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First Football Team in the U.K Goes Carbon Neutral

May 1st, 2007

Ipswich Town Football Club with the support of their Main Sponsor E.ON, the Defra Climate Challenge Fund and CRed have announced that they have reached their target to become the UK’s First Carbon Neutral Football Club.

To make this happen 3200 tonnes of carbon dioxide have been saved, through 3,000 Town fans making a total of nearly 14,000 energy efficiency pledges for their homes on the Save your energy for the Blues website, in return for a range of ITFC Money Can’t Buy prizes for themselves and rewards to the Club from E.ON. It was season ticket holder, Mel St Pier‘s pledge of buying a hybrid car that took the project over the 100% target.

Derek Bowden, Chief Executive, Ipswich Town Football Club said: “Over the last six months, the Club has also worked hard to decrease its own energy consumption with the current figures showing a decrease of 20%, compared to the same period last year. This has been done through a number of measures, including switching the Club to a green energy tariff, fitting the floodlights with low energy light bulbs, plus ensuring that catering kiosks fridges are emptied and turned off between fixtures.

Jason De Vos, Ipswich Captain and Project Ambassador said: “It has been really inspirational to see the way the fans have embraced this scheme. It is clear that by aligning the energy saving programme with their local football club it gave it more meaning and a focus for the fans.”

Mike Thompson, Head of Sponsorship, E.ON UK said: “We’re delighted that the Club has become Carbon Neutral in what has been a truly groundbreaking scheme. We believe it’s vital we help change the way that people use energy and this project has been a fantastic way of doing this in the Ipswich Community. We hope that the fans maintain these energy efficiency measures in their homes and that they reap the on-field benefits of the donation we have made to the player transfer budget.”

Dr Simon Gerrard, CRed Programme Manager, said: “The community-based activities of the fans are a valid activity which can contribute to a carbon management plan involving other elements such as demand reduction, energy efficiency and switching to renewable energy. This pioneering project paves the way for other sporting activities to reduce their carbon emissions. The CRed System builds in a success factor to each pledge so we don’t make the naïve assumption that everyone does everything they say. As two-thirds of the Club’s carbon emissions are associated with transport it’s important that the fans have been involved. They have stepped up to the mark and been counted.”