Innovative circular economy practices to be implemented for the 2023 UEFA Women’s Champions League final
Friday, June 2, 2023
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With the support from our partners, all food and beverage orders at PSV Stadium will be exclusively served in reusable packaging.
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UEFA is delighted to announce a collaboration with our esteemed partners Heineken, Just Eat Takeaway.com and PepsiCo to actively implement circular economy practices at the 2023 UEFA Women’s Champions League final in Eindhoven. This joint effort focuses on discovering and sharing sustainable solutions that can benefit hospitality at football matches across the continent as we strive to address environmental challenges.
The upcoming final will mark a significant milestone as the first UEFA event where food and beverage orders will be served in reusable packaging. Moreover, a deposit system will be implemented at PSV Stadium, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility by encouraging guests to return the packaging for cleaning and reuse for future events hosted at the venue.
Jaz Rabadia, head of responsible business and sustainability, Just Eat Takeaway.com:
"We’re committed to driving more sustainable behaviour across our wider community and using our global partnership with UEFA is a great opportunity for us to showcase to football fans that we can all enjoy our favourite food in a more sustainable way. We’re excited to join forces with other sponsors to bring reusable food and drink packaging solutions to this final."
Archana Jagannathan, chief sustainability officer Europe, PepsiCo:
"As one of the world’s most respected food and beverage companies, PepsiCo is continuously aiming to use its reach and influence to change the way society makes, uses and disposes of packaging. We are honoured to play a key role in the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League final. It is a privilege to use football as a vehicle to drive positive change on and off the pitch, whilst still providing fans with an unforgettable experience."
The initiative is part of UEFA’s work on circular economy, aiming to optimise the consumption and life cycle of products, most notably food, packaging and branded items, throughout UEFA operations and events. The aim is to embed the so-called '4R approach' – built around reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering – in all operations to minimise the impact of football on the environment and drive resource efficiency and cost savings.
Circular economy practices were tested last season with several clubs that participated in the UEFA Champions League, which led to the creation of a database of best practices and the launch of UEFA Circular Economy Guidelines. The latter have an initial focus on food and beverage and will be complemented later this year with deep-dives into energy and water, apparel and football equipment, and event materials (signage, branded items, furniture and IT equipment).
For all its club competition finals this season, UEFA has developed a strategic approach to social and environmental sustainability in its operations. In addition to circular economy activities in collaboration with UEFA commercial partners PepsiCo, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Heineken, this most notably includes the provision of accessibility support services to wheelchair users and spectators with low mobility, the monitoring and reporting of cases of online abuse, the measurement of each event’s carbon footprint and the implementation of a non-smoking policy.
