The development in recent years of a widespread awareness of the impact of large public events has led the world of sport to become the bearer of messages and behaviour in favour of environmental sustainability.
The international project “Greencoach-Incorporating sustainability in the governance of sports organisations”, carried out by a consortium consisting of Ecoserveis (Spain) – coordinator of the project; TDM 2000 International and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Studi Avanzati (Italy), Norwegian Football Association (Norway), Association des Clubs Francophones de Football (Belgium), Swedish Football Federation (Sweden), Lithuanian Grassroots Football Federation (Lithuania), French Football Federation (France), has given substance to this new awareness.
Co-funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Erasmus+ Sport Programme, the project promotes environmentally efficient management of sports clubs and the events they create, promoting sustainability as a core issue in the day-to-day running of their activities.
A central element of this process was the development of a tool to monitor the consumption and environmental impact of a non-professional sports club. Through this platform, it is possible to monitor and work to reduce emissions and impact on the environment resulting from one’s activities. The tool is free of charge and is available at the following link https://www.greencoacherasmus.eu/green-coach-tool/.
To stimulate the awareness of sports organisations on environmental footprint and sustainability in sports centres, while promoting widespread responsible and conscious behaviour, we also developed two manuals containing non-formal education activities for young footballers and managers of sports clubs. The publications aim to stimulate individual reflection and self-awareness in order to find solutions for improving one’s own environmental impact, and to promote the adoption of sustainable solutions by management of sport clubs.
The manuals are available free of charge in English, French, Lithuanian, Swedish and Norwegian at https://www.greencoacherasmus.eu/tools/educational-tools/
Marc Vallverdú
Ecoserveis
