Can Celtic be More Eco-Friendly?
With COP26 just around the corner, the eyes of the world will now be glued to Scotland. In the coming weeks, every aspect of Scottish culture will be expected to do its part in the fight against climate change, and this includes one of Scottish football’s biggest teams, Celtic.
The average Celtic fan that attends a game is concerned with how the team will play, if they’ll get a decent result and what pub to go to before and after the match. These customs have been put in place for decades, but it is now time for Celtic fans to change their way of thinking to an eco-friendlier one, and for the clubs to provide a more climate positive experience in and around the stadium.
Scottish football as a whole is falling behind its English counterparts when it comes to climate change. English teams are more in tune and engaged with climate change e.g., League 2 side Forest Green Rovers are owned by 'green energy' entrepreneur Dale Vince, who has made sure that they are keeping in touch with their eco-friendly values. The club is fully powered by renewables, all match-day food is vegan, the pitch is organic and maintained by electric mowers and recycled water.
Scottish Clubs are beginning to up their game, as Hibernian FC claimed to be the ‘greenest club in Scotland’ as they now look to replicate some of the work being done by Forest Green Rovers.
So, what can Celtic do in the fight against climate change? Ryan McTaggart of Celtic Fans TV believes that providing compostable cups inside Celtic Park could be a difference maker. “I think compostable cups are really easy to get a hold of these days, but it’s still the old plastic cups in Celtic Park as it always has been. I know myself that I would be more inclined to buy a hot drink if it was in a compostable cup, for me it’s a no brainer to have them.”
Ryan has had great success with his YouTube channel, in which he interviews supporters before and after matches to get the general consensus on what the paying fan is thinking on match day. It is fair to say that he has seen every kind of opinion on what the Celtic fans are thinking about performances.
However, fans haven’t taken an interest in an eco-friendlier Celtic Park.
“It’s difficult, most fans don’t really care. If Celtic want to engage these people and raise awareness to climate change, they will need to implement some sort of incentive,” Ryan said.
“Some ideas could be taking your own reusable cups to matches, if that is allowed, and getting some sort of discount at the kiosks as a reward. Ultimately, some sort of incentive for supporters to get them more engaged with climate change would be a good idea.”
An area that supporters of football are starting to explore is the addition of solar panels in stadiums around Scotland. The benefits of this would include a means of generating additional income for the club, the reduction of the stadium’s carbon emission, achieving a decrease in energy costs, a government-backed guarantee return on your investments.
Ryan also believes this would be a great addition to Celtic Park and would like Celtic to lead the way in this. “If Celtic can’t spend money on some of the football related things that need upgraded then I can’t see them spending money on solar panels.
“However, I could see Celtic adding them years down the line. There are lots of areas I would like to see Celtic lead the way in and this would be a cool one to start with.”
Celtic have the power to make a huge difference in Scottish football as they have such a huge following and would change many fans outlooks if they could create a big turn around inside and outside of the stadium, to make sure that its eco-friendly. It makes a lot of sense for them to do this from a PR standpoint and for the benefit of the planet. It is now up to everyone involved at the club to make sure some changes are made.