Image: Sky Sports

The feat, branded #GameZero, will be attempted at the 19 September Premier League fixture between Tottenham and Chelsea. Carbon emissions from the match will be reduced as far as possible, with the remainder offset through natural projects.

#GameZero will be played six weeks ahead of COP26, hosted by the UK government in Glasgow, which will bring together world leaders to accelerate global action to fight climate change.

The football match will also form part of the UK Government’s ‘Together for our Planet’ campaign, which celebrates what individuals and organisations across the country are doing to go #OneStepGreener to protect the planet ahead of COP26.

‘Ground-breaking’

Sky Sports’ managing director Jonathan Licht said the broadcaster hopes that, by using the “power of sport”, it can “inspire and support” football fans to make simple changes to reduce their carbon footprint and make more climate-friendly choices.

Earlier this year, Tottenham Hotspur was named the Premier League’s “greenest club”, following a study carried out by the UN-backed Sport Positive Summit, with a range of sustainable measures implemented across its operations.

The club’s chairman Daniel Levy said: “We are delighted to be the chosen partner of Sky on this ground-breaking initiative that will demonstrate the role our game can play in addressing the urgent issue of climate change.

“As the Premier League’s greenest club, Tottenham Hotspur is passionate about our planet – we look forward to showcasing our wide range of sustainable measures that are already in place and encouraging our fans to take simple actions that can make a huge difference.”

Green broadcasting

The club and Sky Sports are both signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and are founding partners of ‘Count Us In’ – a global movement aimed at mobilising one billion people in the fight against climate change.

Sky is a principal partner and media partner to COP26. As part of its coverage process, the broadcaster set new commitments concerning the environmental impact of its TV productions. These will build towards its ambition of becoming net-zero carbon by 2030.

In July last year, the broadcaster joined the BAFTA Sports Consortium – a group set up to reduce the impact that sports broadcasting has on the environment.

In September last year, Sky Sports confirmed that all Premier League and English Football League matches broadcast across its sports channels will be certified to sustainable production levels.

edie’s COP26 Focus Week

With less than two months until COP26, the edie team is running a dedicated week of content including exclusive interviews, in-depth reports and insightful opinion pieces this week (6-10 September).

Don’t miss your chance to get involved; click here to read more about our full programme of content and events and click here to register for this week’s biggest event – the online Inspiration Sessions on Nature-Based Solutions and Climate Adaptation. Taking place o Thursday 9 September,  the online event effectively combines three edie webinars into a single afternoon, with speakers confirmed from organisations including Unilever, Grosvenor and the FAIRR Initiative. 

edie staff