The Irish FA’s commitment to sustainability was again evident at the recent UEFA U19’s tournament last month.
Working closely with UEFA and drawing from the ‘Greener is the Goal’ sustainability strategy launched last year, work was done to use existing infrastructure as efficiently as possible, and applying the circular economy principles of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.
Sustainability is a key pillar of UEFA’s strategic framework, and the tournament was staged according to UEFA’s sustainability principles. As part of this, the Irish FA and local stadiums followed UEFA’s sustainability best practices for this tournament, using electric transport in Belfast and Larne to cut down on carbon emissions, and UEFA’s recently launched carbon footprint calculator was used to stay on top of and manage emissions.
Hotels and venues used made a commitment to using food locally sourced in Northern Ireland throughout the event to further reduce the environmental impact and remain in line with healthy governance principles and event materials will be donated to local groups or recycled. Additionally, another key pillar of UEFA’s strategic framework, social, the three host stadiums – the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Seaview in Belfast, and Inver Park in Larne – had designated areas for wheelchair users, and volunteers were trained to assist those with additional needs.
The strategic objectives of the Greener is the Goal strategy are:
- Generate £3bn in Social Return on Investment (SROI) over five years for our community;
- Become a leading organisation on sustainability, including having a national stadium powered by renewable energy, and help our clubs to engage in sustainability projects;
- Become an exemplar governing body, championing equality, diversity and inclusion.
At the launch, Irish FA President Conrad Kirkwood said: "By taking inspiration from the best practice work undertaken by UEFA, this strategy is transparent, structured and well thought out. We have engaged with key stakeholders, partners and suppliers to develop this plan.
"We always strive to be a progressive and inclusive association. This strategy underpins that and is aligned to the Football Social Responsibility pillar in our corporate strategy, A Roadmap for Football.
“Football has the power to bring about great change. It can help educate, promote health and wellbeing, and give everyone a sense of belonging. Most importantly football can promote inclusivity like no other sport.”
The Irish FA Sustainability Strategy is available to view and download here.
