With the start of the UEFA Euro 2024, and enthusiasm increasing as we get closer to the finals, football fans, including friends and family members, gather to watch the matches together. These gatherings may be an opportunity to encourage sports teams, but also to support the environment and reduce the negative effects it is exposed to as a result of harmful activities. So, regardless of the color of your favorite team's shirt, how about wrapping your support in green so that these football gatherings turn into an environmentally friendly activity
Whether you are a sports fan or interested in friends and family gatherings, “Green in Arabic” suggests 5 steps that you can adopt to make watching Euro matches a sustainable experience that is in the interest of your team and nature.
Green transportation options
Encourage your guests to use sustainable transportation means, like riding a bike, if possible, or they can move together by using a single car instead of depending on a dependent car each. So, they can start celebrations early, reduce the number of vehicles on the road, and reduce consumption of fuel, carbon emissions and air pollutants that are considered the largest threat to general health.
Euro 2024
The shirt of your team
Wearing your team T-shirt makes you feel enthusiastic, proud, and competitive, but do not forget that purchasing festive or seasonal clothing increases the fast fashion trend that promotes consumerism and depletes resources. Therefore, it is better to avoid the idea of buying a new shirt to support the Football Club, and you can search in your closet for clothes in your team colors or accessories such as scarves that will enable you to celebrate while at the same time save money, preserve the environment and encourage your children to follow your example.
Preparing the place and the viewing area
The best thing about organizing these gatherings at home is to create a comfortable atmosphere while minimizing the environmental impact. If you have an open space in your home, it will be an enjoyable outdoor experience. You should choose a place that provides natural shading and protection from the wind, or you can arrange the place next to the balcony to enjoy the natural air. This helps reduce electricity consumption for cooling. The important thing is that everyone can see the screen clearly without strain.
Euro 2024
In order to reduce energy use after kick-off, once everyone has settled down, you can turn off the lights and use some energy saving LED bulbs that have a longer life than traditional bulbs.
If your gathering is large and you need projectors, you can rent modern equipment with energy efficiency in mind, opting for rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones to reduce waste and minimize environmental impact.
Food and beverages
Just as you pay attention to the players in your team's starting lineup, you should pay attention to the selection of food served to your guests, because food has different climate impacts, and is responsible for a huge amount of carbon emissions, water consumption, and land degradation. So, you should reduce your food carbon footprint by eating healthy things, staying away from fast foods, and replacing them with snacks and sustainable food and drinks, such as seasonal fruit and vegetable dishes, fresh cocktails, nuts or homemade popcorn with a range of flavors such as shredded cheese or caramel.
Euro 2024
Zero waste
You are certainly not aiming for a draw or a defeat in football, but 'zero waste' is actually an environmental victory that supports nature, a trend that encourages people to reduce their environmental impact by reducing the amount of waste, recycling and finding sustainable alternatives to single-use materials.
Euro 2024
According to the UNEP Food Waste Index report, one-third of the world’s food is wasted annually. Therefore, not over-serving guests is an easy way to reduce waste. You can also donate leftover food instead of throwing it in the trash.
And don't forget that being at home means you can actually cut down on waste even further, with reusable plates and utensils being used instead of handing out paper plates or plastic cups. As plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, it remains a burden on nature, killing marine life. You can also encourage your friends and family to bring their own reusable water bottles to avoid plastic bottles and contribute positively to creating a sustainable world.
