The General Secretary of The FA Group, the St. George’s Park Board, Chairman and senior management are committed to demonstrating leadership in environmental sustainability at St. George’s Park.
We recognise that our world-class National Football Centre must be not only financially sustainable, but also environmentally sustainable in its operation. Sustainability is core to the vision and values of St. George’s Park. The FA Group recognises that by tackling environmental sustainability at Wembley Stadium, The Football Association and St. George’s Park we can set an example for not only football, but for the sporting sector.
Set in the National Forest, the beauty of the natural environment surrounding St. George’s Park highlights the importance of managing the environmental impacts of our business. The first step taken at St. George’s Park has been to develop an Environmental Policy which clearly sets out our commitment to environmental sustainability. An Environmental Management System (EMS) has been implemented at St. George's Park. Implementing the EMS began with a period of gathering benchmark data based upon which we will set environmental priorities, objectives and targets.
St. George’s Park Green Team is comprised of staff and key stakeholders who will manage the environmental impacts from day-to-day activities, set environmental objectives and targets and ensure these are achieved over time. Prior to opening to the public, the Green Team has been actively working on the Travel Plan for the site, engaging with internal and external stakeholders and ensuring that sustainability has been integral to procurement processes.
Sustainable Procurement
Sustainable procurement has been a key area of focus for St. George’s Park. The Green Team has worked closely with The FA Group Procurement Manager to integrate sustainability into the tender process for the contracts at the site to ensure that sustainability is integral to day-to-day activities, and will work with all contractors to continually improve the environmental performance they have committed to. One example of a successful sustainable initiative was the ‘Meet the Buyers’ event in Burton in March where potential contractors were introduced to local suppliers.
Travel Plan
St. George’s Park is implementing a Travel Plan which aims to reduce the negative impacts from travel to and from the site e.g. carbon emissions and pollution, congestion etc. Travel information will be promoted to all staff when the site opens and all visitors will be encouraged to choose the ‘greenest’ travel options. Visitors are also asked to consider our neighbours by avoiding travel through local villages. The Travel Plan is available to read on the website and travel options are detailed on the getting here page.
Carbon Footprint
The FA Group achieved recertification to The Carbon Trust Standard for a carbon footprint reduction in 2010/11 compared to 2008/09. This footprint included the minimal pre-operational consumption at St. George’s Park. Once the site is open the carbon footprint from activities will increase significantly; the Green Team will need to keep carbon emissions in line with business growth to demonstrate a justified increase. It will then be the Green Team’s aim to reduce the carbon footprint over time.
Biodiversity
St. George’s Park is implementing a 20 year Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) which has been prepared to provide a framework so that the site can be managed to maintain and promote biodiversity without compromising the primary function of the National Football Centre. St. George’s Park occupies an area of approximately 142 hectares and is set in a rural landscape with a gently rolling topography. For the most part, the land surrounding the site consists of mixed farmland, but Tattenhill Airfield adjoins the west side of the site. Amongst a range of initiatives the BAP includes prescriptions for habitat creation such as parklands, managing existing habitats such as hedgerows, managing species growth such as installing bat and bird boxes and monitoring progress across the site.
