Manchester’s reds go green

Manchester United - famous as the Red Devils - has officially gone green and it's nothing to do with supporters protesting about the club's current ownership.


Some fans of the club, former home to stars including Eric Cantona and David Beckham, have recently been sporting green and yellow scarfs in protest of the ownership of the Glazier family.

However, today (July 10) the green was all to do with environmentalism as Manchester United became the 250th company in the UK to net Carbon Trust Standard.

The standard, the only independent award for organisations verifying it is taking genuine action to reduce carbon emissions, marks two years’ worth of environmental work across the club.

Management, of the non-playing side, have run a number of initiatives ‘from boardroom to boot room’, which included the development of a network of 23 ‘energy champions’ and a high profile awareness campaign with messages and posters featuring Sir Alex Ferguson stating ‘You can make a difference’.

The programme has also ensured any waste produced by Manchester United does not end up in landfill, but is sent for energy recovery through a local waste to energy plant.

The club is also working with its local authority Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester Police with the joint aim of reducing congestion on match days .

Man U have also reduced energy consumption across Old Trafford through direct light ‘switch-offs’ on non-match days and optimising the control system for heating and ventilation of the stadium.

This has created savings like in the North Stand tunnel alone of around £10,000 each year, for the financial year 2008/09.

The club has also implemented a number of other eco-friendly initiatives such as the use of electric vehicles throughout the site.

In addition, since making a firm commitment in July 2008 to reduce energy use by 10%, the club has exceeded this goal by 6.9%.

Manchester United’s chief operating officer, Michael Bolingbroke, said: “We believe that being a responsible football club means being part of our community in the widest possible sense.

“Our performance as an internationally recognised institution isn’t measured just by our success on the football pitch or our profitability as a business but by the contribution that we make to the local community and the wider environment as well.

“Achieving the Carbon Trust Standard demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement and to be an environmentally responsible club.

“This accolade is testament to the hard work and united effort of our energy team and Energy Champions across the organisation.”

Luke Walsh

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