sports entertainment venue
  • This included the assessment of the EIA screening, scoping and the project management of the delivery of all stand-alone reports and EIA chapters produced for the assessment
  • Greengage worked closely with the design team to provide an effective strategy to minimise energy use and carbon dioxide emissions which resulted in the Brentford FC design improving upon regional carbon dioxide reduction targets. As the development programme was staged the Energy Statement dealt with both detailed and outline aspects of the development
  • Training ground plans
      • Improved building fabrics and low embodied carbon materials to be used in construction
      • Integrated building smart meters and controls to be utilised
      • Air source (or ground source) heat pumps for heating and cooling to be used in addition to waste hot water heat capture and exchange

Sustainable Transport

  • We promote the use of public transport to and from the stadium through the provision of extensive travel advice on the club’s website – https://www.brentfordfc.com/fans-and-community/visiting-the-stadium/
  • Active travel is also encouraged with bike racks available at the stadium
  • Recharging points are available at the stadium within the car parks
  • A cycle-to-work scheme is in place for staff
  • We conduct regular fan surveys. From our analysis, 64% of home fans either use public transport, walk or cycle

Training ground plans 

  • One of our ambitions is to be a good neighbour with low local impact through the careful management of traffic, noise and pollution
  • Installation of electric vehicle charging points is also planned at the training ground

Single Use Plastic Reduction/Removal

  • Committed to eradicate single-use plastic bottles at the training ground with reusable water bottles presented to all players and staff – https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2019/september/brentford-end-single-use-plastic-bottles-at-training-ground/.
  • Reusable plastic glasses are used in bars where there is no glassware. 
  • Paper straws have replaced plastic across the stadium, SUP stirrers removed
  • Sustainable wooden cutlery has replaced plastic disposable
  • Disposable plates/bowls used are sustainably-sourced vegware not SUP
  • Air-tight containers used in kitchens to reduce amount of cling film used
  • On our retail orders, we changed our mailing bags last year to biodegradable

Waste Management

  • Waste strategy for the stadium; produced as part of the design and is being implemented
  • Zero waste to landfill – none of waste streams are sent to landfill, general waste goes to an ‘Energy from Waste’ facility (burnt to produce electricity) and recycling and food do not go to landfill
  • General Waste – This goes as (refuse-derived fuel) to Kemsley in Sittingbourne which is an energy-from-waste facility where it is tipped into a pit and goes through a recycling process and eventually into the incinerator to recover the energy. Before sending it to Kemsley from Hayes we take out any non-conforming items and send them separately to the correct facility
  • Dry Mixed Recycling – When recovered mechanically this goes to Suez Mitchem Materials Recovery Facility where they sort through the waste and bale the cardboard to be recycled at other facilities and they also take any plastics they find and send them to recycling
  • We are part of Utilita’s nationwide ‘Football Rebooted’ campaign – their mission is to rehome at least one million pairs of quality football boots across the UK, to stop them ending up in landfill. That’s the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year, in carbon reductions

Water Efficiency

  • At the stadium we reduce in water consumption through the use of low-flow fittings for WCs, wash hand basins, urinals, and showers. 
  • To reduce water consumption solenoid valves are linked to PIRs shut off the water to facilities that are un-occupied and leak detection is provided to shut off the water supply in the event of leakage. 
  • We have installed three pure water stations around the site, which provide filtered and mineral-enhanced chilled water from our regular mains supply.
  • Water leak detection and monitoring to reduce usage and attenuation to minimise surface water run-off

Training ground plans

  • Low water consumption appliances will be installed

Plant based/low carbon food

  • Concourses – Vegan option available in every bar, such as vegan Cornish pasty
  • Hospitality – Vegan option available on every menu with dishes such as Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry Pie,  Wild Mushroom Gnocchi
  • Where meat/fish forms part of a plated meal, it is accompanied by 60% minimum plant-based food.  
  • Vegan options available for staff/media feeding, with vegan/plant-based foods accounting for 75% of media and staff feeding
  • Levy UK, our catering partner, were also the main catering partner for the COP26 event in Glasgow recently – they have committed as a business to going zero carbon by 2027. They use locally sourced produce wherever possible, have less beef options on the menu and are looking to highlight to fans the low carbon options on the menu going forward

Biodiversity

  • Partnership with Bees for Development the global charity that makes ‘life better with bees’. Since 1993, Bees for Development has promoted sustainable beekeeping to combat poverty, help people to build resilient livelihoods and care for nature.
  • We created a Brentford FC x Bees for Development T-Shirt which was available to purchase via the club, with all profits from each £15 sale go directly to the charity – https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2021/april/brentford-fc-x-bees-for-development-make-life-better-with-bees/ 
  • The ecology value of the new stadium site was increased through external planting

Education

Communication and Engagement

  • In November, we announced that we would be rolling over our home kit for this season into next season. By extending the life of the kit, this was an innovative step designed to ease financial pressures on fans and to help the environment – https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2021/november/iconic-first-premier-league-home-kit-extended-through-202223/
  • This initiative, one of the most high-profile of its kind in the UK sparked a national debate, with sustainability at the heart of it – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-59477716
  • It generated over 40 articles across the globe with the club’s chief executive Jon Varney helping to set an example for fans and clubs to consider: “We also think this is a step in the right direction to help the environment a little. It can only be a good to reduce kit cycles where circumstances allow, and we will continue to work with Umbro to make sure the production of our kit is as sustainable as possible. It is only a little thing, but we believe it will help.”
  • We are part of Utilita’s nationwide ‘Football Rebooted’ campaign – their mission is to rehome at least one million pairs of quality football boots across the UK, to stop them ending up in landfill. That’s the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year, in carbon reductions

Additional information

  • The club has recently moved to a brand-new stadium and has been promoted for the first time to the Premier League
  • Work is underway to develop an environmental and sustainability plan for the club – we are working with external consultants to develop this club-wide strategy
  • While that work is ongoing, a significant amount of work in this area is already being undertaken. 
  • The design, construction and management of the new stadium had, and continues to have, a strong focus on sustainability – the key details are highlighted below
  • Plans are also underway for significant redevelopment of the club’s training ground. We are currently in the middle of a consultation process with local residents and neighbours on a new planning application for the training facilities based at Jersey Road. The Club already has planning permission for a range of improvements to our existing facility, which was granted in August 2020. We are revisiting the plans and will be submitting the planning application later this year. Our ambition is to deliver the first zero carbon Premier League training ground – ensuring we are sustainable and environmentally friendly in the long term. Net zero carbon and the highest levels of sustainability will be targeted through a range of measures detailed within this submission
  • These plans can be found here https://bfcperformancecentre.co.uk/ and here https://bfcperformancecentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Brentford.Boards.WEB_-1.pdf
  • Reflecting low carbon aspirations, we halved the amount of reinforced concrete used in construction versus the original scheme. Our structural engineers also reduced the amount of primary steel by a third, further cutting embodied carbon and saving on costs
  • When we left Griffin Park, we worked with our developer to recycle as much as we possibly could – including donating the seats and dugouts to many other grassroots clubs and other elements to local hospitals and other organisations –https://ukpropertyforums.com/ecoworld-london-takes-a-sustainable-approach/
  • At the stadium, our North Stand interior wall is built from bricks that we recycled from the stable block on site that was demolished as part of the new stadium development – https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2019/june/stable-bricks-used-at-brentford-community-stadium
  • Our commercial partnerships are purpose-led, with many of partners such as Lofbergs, Fuellers, UWL and Levy’s amongst those with strong environmental policies and credentials

Information sourced directly from Brentford F.C. staff, website and third party websites
Information updated 21 January, 2022