Sustainability Statement
Peterborough United Football Club acknowledge our ability to have a positive influence on our local and wider supporting communities, through making positive impacts and influencing society awareness. As a sporting arena, with much of our fan base living in a relatively close proximity to the Weston Homes Stadium, changes can positively impact those local communities and help to ensure a safer and healthier environment for all.
Since the pre-Industrial era global temperatures have increased by 1.2 degrees, with ten of the highest average temperatures on record being recorded within each of those years. These temperatures are expected to continue to keep increasing by two degrees by 2039 and as much as four degrees by 2078, far quicker than the previous century. These increases in global warming, are widely regarded as a direct result in increases in (GHG) Green House gases, produced via a mixture of common gases including: carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide and many more. These gases are believed to trap in the sun’s rays, like a ‘green house’ and stop reflected heat bouncing back into space.
In the 2015 Paris Agreement, most of the world’s leaders agreed to make positive changes to reduce GHG emissions and to reduce our carbon footprint. Although some changes have been made, the rate in improvements has dramatically reduced and limiting the expected temperature rises, is again a concern for scientists and world leaders.
WHERE DOES PETERBOROUGH UNITED COME INTO THIS EQUATION?
In 2019, the UK passed laws to ensure an end to increasing our contribution to global warming by 2050 and in 2020 became the fastest of the G20 nations to reducing our carbon footprint (by 40%). The FA, also implemented a five year football commitment strategy in 2023, to use football to have a positive impact on the environment and the communities football serves. This strategy is called ‘Playing for the future’ and is based around three core elements:
• Shoot for net zero – fight climate change and reduce emissions
• Save our resources – optimise resource consumption
• Make an impact – deliver and govern change across football
We at Peterborough United acknowledge our activities contribute to emissions and through a better understanding of our operational activities, energy usage and our overall carbon footprint, we are committed to trying to reduce our impact. This will not be a quick fix and changes will be implemented by our Board of Directors, that entwine with the FA strategy, UEFA strategy and Governmental strategies, ensuring that sustainability becomes a primary consideration in all our operational decisions.
Here are our primary areas of focus:
• Energy consumption
• Water and effluents
• Waste management
• Materials and chemicals
• Food and drink
• Travel and transport
HOW WE IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABILITY TARGETS
For us to understand the impacts we have as a football club, we must ensure that we understand our current processes, usages and contributions to emissions. This information is then evaluated, and new processes and strategies are created to ensure positive actions can be made.
The following stages will be used, in our approach to defining a working sustainability strategy for Peterborough United:
1. Conduct monitoring all key areas
2. Evaluation of current systems, processes and usage
3. Develop new strategy, processes and continued evaluation
4. Review impacts (amend or reinforce)
OUR VISION
The effects of climate change and the impacts made on our environment, are becoming an important concern for younger generations. We believe that by actively improving our carbon impact on the environment and global climate change as whole, will mirror the importance of these areas of concerns for younger generations and develop a greater empathy and appeal for new fans to our club.
Peterborough United will align with the FA and government carbon neutral targets and define a sustainability strategy that delivers a reduced impact on our environment and make the changes for all future generations.
Dawn Gore
CEO and Sustainability Lead at Peterborough United Football Club