Euro 2024: How sustainable will the tournament be?

Germany, as host of the 2024 European Football Championship, has set its sights high for the organization of a sustainable tournament. 

Together with UEFA, the host cities, and the federal and state governments, the German Football Association (DFB) published a brochure last year titled: 'Common understanding of a sustainable UEFA Euro 2024'.

According to this, different measures are being taken to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. For example, "attractive" local public transport systems will be set up for traveling to the venues. In addition, all ten stadiums will be supplied with 100 percent renewable energy. The organizers also plan to reduce the amount of waste, include sustainable food in their catering offer, and use water sparingly despite expected hot temperatures.

Most sustainable European Championship ever?

Thomas Fischer, head of the Environmental Services Division of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), praised the intent behind the brochure: "I believe that we have extremely good conditions here in the football country of Germany to hold the most sustainable European Championships of all time."

Germany has a good infrastructure in place. Electric cars and bicycles are commonplace, and there is no need to build new stadiums - unlike the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The existing training infrastructures and the accommodation for the teams are also good prerequisites for a sustainable European Championship, Fischer said in an interview with Deutsche Welle. In addition, Germany has a general obligation to offer reusable containers at all major events.

While the plans sound good initially, Fischer believes holes can be poked in them. "They need to be presented much more precisely. The DUH has contacted both the DFB and UEFA about this because a binding umbrella concept for the ten host cities can't be discerned from this brochure. In addition, the big topic of merchandising is missing - for example, requirements for fair and locally produced fan articles and jerseys and the use of recycled materials."

Climate-friendly mobility is key

Climate-friendly mobility will be the most critical issue, as around 70 percent of CO2 emissions at major events are caused by stadium visitors traveling to and from the event. "The DFB and UEFA have recognized that this is a mega issue." All emissions are to be recorded and measured in the course of a climate balance - but here, too, the brochure needs to be more specific.

The focus on the core issues and fields of action was good, Fischer told DW, but now it had to become binding and concrete as soon as possible - similar to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when the mandatory Green Goal concept was already in place well over a year before the event. It was binding and implemented because FIFA stipulated it.

Better conditions than at the 2006 World Cup

Compared to the 2006 World Cup, most host cities now have an even better-developed local transport system and more stable train connections, Fischer explains. There has also been significant progress in using green electricity and e-bus shuttles, for example. But time is slowly slipping away, Fischer warns. "We need a clear umbrella concept that gives the venues clear guidelines on how to run the Euros sustainably. I don't see that at all."

Concrete measures could include an admission ticket that combines free travel by bus and train. The national teams could act as role models and forego domestic flights and travel by train instead. Mobility apps that intelligently guide travelers to the venues, the creation of more bicycle parking spaces, the provision of e-bikes and car bans near stadiums during matches, as well as park-and-ride systems, would also be conceivable.

But all this would still have to be agreed with the host cities. "I'm honestly getting scared that the umbrella concept hasn't been published yet," Fischer said. "It's all really thin, and that worries me." UEFA and the DFB have to deliver quickly now, he said, because all the plans for sustainability are just lip service.

This article was translated from German