LFC knows it has responsibility as a global football club to help inspire and encourage positive changes in behaviour, and it was with this in mind that it launched its club-wide sustainability programme, The Red Way, in January 2021.
Since then a lot of hard work has gone into embedding The Red Way across the club. Now, every major initiative or decision that is made comes back to the three key areas that have been identified in the inaugural The Red Way Report.
The positive actions of LFC colleagues and partners, working together to make a real difference, has allowed The Red Way to develop and thrive.
Since its launch, several awards for the club’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance have been achieved, as documented in the report, including topping the Sport Positive League in 2022 as the most environmentally sustainable Premier League football club.
Liverpool FC is also leading the way as the first Premier League club to achieve ISO 20121 certification, meaning it is sustainably certified and internationally recognised for its ability to deliver sustainable events – events that minimise potential negative impacts on the environment and leave a legacy to be proud of.
Speaking at the launch of The Red Way Report, Ben Latty, LFC’s commercial director and executive sponsor, said: “We’re very proud to launch LFC’s first The Red Way Report and are both encouraged and delighted at the progress that has been made right across the club to get us to this very significant moment.
“A few seasons ago, changing expectations and demands of our key stakeholders regarding sustainability was recognised.
“As a club we acknowledged that to become a true leader in this space, and to place sustainability firmly at the heart of who we were, we had to create a more holistic and centralised approach. That led to the launch of The Red Way, which is now a fundamental part of everything that we do.
“It’s thanks to the fantastic efforts of our colleagues and our partners that The Red Way continues to flourish, and we look forward to much more successes and pioneering work moving forward.”
The Red Way Report showcases the importance of each of the three key pillars of LFC’s sustainability programme: people, planet and communities.
First up is LFC’s pioneering work with its people, including under the direction of the Red Together programme, the club’s commitment to championing equality, diversity and inclusion.
It reveals how LFC was the first professional football club to be awarded the Advanced Level of the Premier League Equality Standard (now called the Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard) back in 2017. It continues to be awarded this standard, based on the club’s continuous evolution in this space and drive to always look at ways of improving.
The club is also committed to enabling sport to play a critical role in limiting the worst effects of climate change and creating a sustainable future for our planet, which is the second pillar highlighted in The Red Way Report.
It celebrates the vast array of work that has been done and continues to be done in this vital area, and outlines plans for the future, including detail of the club’s carbon emission reduction plan.
LFC now uses sustainable fuels in its team buses, which creates a reduction in carbon emissions of up to 90 per cent from regular diesel.
Other highlights include how the club has set ambitious targets and is one of only three Premier League clubs to be a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework on the Race to Zero.
It aims to be net zero across its sport operations by the end of the 2022-23 season and the plan is to have 100 per cent of club operations run on low carbon and clean energy sources by 2025.
The report also looks further into the future, with the aim of reducing actual operational carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
Liverpool FC is known the world over, but is rooted in our communities, and this is the third pillar of The Red Way.
Much of the club’s work in this vital area is conducted through its official charity, LFC Foundation, and Red Neighbours, its community programme. The Red Way Report celebrates the fact that last season LFC Foundation supported more than 83,000 people, with almost two thirds of participants coming from the most deprived areas of the UK.
In the same period, LFC Foundation directly delivered £8 million into the local economy and contributed nearly £25 million in health benefits, bringing real change and creating life-changing opportunities for the most underserved communities in local parks, community hubs, classrooms and on football pitches.
The Red Way Report also reveals the hugely significant role LFC partners continue to play in helping to promote and bring about behavioural change.
Highlights include how Quorn, the meat-free food company on a mission to get more people into eating vegetarian or vegan alternatives, helped create an 86,500 kilogram carbon emissions saving across the 2021-22 season, with the consumption of its products compared to meat-based alternatives.
SC Johnson, a family company at work for a better world, has helped drive plastic bottle recycling collection rates on matchdays; these have increased from 25 per cent at the beginning of the partnership in 2021, to 86 per cent at the end of 2022.
Principal partner Standard Chartered Bank works with LFC Foundation to help deliver Global Works, a new community-based employability programme that provides employment support for 16 to 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds in New York and New Jersey.
Meanwhile, NIVEA MEN, the UK’s number one men’s skincare brand, has worked with the club to encourage men to open up about their mental health issues, and global giant Nike supports LFC Foundation through GAME ON, a programme focused on the power of sport and games to help children get active so they can lead happier, healthier and more successful lives.
- Read The Red Way Report in full here