Policy and Commitment
- Eintracht Frankfurt has developed a holistic sustainability strategy based on the three dimensions of environment, social (social responsibility) and governance (company management), or ESG for short. This can be viewed on the website https://klub.eintracht.de/nachhaltigkeit/nachhaltigkeitsstrategie/
- Eintracht Frankfurt is pursuing an innovative and data-driven approach: As early as 2021, an individual ESG tool and rating system was developed together with two external partners, which maps more than 300 reliable sustainability criteria and continuously puts Eintracht Frankfurt’s business activities to the test.
- The association has created a sustainability advisory board with five proven experts from science, business and politics. The aim is to establish a platform that enables a critical exchange and at the same time serves as a source of ideas for new impulses.
- Eintracht Frankfurt has measured its own carbon footprint for the year 2022 for the first time. Based on this, an environmental strategy will be developed and joining a climate protection initiative is planned.
Clean/Renewable Energy
- The association uses natural electricity from 100% wind and water power via the energy supplier Mainova AG for the entire Deutsche Bank Park, the training facilities and the newly built ‘ProfiCamp’, the association’s office.
- Mainova AG, the largest energy supplier in Hesse and premium partner of Eintracht Frankfurt, supplies the stadium with green electricity from hydropower, natural gas and water.
Energy Efficiency
- Eintracht Frankfurt has been BREEAM-certified since 2012. Ratification is sought in the near future.
- The Deutsche Bank Park is equipped with a modern and energy-efficient LED floodlight system and there are motion sensors in the underground car park.
- A heat exchanger with a frequency converter was installed in the ventilation of the fan shop and parts of the permanent lighting were switched to LED lamps.
- The water heating and heating systems are state-of-the-art and also work economically with a significantly higher degree of efficiency compared to the old systems.
- Eintracht Frankfurt continues to work on using energy-saving technologies when converting and replacing existing technologies in order to reduce operating costs and energy consumption.
- Optimises the heat throughput for the undersoil heating through small sensors on the grass roots. The sensors send the most precise information to the building management system and thus control the ideal growth temperature of the lawn in the Eintracht Frankfurt stadium.
Sustainable Transport
- Through the Eintracht Frankfurt KombiTicket, the entrance ticket for matches can be used for free travel to and from the Deutsche Bank Park using the RMV public transport network.
- A club survey shows that > 60% of viewers use public transport.
- A climate-neutral tram powered by green electricity transports fans to the games.
- There are two Mainova AG charging stations in the Deutsche Bank Park.
- Five years ago, the cycle path to the stadium was expanded parallel to the Mörfelder Landstrasse. There is now a direct and safe cycle path connection between the city centre and Deutsche Bank Park.
- There is a monitored bicycle parking lot at Deutsche Bank Park that opens 90 minutes before kick-off. The staff at the Bike Point also offers small repairs and maintenance work for a fee.
- The club’s vehicle fleet was converted to hybrid and electric and the charging infrastructure at the office of the club’s vehicles was expanded. Hybrid and electric vehicles are also made available to the team and staff at the Sport.
- Eintracht Frankfurt try to travel to away games as sustainably as possible. There is an internal policy that team trips should take place by bus within a radius of 300 km, unless external circumstances (e.g. regeneration) make a flight unavoidable.
- Attractive leasing offers and family-and-friends conditions are made available for employees of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG and e.V. together with Rose Bikes GmbH.
- There are charging stations for electric cars in the stadium’s underground car park and at the ‘ProfiCamp’.
Single Use Plastic Reduction/Removal
- There has been a returnable cup deposit system in Deutsche Bank Park for several years.
- The new catering partner (since 2020) uses alternatives to plastic e.g. paper plates.
- Single-use plastics are also reduced in the office through a clean desk policy and appropriate awareness-raising measures.
Waste Management
- The club cannot measure the exact percentage of waste that is diverted from landfill, but has advised that the vast majority is diverted.
- The waste is disposed of via a waste-to-energy plant (MHKW) that generates electricity and heat from the disposed waste.
- The waste is divided into different types. All of the following basic materials are recycled: used glass, paper and cardboard, plastics, lawn and plant clippings, metal, batteries, waste oils, lubricants, light bulbs, varnish and paint.
- The caterer separates leftovers and non-recycled food from the kitchen and kiosk areas.
Water Efficiency
- Since the stadium is located in the middle of a groundwater protection area, the resource water must be handled with particular care.
- At the stadium, two large rain cisterns of 150m3 each with a usable storage volume of around 300m3 were embedded in the ground. About half of the rainwater running off the roof surfaces flows here and can thus be used for sprinkling the playing field and flushing the toilets. The unused rainwater is returned to the water cycle in a natural way through infiltration. A third rainwater cistern was installed as part of the conversion of the north-west curve.
- Water saving measures were also implemented in the area of the relaxation pools, which are important for the players. Normally this consists of a large common basin. Since the water used is changed after each game, a number of individual pools have been installed in Frankfurt. These can be used as required, thus saving valuable water.
- Together with the energy supplier Mainova, Eintracht Frankfurt has implemented a project to irrigate the green areas and training areas around the Deutsche Bank Park as required, with the aim of significantly reducing the water supply.
- Other initiatives: all toilets and urinals flushed with rainwater, water volume limiters and water stop buttons, timed taps, electric mixer taps on the washbasins controlled by a photocell; automatic faucets that dispense a time/amount based maximum amount of water; timed showers; time-controlled lawn irrigation with rainwater; efficient cleaning machines with low fresh water requirements; Optimizing and focusing wet cleaning cycles between applications and events.
- Reconstruction work of the northwest stand will see the addition of 80 new toilets fed by another rainwater cistern.
Plant based/low carbon food
- On match days, a large number of vegetarian and vegan options are available to spectators both in the kiosks and through external service providers. This also applies to the hospitality area.
- In the office restaurant, vegetarian and vegan dishes are offered to employees and players every day.
- Stadium caterer Supreme Sports Hospitality uses products that that are as seasonal as possible and are produced regionally.
- For Eintracht Frankfurt’s training ground and offices, the club has another caterer “Genuss & Harmonie” who provides vegan food and lists regional suppliers and seasonal food.
Biodiversity
- The stadium is located in an ecologically sensitive zone, a water protection area. Water as a resource is therefore handled with particular care.
- Rainwater is collected in water cisterns. Unused rainwater is naturally returned to the water cycle through infiltration.
Education
- Eintracht Frankfurt enables employees to regularly participate in further training courses in the field of sustainability (e.g. further training courses offered by the IHK or the University of Leuphana in Lüneburg). The training on environmental sustainability is currently only available for the employees of the club and will be offered to the players in the future.
- The Eintracht Frankfurt football school focuses on the needs of society, including sustainability, and imparts knowledge and values on the topics of child support, inclusion, cancer support, sustainability, refugee support and environmental protection.
Communication and Engagement
- Eintracht Frankfurt has published a separate section on the subject of sustainability/ESG on the website, which reports on the ESG strategy and projects that have already been implemented in the three dimensions of environment, social and governance. https://klub.eintracht.de/nachhaltigkeit/
- Eintracht Frankfurt encourages fans to actively act responsibly, i.e. use public transport or take part in clean-up campaigns.
Additional information
Information sourced directly from Eintracht Frankfurt staff, website and third party websites
Information updated May 15 2023
