Full article (translated): On the 22nd April, the J.League held a board meeting at its office in Tokyo and announced the “Sustainability Business Activation Project” to tackle the problem of climate change.
One major move is the decision to join the “Sport Positive League (SPL),” an international network that quantifies environmental sustainability.
12 items are quantified according to a unique evaluation matrix, and then ranked. For example, data will be collected on the effects of a wide range of activities, such as the energy efficiency of match venues and facilities, the use of renewable energy, efforts to recycle and reduce waste, management of CO2 emissions associated with the movement of fans and players, collaboration with hometowns, and the promotion of environmental education for players.
The game-style ranking method is effective in attracting public attention. It also has the advantage of being able to grasp at a glance the direction to be aimed for by “visualizing.” Four leagues in Europe are already taking part, and the J.League is the fifth to join, and the first in Asia.
The J.League has a total of 12.5 million annual spectators, and the area covered by all 60 clubs accounts for 87% of Japan’s land area. This year, the club received a grant of 370 million yen from the Nippon Foundation, which will be distributed equally to clubs that applied for activities. With a total of 1.19 billion yen in grants over three years, the club will seriously tackle the climate change issue.
The year 2025 will be the preparation period for participation in the SPL, and the club will officially enter in January 2026. By sending quantified data to the SPL in the UK, the first scores and rankings based on the evaluation criteria will be presented on the official website in the fall of the same year. The rankings will be posted on the J.League website to make them widely known to the public.
Takayuki Tsujii, J.League’s executive officer in charge of sustainability, said, “We will take the good efforts of each club as a reference and move forward with the issue of climate change as a whole J.League.”
Full article in local language (Japanese): https://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/news/202504220000906.html
