Sustainability in UEFA's Euro 2024 Tournament & For Future Tournaments to Come
As our concern for our environment grows as the state of our ecosystem depletes, what comes with that is an increased trend in sustainability for one of the greatest money-makers on earth: sports.
This upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Munich, Germany this summer is set to be the greenest European Championship ever, accomplished through multiple facets with sustainability rules explicitly in the competition rulebook. Mobility is the main aspect of changing to a more sustainable competition, with the UEFA competition utilizing the local public transport of trains rather than all by car, which would create mass pollution. UEFA understands that some of the emissions are unavoidable, but they have already created its own climate fund, donating seven million euros that will be made available for Germany to use for environmental projects.
Do you think UEFA is doing a good job of promoting sustainability? What other ideas could they possibly be utilizing to limit emissions? Let us know what you think!
- Kathleen
Great post! I am very curious to see how Munich will handle this event given all of the new guidelines that have been set for the City by UEFA. Munich has an excellent public transport network, however, I think they will struggle to move people to and from the venues efficiently and in a timely manner. A few weeks ago I attended an FC Bayern game and trying to get to the subway was a nightmare. Due to only one line going to the stadium it was incredibly congested. Hopefully, for this event, Munich is able to make the necessary adjustments in order to create a green and seamless event. I am excited to see how this event compares to others in the past when evaluating the sustainability achieved by each.
ReplyDelete-John Douveas
I had a similar experience when visiting Germany. I was in a different city than you were (Cologne), but I noticed that the trains were often delayed and it took longer than expected to get to my destinations. I was there during their festival season, so it was busier than normal. However, they should expect similar sized crowds for the Euros this summer, as there are several matches scheduled to be played in Cologne. It is important that people are able to get around easily and I think for UEFA to continue to push their sustainability message it is important for them to work with the cities to fix this issue. Solutions could include adding more trains for the tournament to deter people from using cars and creating a more accurate schedule for fans to use as they travel to the stadiums as well as explore the country.
DeleteIt was really great to hear that Munich is going to host the greenest event to come! I feel like they could most definitely make that happen. It is hopefully something well planned out to prove their part and starting with public transportation was a great move. I would have to second what John Douveas said in the comment above me. I attending a Barca game and had a similar experience when arriving to the game. Although both ways of transportation have such representation and word of mouth, things like this may cause some chaos not just for visitors but locals that are using the same transportation. I am wondering if there are enough entrances and exist for people to use near the event. How are they promoting it to make it seem easier when arriving? Is there any more/alternative ways they offer?
ReplyDelete-Marissa Martinez
Hi Marissa! Great questions. I am not entirely sure about the number of entrances of public transport near the venue, however I am sure it will definitely be crowded exiting and entering the methods of transportation. One way that they are making it less crowded and promoting the use of public transport is by including access to public transportation for 36 hours with the purchase of the tickets, so that's 36 hours of access for 2.8 million tickets! This promotes the use of public transport and sustainability, while also limiting crowding in stations as tournament attendees do not have to wait in long lines to purchase tickets at the stations. Hopefully this will be better than some of our classmates experience in attending games in other countries! - Kathleen
DeleteIt is really interesting to see how UEFA is taking steps to create sustainability within sports. After doing more research on this event, I saw that they have a strategy called ESG, which means they are trying to tackle sustainability through environmental measures, social aspects, and government aspects. I really think their strategy is very thought out and thorough. I believe they will be successful, as they are not only focusing on the emission of gases, but also the community and the health of the people. Another way they could limit emission is through the actual stadiums themselves. They can find alternative ways to power the stadiums that use less emission. I do think it is great to see how they are focusing on mobility to create sustainability, however I wonder how this will affect the participation at the games, as they are encouraging people to take alternative transportation, which might make it harder for people to get to the game. How do you think the alternative ways of transportation will affect participation at the games?
ReplyDelete- Rylie K.
Source: https://sportfive.com/beyond-the-match/insights/sustainability-strategy-euro#:~:text=UEFA%20EURO%202024%E2%84%A2's,of%20the%20European%20Football%20Championship.
Hello Rylie, I agree with how interesting it is see the steps being taken to help create more sustainability in sports. ESG is a great find and can definitely see how this would be good for clubs and how it solves environmental, social, and governmental issues. I believe that if there is an emphasis on environmentally friendly transportation, it will definitely make an impact and people would use this.
DeleteGreat question Rylie. I think that by promoting alternative transport it won't necessarily limit the participation at these events, because while they are doing a great job of making public transport the most appealing, cheap, and sustainable model through offering free transport for 36 hours, they are not cutting off the ability for participants to take cars and such. Some attendees will prefer comfort over sustainability and no expense. They are also having parking lots and opportunities to park, however I definitely would still prefer to not go through that hassle or expense and I'm sure many people would feel the same!
Delete- Kathleen
Converting to utilizing Munichs public transportation system throughout this years Euro Tournament is a great first step for UEFA in practicing social responsibility and minimizing their carbon footprint. And with Munich already possessing and efficient/reliable public rail system, minimal additions will required upon the event besides altering the frequency of trains in popular areas. For a major event, such as the Euro Tournament, where there is no way around increased green house gas emissions sheerly due to the influx of fans and increase energy utilization the event will bring, creating a climate fund for the city of Munich to improve upon their sustainable infrastructure following the event is a class move by UEFA that I believe other major sporting events should follow. Would you agree?
ReplyDelete- Conor Diedrich
I completely agree with your comment Conor. Especially to the tune of 7 million dollars! UEFA is extremely conscious and this is a well respected move by them. As we were discussing in class in terms of the Olympics, no cities want to host this tournament for the work that needs to be put in for the event or the negative effects that follow after, including political, environmental, or governmental impacts. I believe UEFA will instead have a strong competition between cities of who would want to host the next event because of how well UEFA treats the cities and the establishment of the 7 million dollar fund to be put to use for sustainable efforts. Anyone have ideas of how they could spend this 7 million? - Kathleen
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post! I think seeing UEFA's commitment to sustainability in the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament is really encouraging and gives me a lot more hope for the future of sports. By prioritizing mobility through local public transport and creating a climate fund, they're setting a high standard in the sports world for for environmental responsibility. However, this doesn't mean they can stop here, we must continue working towards a more sustainable environment with sports like carbon offsetting, renewable energy, and waste reduction to leave a lasting positive impact.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the shift toward sustainability in the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Munich. The emphasis on mobility and utilizing local public transport as a more eco-friendly option is a great step. While UEFA's climate fund donation is a positive move, they could further limit emissions by exploring innovative transportation solutions like promoting bike-sharing systems, encouraging carpooling, or even integrating electric vehicles into their transport network.
I find UEFA's initiative towards making Euro 2024 a model of environmental consciousness incredibly heartening. The shift towards using local public transport, such as trains, is a commendable step in reducing the carbon footprint associated with large-scale sporting events. This not only mitigates mass pollution but also sets a precedent for future events to follow. The creation of a climate fund by UEFA, with a substantial donation of seven million euros, is another significant move. It's not just about reducing the impact of the event itself but also contributing to broader environmental projects that can have a lasting effect beyond the tournament. It showcases a holistic approach to sustainability, acknowledging that while not all emissions can be avoided, there are ways to compensate and contribute positively to the environment. - Henry Jones
ReplyDeleteI love UEFA's initiative towards making Euro 2024 the greenest European Championship ever. I think it is super important to increase sustainability for sports as well. A lot of teams and clubs/owners care about sustainability and the environment, however, a lot of them do not take the initiative to do something. I think UEFA is doing a good job of promoting sustainability and will be a future trend for other events. I think they could
ReplyDeletelimit emissions by using less power in the stadium. I am sure it is very hard for them to utilize their resources and try to be sustainable for such a large event. How else do you think they could limit emissions?