EFDN is taking action on sustainability

EFDN is taking action on sustainability

Within sport, there is a shift towards sustainability gaining more recognition. Major sport events are nowadays organised with much attention given to the short and long-term impacts they might have on cities, people and animals. Today, September 29, the European Football for Development Network (EFDN) campaign – #Morethanfootball Action Weeks – observes the Sustainability Action Day.

Sustainability studies how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance while acknowledging that human civilisation takes resources to sustain our modern way of life. Sustainability takes into account how we can live in harmony with the natural world around us, protecting it from damage and destruction.

In 2005, the World Summit on Social Development identified three core areas – pillars of sustainability. These are Economic development; Social development; and Environmental protection. They aim to contribute to the philosophy and social science of sustainable development. EFDN members and participating organisations in the campaign are implementing various initiatives that target several elements of sustainability such as climate change and environmental protection.

Climate change, for example, requires collective action from everyone, including the football world. On a day-to-day basis, the impacts of climate change play out through extreme and abnormal weather. Heatwaves and floods which used to be “once in a century” events are becoming more regular occurrences, as we saw with wildfires that last year devasted the Amazonian Forest, California and more recently Australia.

At the same time, resources vanish and lead for example to risks for food security and nutrition. We need to be aware of the importance of the issue of food loss and waste now more than ever in order to promote and implement our global efforts towards resolving it. That is why, in 2019, the 74th United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, recognizing the fundamental role that sustainable food production plays in promoting food security and nutrition. Doubtless, this new International Day faces a lot of challenges to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of responsible consumption and production.

EFDN implements several programmes that support a variety of sustainable actions. These include:

GREENFOOT – this project will develop and implement a community-based financing scheme for renovating football buildings including stadiums, practice facilities and related buildings (e.g. team headquarters, fitness centres) with energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. The central social innovation is to develop creative crowdfunding investment packages that allow sports fans and community members to partner with their favourite clubs to improve energy use, fight climate change and contribute to a cleaner local environment.

How do you contribute to sustainability and climate action? Highlight your projects and use #morethanfootball on social media.