Policy and Commitment
- NUFC has signed the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, committing to 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2040
- No sustainability strategy is in place yet, but will follow
- NUFC have recently appointed a Sustainability Manager to lead on this agenda and develop a clear long term strategy for the club. Sustainability Commitment Statement has been produced, but not signed off by Senior Management
Clean/Renewable Energy
- Combined heat and power (CHP) installed in Jan 2016 at the stadium supplying a base load 24 hours a day increasing the amount of energy by renewable source to above 40%. Must be operating 85% efficiency, this is monitored by an external consultant
- Working with Newcastle City Council to explore heat network opportunities within the City and support the City Net Zero aspirations
- Reviewing the current supply to consider options for green tariff
Energy Efficiency
- Energy management plan in place for all 3 sites, optimising boilers (22% efficiency improvement) & replacing lights with LED, 390t CO2 saving from CHP unit, remote sensing lights. Energy Impact provide +1day data via an online dashboard, this is currently being developed (March 2023) to include an alarm notification for any abnormal loads. This will enable detection of high usage early and rectification of any issues, such as floodlights/equipment left on
- BMS programme is programmed to align with Stadium operational activities/events therefore only areas in use will have heating and lighting.
- New boilers installed at the stadium with 98% efficiency, the old boilers operated at only 50% efficiency.
- Fully SECR and ESOS compliant. The club were audited by the Environment Agency and passed.
- Whole stadium LED and Remote sensing lights where applicable – toilets, kitchens executive boxes, car parks
- Voltage optimisation project to be launched. Phase3 ESOS assessment to be completed Q1 2023.
Sustainable Transport
- The club’s visitor guide covers travelling to the stadium and links to public transport.No unreserved parking is available which visibly advocates public transport, cycling and park and ride
- The club contributes to public transport costs on match day, this scheme is called the Magpie Mover, it helps with cheaper tickets on match days and promotes the use of public transport. Season ticket holders can get to and from home matches from a little over £1.30 per game with a Magpie Mover ticket. Season 22/23, 4500 tickets have been issued and we will actively promote the scheme ahead of the next season with the service provider Nexus. Season 23/24 we will carry out a fan travel survey. At £25 for the season, a Magpie Mover provides public transport to and from every Newcastle United home game – offering fantastic value for money and a significant discount when compared with day tickets or single/return fares: https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/magpie-mover-on-sale-now/
- Staff can also benefit from cheap metro travel through the ‘Corporate metro saver scheme’. The club purchases the annual ticket for travel across the network every day, on behalf of the staff member and costs are deducted each month via their salary. This provides a big cost saving and encourages use of the metro for work and leisure: https://www.nexus.org.uk/corporate
- Bike racks and showers are available for staff using their bike at both the stadium and training ground
- All staff can purchase a bike through the Cycle to Work Scheme, this is a cost saving and encourages staff to consider green travel alternatives
- Four EV charging points have been installed at the Stadium and Training ground (two at each site) Further chargers are planned for the Academy in 2023.
- As part of a Section 106 Planning agreement, NUFC contribute to the running of public transport on match days with funding for additional metros and buses
- The Team are actively considering their mode of transport to match games and travel by bus where possible (Leeds and Sheffield)
- Staff have access to pool cars to travel between sites, options for EV vehicles will be considered at the end of the current lease
Single Use Plastic Reduction/Removal
- Wooden cutlery, all food packaging is plastic free at the stadium on match days. Drinks are served in paper recyclable cups.
- The Training Ground and Academy have no plastic on site anymore (cutlery and packaging) the stadium is a more ad hoc basis with single use bottles on sale until we identify viable alternatives
- Removed all single use plastics for drink sales on match day
- Options are being investigated to give all staff re-usable cups/water bottles
- Plastic recycling is in place at all sites
Waste Management
- The club has an overall waste management program in place, separate collections are made for food, cardboard, grass and mixed recyclables
- 100% landfill diversion with residual general waste sent to EfW
- In 2022 34% waste recycled and 66% sent to the Ferrybridge EfW facility operated by Effinium.
- Waste management programme extends to all club sites
- Confidential paper waste is collected separately, shredded and recycled
- Waste recycled; cardboard separated at source, as well as plastic and glass
- Food waste bins are used and collections are composted
- QR codes are used on match days to display match day competitions and menus on phones etc
- Match day programmes are available digitally with an annual subscription. Paper programmes are still available.
- Digital ticketing will be introduced for the 23/24 season, significantly reduce the amount of paper. E ticketing has already been introduced for season tickets, reducing the amount of paper generated
Water Efficiency
- Water efficiency strategy in place; external supplier uses software to monitor or water usage weekly and reports any discrepancies. Currently considering smart water detectors
- Water recycling systems in place and water sourced from borehole at training grounds which is used for pitch irrigation at the academy and training ground, these sites are off grid for water irrigation requirements
- In all stadium toilets the club have push compression taps (including office areas) they also have automatic urinal flushes
Plant based/low carbon food
- There are Vegan options at the Stadium, as well as Training Ground and Academy every day. The Sustainability Manager is meeting with the Sodexo (caterers) Sustainability Champion to discuss new sustainability opportunities
- Vegan options available in all stands and all levels of the concourse – 43 out the 47 kiosks have a vegan option including thai red curry vegan pasty, tomato soup, chip etc example menu included in the email submission
- More than 70% of food suppliers are local and they include;
- Warren Butterworth – Meat Newcastle, the beef is sourced from farms within 100 miles of the stadium
- Taylor Foods – North Shields, sea food is from the North Sea via North Shields
- MI Dicksons – Pies are sourced from South Shields
- Beckleberry’s – Desserts are sourced from Blaydon 5 miles from the Stadium
- DeliFresh – Fruit and veg from Cramlington
- Geordie Baker – Bread direct from Newcastle
- Potatoes are from Rothbury
- All of dairy is local with two of our main cheeses from Ripon
- The Club introduced free staff lunches during winter 2022 on a trial basis, we are awaiting final approval (March 2023) to continue this offer and at such time we will implement a meat free day. Each week staff are asked to put forward any preferences, options include vegetarian and vegan meals
- The Catering contactor Sodexo have previously held cookery school events at the Training Academy and plan to run more during 2023 and will include the promotion of plant based food. No dates announced yet
- Options are being considered to implement allotments at the Training ground and the produce will be introduced into the restaurant menus. This is a future project.
Biodiversity
- The Training Ground, Academy and Community areas are all adjacent to each other and sit within a 90-acre site. The sites are divided into different areas. First Team, Academy and Community area and wildlife area. This forms part of a wildlife corridor which runs through all the sites. During construction, all footpaths were reinstated and maintained by the Club. On the site we have seasonal wetland areas and a series of ponds
- The wildlife area is totally enclosed and maintained by Newcastle United Football Club. Within this area we have a lake which is filled from a sports field drainage system and a lake planted with reed beds to remove nitrates from the water
- Within the area wildlife is abundant with several different species. Newcastle United Football Club maintain the wildlife corridor throughout the area.
- All areas are cut in September with wild meadow being bailed to remove all grass. There is no maintenance carried out between March – September to leave the area and encourage increased biodiversity activity.
- All works carried out in these areas are worked around bird nesting periods
- As part of the training ground extension work the Club completed a number of ecological surveys including bat survey, habitat baseline survey to meet local authority requirements
- The Club are currently reviewing the volunteering policy and if possible biodiversity opportunities will be incorporated into the policy.
Education
- The club hosted a Premier League Inspires event on 16th Feb 2023, this year’s focus is ‘protect the planet’ and each group were asked to produce a social action plan
- The event was organised by the Newcastle Foundation, and two schools they are currently working with attended the event. As part of the morning session, the children received a presentation from Kirk Wallis, Equans outlining Newcastle City’s ambitions for Net Zero. NUFC Sustainability Manager also presented on the clubs ambitions and included an insight into a Sustainability career path. The winning team put forward a plan to create bug hotels and bird boxes, using wooden vegetable boxes produced on match days. They will engage with their local primary school to design the boxes and ask GCSE students at the school to make them. We will then place the boxes at the Training ground and possibly sell them to NUFC staff. It is hoped that a local ecologist contact will visit the winning team to outline the benefits of habitat creation.
- Sodexo caterers have held and are planning more cookery school events at the Academy to educate players on basic cooking skills, food hygiene, food allergies and incorporate plant based food option
Communication and Engagement
- Regular newsletters are used to communicate with fans, this form of communication is used to promote the Magpie Mover: https://newsletter.nufc.co.uk/u/archive/1Le56XtprqFWi-EICHP2SQ
- The Club website used to run a ‘Sustainability pledge’ initiative, we will be updating the website to include information on Sustainability performance and commitments
- Sustainability section planned for the match day programme, introduction to the Sustainability Manager
Sustainable Procurement
- IT consider the energy performance of any equipment bought
- The Club have plans to establish a dedicated Procurement team and Sustainability principles will be core of future procurement policies
- We are currently reviewing the approved contractor list and will incorporate Sustainability questions going forward.
Sponsorship/Ownership
- OWNERSHIP
- Ownership / Stake / Country / Source of Income
- Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) – 80% – Saudi Arabia – Oil
- PCP Capital Partners led by Amanda Staveley – 10% – UK/Abu Dhabi – Investor/Real Estate
- RB Sports and Media – Reubens brothers – 10% – India/UK – Metal/Property/Mining
- Information:
- The Public Investment Fund is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world
- The PCP Capital Partners Group was founded in 2005 by Amanda Staveley, Chief Executive Officer. The Group is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. PCP first came to international prominence with the takeover of Manchester City Football Club and then PCP’s leadership of the £3.25bn Abu Dhabi recapitalisation of Barclays Bank in 2008, considered to be one of the world’s outstanding corporate transactions in recent years.
- RB Sports & Media is an off-shoot of private equity and investment operation, Reuben Brothers
- Links: https://www.nufc.co.uk/club/corporate-information/
- Ownership / Stake / Country / Source of Income
- SPONSORSHIP
- Click here for more information on club sponsors and sustainabilty
Information sourced directly from Newcastle United F.C. staff
Information updated 14th March 2023
To see information from 2021, click here