How the Women's World Cup will be more eco-friendly this year

We are just weeks away from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which means football fans around the world have much to be excited about! 

Not only will there be an increase in the number of teams that are competing this year, but for the first time in Women’s World Cup history, FIFA is hosting the games across two host countries: Australia and New Zealand. That means even more fans will be in attendance, which leads to “a whole lot of waste, a whole lot of transit emissions [and] lots of hotel stays, which is a lot of water,” according to Madeline Orr, Founder & Co-Director of The Sport Ecology Group. 

There is no denying that the environmental impact of this mega-event will be significant.

Because of this, “FIFA confirmed its pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change − Sports for Climate Action Framework.” 

“This includes a commitment to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2040, as part of a detailed FIFA Sustainability Strategy that lays out plans to accelerate the delivery of solutions to protect our beautiful planet and our beautiful game.”

FIFA's 2023 sustainability strategy includes the following:

• Reducing the impact  
• Minimizing waste sent to landfill
• Fostering more sustainable buildings  
• Ensuring sustainable procurement 

But with a new sustainability plan in motion, many are left wondering what fans can do to help or how they will be affected by the changes.

“I definitely think that FIFA is underestimating the impact of the events they host,” Orr said. “And I would actually say all of the big guns in the sports world are underestimating their emissions. The reason they're underestimating it is because they're not tracking who the fans are and what they're doing

“So it's impossible to really say we're accounting for everything when the product you're selling is the experience and you're not actually tracking the full experience ... we just don't have the calculation mechanisms right now to calculate the totals.”

FIFA believes that fans can be the most effective at helping the climate sustainability of the World Cup by having conversations with “friends, families and colleagues about our changing climate and the importance of environmental sustainability.” 

Radley Horton, a research professor and climate scientist at Columbia University believes these can be teaching moments.

“Can we have messaging either from the athletes, from the countries that are hosting these through advertising campaigns that … as a society, it's important that we reduce our emissions,” Horton said.

This will leave the 2023 Women’s World Cup as not only a global stage for football, but for environmental change, as well.

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