Sustainability in 2023: holistic approach and responsible behaviour

The club started down its path last year in September 2022 with the establishment of a staff position on the topic of sustainability. The newly created role, which is held by Matthias Adler, aims to establish internal structures. Since then, important committees have been set up within the club. These include a steering committee (decision-making body for sustainability at management level) and an internal expert panel. This is a cross-departmental working group from the areas of sport, marketing, communication, social affairs, finance, organisational development, event organisation and the TecArena. Its work forms the basis for all actions and leads to concrete measures in the three sustainability dimensions (ecological, social and corporate management).

MATERIALITY ANALYSIS AS A STARTING POINT

The materiality analysis carried out serves as the basis for all further steps. Internal and external stakeholders were involved in the identification of key sustainability issues at Bayer 04. In addition, a procedure for the analysis was developed by the internal expert panel with scientific support, the central part of which was a questionnaire with various overarching topics. The questionnaire was completed in various formats by different stakeholder groups (fans, sponsors, media, employees, athletes, local authorities, parent company and Bayer 04 management). The results will be used to determine future focus topics for the Werkself and their weighting, and will thus serve as the basis for the new sustainability strategy, which is to be finalised in spring 2024.

DFL LICENSING SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED

Almost two years ago, the German Football League (DFL) became the first professional sports league to enshrine a mandatory sustainability guideline in its licensing regulations for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. For the first time, the clubs undertook to fulfil certain criteria, such as demonstrating the existence of a sustainability strategy or a mobility analysis. The club successfully completed the initial licensing process ahead of schedule in two rounds in March and September. The new process is not just about simply fulfilling the criteria, but also about liaising closely with the DFL and other clubs in the network in order to reflect on and further develop the criteria.

DETERMINING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR THE FIRST TIME

In addition to the DFL licence, Leverkusen took another step forward with regard to its own carbon footprint. The aim was to record the club’s carbon footprint for the first time - in other words, to determine Bayer 04's full-year carbon emissions in 2022. The results have been available since October. An analytical look shows that around 50 percent of the CO² emissions are attributable to the areas of mobility, travel and accommodation. This applies both to supporters travelling to matches at the BayArena and to teams and staff travelling to the respective matches. For the reporting year, this includes travelling to the USA and Mexico in addition to the numerous (also European) competitive matches. Bayer 04 undertook these trips as part of the necessary internationalisation process. It should also be noted that stadium capacity utilisation was lower due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To summarise, the footprint forms the basis for the development of future reduction measures - always taking into account the core business. Less sporting success would mean less international travelling, fewer visitors to the BayArena would result in fewer travel emissions. Neither of these is naturally in the interests of the Bayer 04 family. It therefore remains a major task to strengthen competitiveness while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint.

MOBILITY ANALYSIS WITH RWTH AACHEN

The club carried out a comprehensive mobility analysis in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University. The aim was to record the travel behaviour of fans at Werkself home matches. Specifically, the surveys were conducted at the home matches against RB Leipzig (April), 1. FC Köln (October) and 1. FC Union Berlin (November) as well as with the help of online questionnaires and traffic counts. Bayer 04 would like to thank all fans for the high level of participation in the survey. The final results will be available in the new year. The aim is to develop a sustainable mobility concept for home matches by optimising fan travel and reducing CO² emissions.

The club also showed its commitment to internal mobility. Bayer 04 put together its own team for the Leverkusen city cycling event and is now offering employees the opportunity to purchase a company bike and the Deutschlandticket for public transport at a reduced price.

FOCUS ON NUTRITION WITH THE HELP OF THE BAYER SPORTS FAMILY

In cooperation with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the club has addressed the topic of nutrition in the 2023/24 season. Ongoing measures include the veggie corner installed in the BayArena at the start of the season, regular nutrition workshops for school classes at the Bayer 04 Lernkurve, the Football Fans in Training project and food donations for the food bank.

There are already plans for the new year. The cooking competition that was launched allowed children of primary school age to apply for a place as a mascot at the Werkself's home match against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 27 January. Further measures for the matchday against the Foals, which is all about nutrition, will follow shortly.

NUMEROUS OTHER ACTIVITIES

There was a lot going on in 2023. For example, at the annual Bayer 04 Help Day, employees joined forces with the men’s and women’s teams at NaturGut Ophoven to spruce up the grounds. The Young Coaches training programmes outside Germany were also a complete success once again. This time, Bayer 04 was a guest in Rwanda and played football with local kids. Another highlight was the Special Champions League. The tournament was organised by Bayer 04 this year.

NEW WEBSITE AS A REFERENCE WORK

With the launch of the new website in August 2023, the Werkself also created a completely new section on the topic of sustainability in order to make the activities and projects under way at many levels accessible to the public. The site comprises three sections: Environment, Society and Club Management. In addition, all information on the club's direction is presented in a compact and transparent way. All news and announcements on the topic of sustainability can be read there at any time. Click HERE to go to the page.