Soccer-UEFA launches Carbon Footprint calculator for clubs

LONDON (Reuters) - European soccer's governing body UEFA says its new Carbon Footprint Calculator will be a groundbreaking tool in helping clubs reduce their environmental impact.

The calculator, launched at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Wednesday and available to all European clubs, will assess carbon emissions from soccer-specific areas such as travel, purchased goods, facilities and logistics.

"The UEFA Carbon Footprint Calculator embodies our ambition to showcase that football can be part of the solution in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions," UEFA Vice-President Laura McAllister said in a statement.

"By providing stakeholders with the tools and guidance, we are facilitating collective action towards a more sustainable future for our sport and the planet."

The calculator, tailor-made for the soccer industry and based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, has been two years in the making and is a collaborative effort involving more than 20 football organisations as well as third-party advisors.

UEFA is a signature of the UN Race to Zero campaign which calls for a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2040.

According to UEFA, this year's Euro 2024 championship in Germany will set a new standard in sustainability with match schedules tailored to reducing teams' travel and ticket holders entitled to free transport around the host cities.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)