Innovation
Launch of UEFA Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines – Save the date: 16 November 2022
Sustainable football infrastructure provides long-term financial and environmental benefits to operators and strengthens the legacy of common spaces for local communities.
Infrastructure Sustainability is one of the eleven Policies currently being deployed as part of UEFA’s Football Sustainability Strategy 2030, ‘Strength through Unity’. The Policy’s ambition is to continue to raise the bar for European football infrastructure by setting criteria and sharing best practices for a new generation of sustainable football venues.
Specifically, in the UEFA context, infrastructure sustainability refers to focusing on the development of guidelines for sustainable football venues; to the promotion and application of infrastructure sustainability criteria across UEFA’s governance, policies and guidelines; and to knowledge transfer around best practices in stadium infrastructure.
UEFA Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines
On 16 November, UEFA is launching a working document aimed at inspiring and supporting football stakeholders across Europe – National Associations, clubs, infrastructure managers, local authorities, stadium operators, architects – to embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices at every stage of the football infrastructure lifecycle:
- The concept and design phase, including the impact on biodiversity and local communities;
- The construction phase;
- The management phase, including the end-of-life stage.
The document provides:
- An introduction to the concept of infrastructure sustainability, structured around the topics of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)
- A deep-dive into the realities of football infrastructure – covering topics such as purpose, location, design, conception and construction, pitch, and landscaping aspects
- Insights into the infrastructure management phase – most notably looking at the use of embedded technology in the stadium infrastructure and the pitch as well as means to tackle event and waste management challenges, including at the level of health and safety
The guidelines were developed with the support of subject matter experts externally (architects, clubs, operators, academics) and internally in UEFA (Football and Social Responsibility, Football Operations, EU Office.
The document was designed to be an online working tool and will be updated on a regular basis (including its numerous case studies) with the latest trends around technology, legislation and stakeholder expectations.
The development of the Guidelines has led to the creation of a database of best practices, backed by a comprehensive set of references to examples, future development ideas and tools for specific topics.
The Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines will be shared across the European football ecosystem. UEFA will actively engage with National Associations’ and Clubs’ sustainability officers to support the implementation of best practices through knowledge transfer workshops and accurate monitoring of the various activities.
The document will be periodically updated based on technologies advancement, legislation, expectations from civil society and ever-evolving UEFA requirements.
Launch event on 16 November 2022 in Mainz, Germany (13:00 to 16:00)
The Guidelines will be launched at a dedicated hosted at MEWA Arena in Mainz, Germany.
The session will feature in-depth discussions on sustainable football infrastructure, an introduction to the Guidelines, and a look ahead to the UEFA EURO 2024 in this particular domain.
Panelists will include:
- Michele Uva, Director of Football & Social Responsibility, UEFA
- Andreas Mex Schär, Managing Director, EURO 2024 GmbH
- Mark Fenwick, CEO Fenwick Iribarren Architects
- Claire Poole, CEO, Sport Positive
- John Beattie, Director, Stadium and Facilities, Arsenal
- Sander van Stiphout, Director, Johan Cruijff ArenA Innovation
- Juergen Muth, Executive Director, Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH
To attend this event, please complete the registration form.
