S04 travels to away games in an environmentally neutral way

S04 travels to away games in an environmentally neutral way

For years, FC Schalke 04 has been committed to protecting the environment and a sustainable approach to nature. With its VELTINS Arena, the club has been certified several times for sustainable business management. As a club with a long history and great responsibility, the continuous development towards more sustainability is therefore an important focus. That is why the club will travel to its away matches in an environmentally neutral manner from the start of the 2021/2022 season.

For this purpose, FC Schalke 04 is working closely with HeimatERBE GmbH and greenzero.me GmbH. Greenzero.me supports the Königsblauen by accurately recording, assessing and understanding the environmental impacts arising from their away games. To this end, the mobility behaviour and accommodation of the Bundesliga team are analysed for its environmental impact, the potential for optimisation is identified and directly implemented in order to reach the venues as sustainably and resource-efficiently as possible.

In the current season, the club is concentrating primarily on the team’s travel behaviour to away matches – not only CO2 emissions will be considered, but all the effects that travel has on the environment. At the beginning of the season, the preliminary travel plans were analysed with regard to the chosen means of transport and the expected environmental impact was calculated. On this basis, it is now necessary to make or reconsider future travel decisions with caution. Unavoidable environmental impacts caused by the trips are compensated for in cooperation with HeimatERBE GmbH from Essen. For this purpose, extensive renaturation measures supervised by experts are taking place on an area of the former Ewald 5 mine site in Herten, only a few kilometres away from the VELTINS Arena. This creates new ecological value directly in the region, which benefits the mining region and its residents.

At Schalke, we not only feel a responsibility towards the people from our region, but also towards our environment.

Peter Knäbel, Schalke 04 Board Member

Schalke board member Peter Knäbel sees the measure as an important step for the future: “At Schalke, we not only feel a responsibility towards the people from our region but also towards our environment. We want to contribute to ensuring that future generations can live here in the Ruhr region just as well or even better than we do today. That is why we have consciously decided to start our commitment – together with HeimatERBE GmbH – right here, in our home region.” Dr. Gratzel, Managing Director of HeimatERBE GmbH, on the cooperation: “With this commitment, Schalke 04 is setting an example for sustainability and environmental protection. It is a great sign that the club is aware of its ecological responsibility in relation to its away games. We are happy to use the compensation in an ecologically optimal way at Ewald 5 in Herten.”