Members of the Wolves staff have taken part in a new football and environment training programme, kicking off the club’s partnership with the environmental non-profit organisation Football For Future.
Wolves joined forces with Football for Future recently, and now training has been provides to staff at Molineux, to cover the fundamentals of climate change and the interrelationship between football, sustainability and the natural environment.
Over 30 senior staff from all club departments participated in the football and environmental training, which was delivered in-person at Molineux, when the Football For Future team also completed a site visit of the stadium.
The training had three aims: To improve club staff awareness of climate change and its interrelationship with football, to help club staff understand the role Wolves can play in tackling climate change and to inspire and empower club staff to engage with sustainability in their personal and professional lives.
Football For Future found success across all three aims. Notably, 100 per cent of club staff agreed football clubs have a responsibility to implement environmentally sustainable operations and 95 per cent agreed football clubs have a responsibility to raise awareness of climate change.
Today marks World Environment Day, which is part of the UN’s #OnlyOneEarth campaign, and Football For Future are also offering their football and environment training to all football clubs and organisations as a standalone training or as part of a wider sustainability partnership.
Wolves facilities, safety and security director Steve Sutton, said: “Wolves have a huge responsibility to respond to climate change. We are a big player in the city of Wolverhampton. We have a huge social outreach within the community, so from a social responsibility point of view, it’s huge for us to try and educate and inform people as well as take action ourselves.”
Wolves head of Academy operations Laura Nicholls added: “It’s a really good opportunity for us to learn some key terminology. To really educate and empower different heads of department at the club. It really helped us identify how we as a football club and as a department can support and help. I would wholeheartedly recommend the training to other clubs and colleagues. I thought it was an excellent course.”
Football For Future head of sustainability and project lead Thom Rawson said: “It was great to deliver this training to so many senior Wolves club staff, who demonstrated a real commitment to our partnership both through their active participation, and their appreciation that each and every team at the club has an essential role to play on this sustainability journey.”
The delivery of this football and environment training to club staff, kicking off the partnership between Football For Future and Wolves, is the first step in the club’s journey to becoming industry leaders in environmental sustainability.
The partnership also includes development of a club-wide environmental sustainability strategy, underpinned by departmental action plans and including a headline club commitment to environmental sustainability.
As well as that, the partnership also provides a comprehensive review of the club’s environmental boot print and current performance and a public launch, engaging Wolves fans in the climate conversation.
