Scope F - Maximising sport’s positive impact on carbon emissions
Scope F is a new way for sports to think about tackling climate change.
Scope F describes the impact sporting organisations have by influencing fans to live more environmentally sustainably.
For some sporting organisations this reach and influence can extend to millions of fans, so Scope F is significant.
Download the White paper below.
SCOPE F IN MORE DETAIL
When an organisation looks at its emissions, it usually considers three categories, Scopes 1, 2 and 3, which cover the emissions caused by the organisation’s operations, up and down its supply chain. Scope 3 also includes the emissions from fans' travel to and from games.
However, sports brands can reach and influence all their fans, not just those that go to the games, and they can reach them every day, not just on match day. In this way they can have an influence on carbon emissions well beyond their own operations. This is what Scope F covers: F for Fans.
It’s been proven that football clubs can help fans cut emissions in their daily lives. If a club has large numbers of passionate fans, the impact of encouraging them to cut their carbon footprints can be even bigger than the impact of the club cutting its own Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions - for the largest clubs by a factor of up to 100x! This form of fan engagement is also shown to help in recruiting new fans and increasing fan loyalty. At the same time, for a club to stay authentic, it has to keep on working at its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
There’s an opportunity here for sports organisations, clubs and athletes to make fan engagement a game changer in the battle to cut emissions, and yet an achievable aspiration for the world of sport.
Nelson Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world.” In terms of cutting CO2 emissions, this is absolutely true, and Scope F shows the way.
SCOPE F IN THE NEWS
Scope F on Sky Sports News
WHAT SPORTS ARE SAYING
EXTREME E
“Recognising Scope F and the influence athletes, teams, sponsors and the media can have on their fans and consumers bigger picture behaviours – whether positive or negative - is a truly exciting development for sports strategists. The better Scope F is understood, adopted and injected into decision making in our industry, the more effective sport becomes as a force for change.”
SOUTHAMPTON FC
“The Scope F concept is incredibly insightful and presents a great opportunity for clubs to really engage with and inspire their fans to take action to tackle environmental issues. We know that so many our own fans have a great sense of pride that the club is actively taking steps to reduce our environmental impact and believe that they want to support us with the initiatives we introduce to do this.”
SAILGP
“At SailGP we believe sport has a responsibility and an incredible opportunity to inspire and educate on climate issues. Sport’s influence shouldn’t be underestimated and this is why we created the world’s first ever Impact League. This is our podium for the planet, celebrating our athletes' social and environmental actions to reduce their carbon footprint and use their voices for good. If sport acts differently we know fans will follow and this is why Scope F is so important.”
SPORT POSITIVE
“I have to stress that sports organisations mustn’t lose sight of accounting for their direct impacts, nor leapfrog Scope 1, 2 and 3. That being said, Scope F is a new concept for sport to consider, and modelling the impact measurement of it could be a gamechanger for our work to encourage sport to increase its action and ambition on climate change.”