Warriors achieved a 26 per cent reduction on their matchday carbon emissions from the recent #Converttozero match against Saracens at Sixways.
A number of initiatives were introduced for the match to reduce carbon emissions and demonstrate that a large sporting event can be staged sustainably.
The effectiveness of the carbon reduction initiatives has been assessed by Go Green Experts Ltd whose report concludes that there was a 26 per cent reduction of carbon emissions of 2.3 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent from the previous Warriors’ home match against Newcastle Falcons at Sixways four weeks earlier.
Go Green’s report shows that using vegetarian options as the default for catering at the Saracens’ match and using a local brewery for beer supplies led to a reduction of 0.5 tonnes of CO²E despite an increased attendance.
Further reductions were achieved by dimming the three big screens by ten per cent, cutting printing costs to zero by publishing digital-only match programmes and team sheets and encouraging spectators to car share or to use the Sixways Shuttle bus service to travel to and from the match.
Warriors will now use the learnings from the ‘Convert to Zero’ match day to reduce the carbon emissions at future matches and events held at Sixways Stadium.
“Our goal of demonstrating to fans, our rugby community and the wider sporting world that an amazing match day experience is possible in a sustainable way was met,” said Gene Willis, Warriors’ Sustainability Lead.
“We had a fantastic day and proved that even with the smallest changes, we can make big impacts.
“This just the start for us. We shall continue to keep most of the changes we made on the day as well as making future match and event day decisions mindful of how they will impact our planet.”