Challenging Premier League clubs to sign up to greener travel
When Plymouth Argyle took on Manchester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup earlier this month, it wasn’t only their remarkable run in the game’s oldest knockout competition that was breaking ground.
The Championship side made the long trip north the day before they were due to face Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions. And then, despite their remarkable cup run being halted by a 3-1 defeat, they stayed in Manchester for several more days.
This is because Plymouth had recently become one of 14 clubs to sign up to Pledgeball’s Sustainable Travel Charter.
Pledgeball are a Bristol-based charity aiming to combat climate change through football. Their innovative approach to achieving this aim had initially been to inspire fans across the country to ‘pledge’ to make greener lifestyle choices – shortening the time they spend in the shower, cycling to work, etc – with supporters then earning points to move their team up the Pledgeball table.
But the ambitious organisation has also begun to target clubs. The Sustainable Travel Charter was created in 2023, with six initial signees. It asks its adherents to, where feasible, eschew aeroplane journeys for away fixtures in favour of greener alternatives such as taking the train.
Three days after their FA Cup date with City, Plymouth were due to take on Hull at MKM Stadium. Rather than slogging the near 300 miles home only to then trudge all the way back up to East Yorkshire, they remained at their Manchester hotel.
By traveling to Hull from Manchester instead of heading back to Plymouth for a couple of days in between, they saved around 540 miles of travel.
These are the kind of logistical decisions Pledgeball are hoping will become the norm in football, where short-haul flights have become commonplace at a serious carbon cost to the environment simply due to their convenience.
“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at Plymouth Argyle, and as a club known as ‘the Greens’, we’re proud to be a Green Club in more ways than one,” Christian Kent, Plymouth’s head of conferencing and events, tells Football365. “From using 100 per cent renewable energy to introducing sustainable matchday initiatives, we are continually working to make a positive difference. This [signing up to the Sustainable Travel Charter] is an important step on our journey, and we remain dedicated to leading the way in sustainability for our club, our supporters, and the wider community.”
And, crucially, the players appear to be on board, too.
“This is a unique club and it is fantastic to be involved in something like this,” captain Joe Edwards told Sky Sports. “It comes from the top but it feeds through to us as players. We know we are affecting the carbon footprint so we want to take responsibility for that and play our part as well.”
So far, Pledgeball have found Football League clubs to be tremendously receptive. Unsurprisingly, Forest Green Rovers – who proclaim proudly to be the world’s greenest football club – were among the first sign-ups to the Charter.
And now the 14 clubs to have committed to the Charter come from all reaches of the Football League. Plymouth were joined by fellow Championship sides Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers, plus Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City of League One, as the latest to pledge their allegiance to greener travel practices in February.
Premier League clubs remain conspicuous by their absence, however. And it is within the riches of the English top flight that the preference of air travel for away fixtures is most prevalent.
As those within the game continue to preach an awareness of the climate and the urgent need to address it, the next frontier of meaningful action will hopefully see Premier League sides take a lead from their EFL counterparts.