Spotlight on sustainability initiatives

UEFA has committed to putting concrete sustainable development measures in place.

Since 2007, the organisation has been working with Climate Friendly to measure and offset the CO2 emissions from its employees' flights, a total of 20,000 tonnes on average per year (the equivalent of 2.85 billion of footballs), at a cost of up to €200,000 per year.

In addition, employees are highly encouraged to adopt responsible habits and follow sustainability tips and tricks that also save them time, reduce costs and improve their well-being.

Looking ahead, it is UEFA's ambition to use UEFA EURO 2016 to accumulate experience and expertise regarding the management of its social, economic and environmental impacts to, ultimately, reproduce good practices at other pan-European football events.

The goal is to limit the tournament's impact on the environment and obtain the ISO 2012-1 certification, like other sports competitions including the London 2012 Olympics and the French Open.

A wide range of concrete actions are put in place for the tournament in the fields of public transport and mobility, waste management, energy optimisation, accessibility or fight against discriminations.

For example, as well as encouraging UEFA EURO 2016 spectators to use public transport, an eco-calculator has been developed for them. This online tool measures the greenhouse gas emission that each journey will generate – the equivalent number of footballs full of carbon dioxide. Supporters can then make a better choice for travelling to the tournament and choose to offset their emissions.

The funds raised through the UEFA compensation flights scheme, will be invested in the Prony and Kafeate wind farm project, with the aim of producing renewable energy in New Caledonia, a French Territory in the Pacific Ocean.

For UEFA EURO 2016 and beyond, UEFA is relying on close collaboration with all its stakeholders – the football family, sponsors, partners, authorities and the media – and on football's ability to inspire constructive behaviour, ensuring a positive legacy for UEFA EURO 2016.