FIFA has today joined the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Secretariat’s initiative Climate Neutral Now, becoming the first international sports organisation to do so. By joining the campaign, FIFA has pledged to continue to strive towards becoming greenhouse gas emission-neutral by the mid-21st century, and has committed, as it did in Brazil in 2014, to measuring, reducing and offsetting all of its greenhouse gas emissions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.
“Each one of us, as well as every organisation, has to take responsibility for the world we live in and lead by example. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and we are proud to commit to this cause. Beyond the pledge and through the power of football, we also aim to inspire greater awareness and best practices in sustainability standards,” said FIFA’s Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, who announced the collaboration during a handover ceremony of the pledge at the UN headquarters in New York that can be watched in the UN Web TV.
The Climate Neutral Now initiative represents a global community of organisations committed to becoming climate-neutral by the second half of the 21st century. Climate Neutral Now calls on organisations and individuals to measure, reduce and report greenhouse gas emissions and compensate those that cannot be avoided with UN-certified emission reductions. The initiative was launched in September 2015 by a founding group of organisations that included Microsoft, Sony, the adidas Group and Marks & Spencer.
“The climate talks in Paris this past December highlighted the critical role that non-state actors — corporations, NGOs and individuals — are playing in addressing climate change. Every sector has an important role, but we are excited by the potential that sports organisations represent. More than one billion people watched the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil. There’s enormous potential for inspiring sports fans around the globe, in addition to the action that the sports organisations are taking in-house,” says the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa.
At FIFA, the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ was considered to be a turning point with regard to the sustainability of its competitions, including environmental protection. Since then, there have been projects put in place to measure and mitigate the environmental impact of those events, not only in relation to climate change but also in other areas relevant to sustainability, such as waste management and green stadiums.
“For the last ten years we have been engaging with our stakeholders and other institutions to find sensible ways of addressing environmental issues and to mitigate the negative environmental impact of our activities. Therefore we are thankful and proud to be recognised as an actor when it comes to climate change by being the first sports organisation to join the Climate Neutral Now initiative. The campaign offers non-state actors the opportunity to show their support and act as a strong partner for this cause,” added FIFA’s Head of Sustainability & Diversity, Federico Addiechi.
Read about Carbon Management and Climate Protection at FIFA.
For more about FIFA’s sustainability initiatives, please visit FIFA.com/sustainability.