During the COP28, English football club, Liverpool FC, made a surprising appearance, standing out in a noticeable lack of representation from most sports brands and clubs.
“COP28 is an opportunity for us to tell our story and the commitment that we have around sustainability, and hopefully, it means we can make a real difference. We want to lead in this space, and we want to do more,” said Liverpool’s Director of Impact, Rishi Jain.
“We want to be totally transparent with our targets and whether we are hitting them or not,” Jain added.
Liverpool FC is committed to protecting the environment through sustainability initiatives, such as using hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) for their team bus and adopting eco-friendly bags that can be reused, recycled, or decomposed.
The club has switched to using only renewable energy sources for all its locations and in 2023, nearly all of the reusable cups were returned on game days, compared to only a fifth at the start of 2021.
Liverpool also launched The Red Way in 2021, a declaration that acknowledges the club’s responsibility to use its voice and act on issues such as climate change, equality, diversity, and inclusion. It identifies both achievements and challenges in these areas.
Jain further added, “Anytime we ask players for support around climate issues, we get it,”
“We’ve been very strong on diversity and inclusion and the planet agenda is an important next step. We have delivered sessions to academy players on the Red Way, so there is an increase in awareness, and hopefully we can spark more conversations,” he continued.
