J.League: The 2nd Sustainability Conference will be held on January 28th. The Sports Positive Leagues will be launched with Asia participating for the first time.
On January 28 , 2026, the J.League held its second Sustainability Conference, following the one in 2024. The conference ,
held at the United Nations University, was attended by 174 people, including representatives from J.League clubs, partner companies, sports organizations, government agencies, and local governments. The conference marked the kickoff for the Sports Positive Leagues ( SPL ), which announced its participation in April 2025 as the first Asian league to do so. Guests included Claire Poole, founder of the SPL, and Peter Smith of Bristol City FC , one of the UK’s most cutting-edge clubs. They unveiled the J.League’s SPL evaluation criteria for the first time, introduced the schedule for future initiatives, and exchanged opinions on how to translate these into concrete action.
■Background
: J.League defines its sustainability activities as PEOPLE (toward an inclusive society), PLANET (climate action), and COMMUNITY (fostering local communities). In light of recent climate change-related warming and intensifying natural disasters, the J.League recognized the urgent need to ensure a sports-friendly environment for future generations. In 2023 , the group established a Climate Action Group, which developed a roadmap and has since promoted various climate actions.
Toward the “Changing Behavior” phase in 2027, the J.League sought to promote more concrete actions across the entire football family. The SPL , with its proven track record in Europe, where sustainability initiatives are advancing , was deemed a suitable framework for action guidelines.
In April 2025 , the J.League announced its participation as the first Asian organization. The SPL evaluation criteria were subsequently optimized for use in Japan and made public at this conference. The J.League believes the SPL will further advance its climate actions. The SPL and the Sustainability Conference are subsidized by the Nippon Foundation.
■ About the SPL
● SPL Overview The SPL is a system that quantifies football clubs’ climate actions, making it easy to understand their progress and the direction they should aim for. Each club reports to the SPL on 12 key climate action items, which are then quantitatively analyzed for effectiveness using a unique evaluation criteria matrix. An overall score is calculated by weighting each category theme, such as energy, waste, and transportation. The SPL publishes scores and a league table, which provides a cross-sectional overview of all participating clubs along with their activities.
● SPL Evaluation Items For details on the evaluation items, please visit the SPL dedicated page. SPL dedicated page : https://www.jleague.jp/climateaction/spl/
● Future of the SPL Each club’s efforts during the 2026 special season ( January to June 2026 ) will be evaluated, and a ranking based on the evaluation will be published in November 2026.
Schedule
・July to September 2026 : Information gathering and analysis period for each club
・October 2026 : Evaluation of each club’s activities ( evaluation and ranking determined by Sport Positive )
・November 2026 : Announcement of rankings
・July 2026 to June 2027 : SPL evaluation period for the 2026/27 season
■ Sustainability Conference Overview
・Name: Sustainability Conference 2026
・Date and time: Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 12:00 – 16:30
・Venue: United Nations University ( UNU ) U Thant International Conference Hall
・Method: Hybrid of on-site and online live streaming
・Sponsor: United Nations Information Centre
・Cooperation: Sport Positive, Bristol City FC
・Participants: J.League clubs, partner companies, government agencies, local governments, other sports organizations, etc. (On-site participation: 174 people)
・Content: Announcement of the J.League’s SPL evaluation criteria, speeches by the SPL founder and Bristol City FC, etc.
■ Event details *A detailed report will be released at a later date
●J.League Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura In his opening remarks, Nonomura said, “Due to the impacts of recent climate change, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold J.League matches, and even for children to play. Because soccer is a sport with a large global network, I believe that by changing the awareness and behavior of even one person through that network, it can become a powerful force for stimulating society. I often hear people say, ‘I understand the need and want to do something, but I don’t know where to start,’ so I hope today’s event will serve as an opportunity to make it even easier for them to take concrete action.”
Also, J.League Executive Officer (in charge of sustainability), Takayuki Tsujii, remarked, “While the SPL will rank its activities just like soccer, climate action itself is not a ‘someone wins and someone loses’ type of challenge. Rather, climate change is an ‘everyone wins or everyone loses’ type of challenge. Therefore, I believe it is important for each club to be mindful of its competitive nature as they work to address climate change, share best practices, and ‘together overcome this common challenge for all humanity,'” he said.
● Junpei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, said, “I believe it is important for the J.League and the 60 clubs across the country to build a network like never before and to compete with each other. This is because you are deeply connected to your communities, are well-versed in local issues, and have the passion and skills to solve those problems. We would be delighted if what you learned today could serve as a foundation for building the future of Japanese society.”
● Claire Poole, Keynote Speech: Claire Poole, founder of Sport Positive Leagues , has been involved in the fields of climate change, sustainability, and renewable energy since 2010, and began working to connect these fields with sports in 2014. Sport Positive is now a globally recognized organization in the fields of sports and sustainability. She subsequently founded SPL ( Sport Positive Leagues ) in 2018 , and SPL has grown to include many European soccer leagues and has now developed into a global movement that extends to Asia. Claire also hosts an annual, internationally acclaimed summit, which in 2025 will see the participation of over 600 organisations from the global sports ecosystem from around 40 countries. Claire stressed that “progress is more important than perfection,” explaining that the SPL is not a competition between clubs, but rather an initiative aimed at raising the bar for collective action by making the efforts of each organisation visible and encouraging collaboration. She also expressed hope that by involving fans and supporters, the SPL will lead to a change in awareness in society as a whole. ●Peter Smith Keynote speech Peter introduced specific examples of initiatives at Bristol City FC . Bristol City FC launched the sustainability project ” Project Whitebeam ” in 2022. ” 100% in stadiums”
Bristol City FC introduced several initiatives, including the use of renewable electricity, reducing single-use plastics and implementing thorough waste management, implementing measures to promote public transportation, and expanding the availability of plant-based foods. Bristol City FC currently plays in the EFL Championship (England’s second division), a club with a similar business scale to the J.League. In the 2022-23 season , the club ranked second among 72 EFL clubs in the SPL rankings, just behind the “World’s Greenest Club .” From this perspective, he offered advice to club officials, saying, “While sustainability activities require a certain amount of initial investment, they also generate economic benefits in the long term.”
Other activities included a presentation and overview of the ” Sport Positive Leagues Japan Edition,” a panel discussion on specific initiatives and challenges at J.League clubs, and group discussions in which participants discussed sustainability areas they would like to focus on going forward and the challenges they see.
Overview of the ” Sport Positive Leagues Japan Edition” Photo left: J.League Sustainability Department Manager Tomoko Irie Right: KPMG Consulting Co., Ltd. Panel discussion Photo from left: Cerezo Osaka’s Takeshi Miyajima, Chiba’s Kaoru Takahashi Claire Poole, Peter Smith, Tsujii Takayuki Moderator: Shikakeru Co., Ltd. ’s Yuta Kamii Group discussion Photo by Kaoru Nemoto, United Nations Information Centre
Read the original article here (JPN).
