UEFA releases 2021/22 Respect Report
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
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The report is the first look at the impact of Strength Through Unity, UEFA’s sustainability strategy launched last December.
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The UEFA Respect Report provides an annual comprehensive insight into how European football's governing body is inspiring, activating and accelerating collective action to respect human rights and the environment on and off the pitch, building a more sustainable future for European football.
5 reasons to read the report
1. DISCOVER WHY UEFA positions sustainability as a long-term investment in the success of European football
2. LEARN HOW UEFA is moving from ambition to strategic action around social and environmental sustainability
3. FIND OUT about Europe’s fast-growing community of football sustainability professionals
4. READ STORIES about the real-life impact of collaboration between UEFA and its football stakeholders
5. FIND RESOURCES and toolkits developed by UEFA to accelerate the uptake of sustainability policies
Building a solid ground for action
UEFA has created a set of policies, toolkits, and partnerships to encourage, support and lead the way in embedding sustainability principles in the football ecosystem. Here are a few examples of the actions we have undertaken over the past season.
At an organisation level, we launched our sustainability strategy, with a dedicated action plan and commitments regarding human rights and the environment. On the competition side, we introduced sustainability requirements in our host bidding process for finals and final tournaments and our club licensing criteria, and implemented sustainability policies across all events. We initiated change across Europe by making it mandatory for our 55 member associations to each appoint sustainability managers and rolled out a new Respect programme to tackle online abuse. At an international level, UEFA joins United Nations ‘Football for the Goals’ initiatives as inaugural member.
To achieve these results, UEFA has been building and supporting a large community of stakeholders, working together with our member associations, leagues, clubs and partners to drive change and ensure a positive legacy for the future of our sport.
In total, UEFA invested over €10m in football social responsibility activities during the 2021/22 season and supported 153 projects across European football.
You will find details of all our actions in the field of sustainability for the 2021/22 season in the Respect Report.
What we have achieved so far: key milestones of 2022
— Human Rights & Environmental Commitments published
— UEFA Sustainability Strategy 2030, Strength Through Unity, launched
— UEFA Sustainability Action Plan completed
— Carbon footprint tool selected
— Equal Salary certification obtained from the Equal Salary Foundation in Switzerland
— UEFA ESG (environmental, social and governance) event management system application piloted at Women’s EURO 2022
— Integration of social and environmental sustainability criteria across UEFA’s bidding and club licensing requirements
— Sustainability policies implemented across all events
— Anti-discrimination observer scheme in place
— Circular Economy Guidelines published
— All member associations appoint FSR Managers
— 84 FSR HatTrick projects funded
— Member associations appointed child and youth protection officers
— First UNITY Euro Cup played
— UEFA sets up working group on human and labour rights for 2022 FIFA World Cup
— Launch of new Respect programme to tackle online abuse
— Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines developed
— Coaches for Health campaign to mobilise football to promote better health and well-being
— Collaboration with UEFA commercial partners commences
— Cooperation agreements signed with UN World Tourism Organization and UN Economic Commission for Europe
— UEFA joins UN Race to Zero campaign
— UEFA becomes inaugural member of UN Football for the Goals