Enter the green era of your grassroot sports club to improve your club’s sustainability with these five tips on how to help your local grassroots sports club reduce its contribution to climate change.
Local sports teams can bring communities together to support a united cause, and we believe these teams can inspire people in the wider community to make more eco-friendly choices by setting an example of choosing sustainable options where possible.
5 Ways Grassroots Sport Can Go Green
1. Eco-Friendly Fundraising
Fundraise much-needed revenue by selling team merch to keep your sports team alive and kicking (excuse the grassroots football pun).
To get started, all you need to do is set up a shop with My Team Colours to sell premium quality, sustainable and ethically made clothing made with your team logo. Then you can earn 20% of the purchase price in pure profit on every sale.
You can read more about how the My Team Colours grassroots initiative supports the environment on our website.
2. Evaluate Team Transport Options
When organising your local grassroots sport team’s travel to participate in tournaments, follow Arsenal’s lead and choose zero-emissions transport options. Although this club may be travelling via electric vehicles, which may be out of the question for a small local sports team, there are other ways you can cut emissions as a local team.
For example, ask parents if you can share their names and contact information with other team members’ parents so they can organize lift shares, encourage everyone to take public transport or donate to a sustainable cause that can offset your carbon emissions for the journey.
3. Switch to a Sustainable Bank
Many big-name banks use your savings to invest in industries that may go against your team’s ethics. So if you keep a small number of your grassroots sport team’s finances in a bank account, switching to a more eco-friendly bank account is a simple way to support sustainable causes.
4. Start a Kit Recycling Scheme
Wearing a uniform is a wonderful way to unite a team. However, as the kit will often use a personalized team logo, finding a use for these items may be challenging when the team members grow out of the clothes. Therefore, as a team leader or coach, you could organize a kit recycling scheme to pass the kit on to others. For example, arrange for the team members to pass down kit that no longer fits them to the age group below their team. This scheme can save the club money and proves a more sustainable way to have each team member representing your club while playing matches or training.
5. Go Paperless
It seems obvious to suggest that if you forgo the paper sign-up sheets, newsletters and other promotional flyers can improve your clubs’ environmental footprint.
But despite the technological advancement, global paper usage has increased a whopping 400% in the last 40 years. So switching from paper to digital documents can help your grassroots sport club be more sustainable as it has been shown to reduce air pollution, waste, and water and prevent deforestation.
Plus, as a bonus, it also makes it easier to find forms and keep track of your club’s data!
