Zero Waste Week: UEFA webcast on circular economy solutions in football

Earlier this year, UEFA launched its Football Sustainability Strategy 2030 – titled ‘Strength Through Unity’ – with the mission to inspire, activate and accelerate collective action to respect human rights and the environment within the context of European Football. The strategy contains 11 policies, one of which focuses on Circular Economy.

Circular Economy is a concept that aims at shifting our current consumption model ("Take-Make-Waste") to a circular model that radically reduces the use of raw materials for the manufacturing process; the amount of plastic discharged, and food wasted; and the impact on biodiversity.

In a UEFA context, Circular Economy refers to the optimisation of the consumption and life cycle of products, most notably food, packaging and branded items throughout UEFA operations and events. Our 2030 ambition is to embed the so-called "4R approach" – built around Reducing, Reusing, Recycling, and Recovering – in all operations to minimise the impact of football on the environment and drive resource efficiency and cost savings.

In conjunction with the celebration of Zero Waste Week around the world, UEFA is launching its own Circular Economy Guidelines. The document is composed of three sections: an introduction to the Circular Economy concept and the 4R framework - best practice and factsheets in the Food & Beverage domain by various football stakeholders and an outlook into forthcoming Circular Economy focus areas: energy & water, apparel & football equipment, and event materials (signage, brand production and furniture & IT equipment).

The Guidelines will help national associations, leagues, clubs, event organisers and other football stakeholders start the journey towards the aspirational target of zero plastic waste and food waste – within UEFA, across UEFA events and collaboratively across European football – by 2030.

Circular Economy webcast

On 7 September, UEFA will host a special event with two panel discussions on the Circular Economy, from 11:00-12:00 CET.

Following an introduction from the moderator, Pedro Pinto, a first panel will discuss Circular Economy from a strategic angle, highlighting the opportunities for collaborative solutions in the European football landscape.

Panelists:

Michele Uva, Director of Football & Social Responsibility, UEFA

Katharina Stenholm, Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo Europe

Charlie Marshall, CEO, European Clubs Association (ECA)

Thereafter, UEFA’s Circular Economy Guidelines will be briefly presented by Filippo Veglio, Senior FSR Expert, UEFA.

A second panel will then dive into the challenges and opportunities around implementing the Guidelines across football stakeholders.

Panelists:

Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Circular Economy Unit, Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV), European Commission

Anders Kjaer, FSR Manager, Danish Football Association (DBU)

Ricardo Cavalho, Sports Facilities & Asset Manager, FC Porto

Emilie Bølviken, Professional Football Player, Lyn FC

Vincent Reulet, FSR Environment Expert, UEFA

Watch online at www.uefa.com/sustainability