Saturday, June 15, 2024
Simon Rasch, environmental sustainability manager at the German Football Association, discusses the sustainability challenges facing the German game – and the opportunities they offer for wider change.
Exploring thesis ideas for his master’s degree in sustainable development, Simon Rasch was struck by a moment of clarity. A keen footballer, Rasch wondered if there was a link between football clubs’ sustainability work and the behaviour of their fans.
Rasch became convinced of the connection after studying the attitudes of more than 200 Borussia Dortmund supporters. More than that, the project cleared Rasch’s path towards a career he describes as being an “accelerator and implementer of sustainability in German football” – and to his current role as environmental sustainability manager at the German Football Association (DFB).
“I love football and I love the environment, so it was a natural step to combine the two,” says Rasch, who believes football “can have a positive impact on the sustainable development of society” – a vision he supports at the DFB through five focus areas.
“Football can certainly be an accelerator for sustainability.”
Simon Rasch, DFB environmental sustainability manager
EURO 2024: Gamechanger, storymaker
Simon Rasch’s role as environmental sustainability manager at the DFB is funded by UEFA’s HatTrick programme, which on average distributes 66% of each EURO’s net revenue to European football associations for investment in their national game.
Read more stories that show EURO’s power to change lives and communities for the better, on and off the pitch.
First and foremost, Rasch works closely with regional associations and amateur clubs in developing their own environmental sustainability activities – particularly around the growing impact of climate change on German football’s grassroots infrastructure.
More than seven million members play for 25,000 clubs across 21 regional associations, all under the responsibility of the DFB. Over 5,000 of these clubs have applied for money to strengthen their infrastructure through the flagship UEFA EURO 2024 climate fund. Launched in 2023, this flagship initiative has set aside around €7 million to support German amateur clubs’ climate protection projects.
Beyond the climate fund, the DFB seeks to support its regional associations and amateur clubs in several ways. For the former, Rasch has helped to develop three handbooks, including a 100-point checklist of sustainable actions clubs can take – alongside information on cost, effort and impact, and an accompanying spreadsheet that helps those working for clubs to filter the actions that suit them best.
“For amateur clubs, we have this great state-funded project called ‘Kick-off for green’, which includes videos, facts on climate change and a free carbon footprint calculator,” Rasch says. “It’s really applied to football – energy, water, mobility. It’s free and so easy for them to use.”
The second area of focus of Rasch’s work is to implement more sustainability measures at the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt.
While this involves operational elements such as carbon footprint calculation and facility management, much of Rasch’s efforts have been focused on “integrating sustainability into the employee mindset” by running education workshops and initiatives for his colleagues.
Support from his colleagues is integral to Rasch’s work – not least when it comes to games organised by the DFB, including male and female national team matches, Under-21 matches and the league cup finals. Making sure these events are more environmentally responsible represents the sustainability manager’s third pillar of responsibility.
Rasch and the DFB event organisation team have developed a free carpooling platform and have also tried to increase the share of vegan and regional catering options.
“Some of the progress has been amazing,” he says. “Year on year, we increased the sales of vegan sausages at the women’s cup final in Cologne by 577%.”
Rasch’s fourth focus is two-fold: to support clubs with workshops, documents, incentives and training, and to make sure they adhere to 34 environmental, social and governance criteria incorporated into the DFB’s licensing rules.
The “hardest” part of Rasch’s mission is embedding sustainability in the culture of the national team and youth academy.
“The focus here is mostly on the sport,” he says. “If the national team is doing well, everything is fine. But if the team is not doing so well then things like sustainability can be criticised.”
Environment is one of three key pillars of the UEFA EURO 2024 ESG strategy, alongside social and governance, with climate action, sustainable infrastructure and circular economy each identified as tournament priorities. There are also key performance indicators around sustainable mobility, carbon management, energy, water and waste.
Rasch is confident that EURO 2024 will be a catalyst, not only in accelerating his own work at the DFB but also in positioning football as a key player in the transition to a more sustainable world.
“Football can certainly be an accelerator for sustainability,” says Rasch. “There are lots of things for us to consider: budget, planning and communication. It’s difficult – but I’m certain we can have an impact.”
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