Scope F is a term freshly minted by The Planet League, an organisation that describes itself as “the place for football fans to learn about climate action and do fun things to be greener – at home, school, work and at the match.”.[i] Scope F discusses emissions, as well as emission reductions that come from the impact that sporting organisations have on the daily lives of their supporters. Its inception was driven by the idea that for some sports, brand influence can reach millions of viewers.[ii] Based on the notion that football teams may influence their supporters to reduce emissions in their daily lives. As discussed by ZCA in our blog here, we looked at how football clubs can influence their fans on matchday by modifying the experience to make it as sustainable as possible. Fans react well to these matchday-based interventions because they care deeply and are devoted to their teams. Some isolated initiatives beyond matchday were “voting bins” that allowed fans to dispose of their litter and vote on whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo were the better player; the scheme generated a viral response and interest around the world.[iii] The F in scope F refers to these very fans, but it takes the focus away from how fans can be involved in reducing a club’s scopes 1, 2 & 3 and towards how the club’s influence can change fan behaviour beyond the matchday.[iv] Planet league use the fitting analogy of playing a game of football only in the penalty area to demonstrate how influence is currently wielded over fans by football clubs.
Source: Planet League
Southampton FC commented on the project, saying:
“The Scope F concept is incredibly insightful and presents a great opportunity for clubs to really engage with and inspire their fans to take action to tackle environmental issues. We know that so many our own fans have a great sense of pride that the club is actively taking steps to reduce our environmental impact and believe that they want to support us with the initiatives we introduce to do this.”[v]
This summer, sold-out stadiums were seen all over the world thanks in part to the Premier League international pre-season friendlies, giving fans on numerous continents the chance to see their idols live. The majority of English topflight clubs decided to play matches abroad on lucrative tours after two years of Covid-restricted travel, while some chose to attend more low-key training camps abroad. BBC sport estimated the carbon emissions associated with each Premier League club’s preseason tour.[vi]
Source: BBC Sport
Whilst some clubs like Manchester United have purchased offsets to counteract their emissions, other clubs like Brighton say that due to the infancy of their sustainability strategy that sustainability “is not a major consideration,” and so how can fans take seriously any future attempts to generate impact using scope F if a number of clubs do not walk the walk.[vii] Conversely, with estimations from Barcelona that only 3% of their fans will ever visit their home stadium, the role of worldwide tours in retaining or generating the influence required for the functioning of scope F cannot be ignored.[viii] Attempting to generate influence on a wider scale, the premier league’s net “game zero” was considered to have set the bar and brought sustainability into the limelight for many fans.[ix]
Scope X, a concept created by the communication company Futerra in 2020, served as the basis for Scope F. Using Scope X, the issue of how organisations may be accountable for emissions due to their influence is addressed.[x] For example, a law business may produce only a few hundred tonnes of CO2 per year from office operations and client travel under Scopes 1, 2, and 3. However, a project to drill for oil in the North Sea, which has the potential to emit tens of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, may have the same legal firm acting as its lobbyist. These Scope X emissions belong to the law firm. It is well known that especially at the beginning of a zero carbon journey measuring scopes 1, 2 & 3 alone is challenging enough, let alone the more holistic impact of scope X. However, whether we are able to quantify it or not, understanding that influence over consumers or supply chains does have an impact on emissions on a wider scale and beginning to think about how that can be managed could provide an interesting discussion.
[i] Planet League- Go Green for Your Team
[ii] Scope F- Maximising sport’s positive impact on carbon emissions
[iii] Hubbub- Ronaldo or Messi? When litter goes viral
[iv] Ibid
[v] Scope F- What Sports are saying
[vi] BBC Sport- Should Premier League football clubs travel so far for pre-season?
[vii] Manchester United- United to Offset Carbon Emissions During Tour 2022
[viii] Green Sports Blog- Introducing Scope F (for Fan)
[ix] Positive.News- The novel ways that football clubs are tackling the climate crisis
[x] Forbes- We Urgently Need ‘Scope X’ Business Leadership For Climate
Oscar is a recent graduate with a background in earth science. He is currently studying an MSc focussing on disaster responses, emergency planning and community resilience. His postgraduate research project will assess the link between climate crisis risk perception and attitudes to green energy projects. “Adapting to the climate crisis through the pursuit of net zero requires community engagement and understanding. Zero Carbon Academy’s goals closely align with this approach and I’m excited to have the opportunity to research and communicate a variety of topics relating to our environment and sustainability”.
