How Can Football Giant Bayern Munich Step Up Sustainability?

With six Champions League and 33 German Bundesliga titles in its trophy cabinet, football giant Bayern Munich is accustomed to sustainable success.

But how is it doing when it comes to sustainability?

FC Bayern has published its sustainability report for the 2022/23 season as part of its ‘mitnand’ (Bavarian for togetherness) sustainability strategy.

The report applies to the entire club: FC Bayern München AG, FC Bayern München eV, Allianz Arena GmbH and FC Bayern Basketball.

It is dedicated to Bayern Munich and Germany footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, who died recently.

Together we are active

Presenting the report, Herbert Hainer, FC Bayern president, says sustainability is “one of the key issues of our time for all of us and a powerful word that we have to live up to”.

He adds: “Our society and we as FC Bayern still have a lot of opportunities to do more. But we are active.

“The name ‘mitnand’ was deliberately chosen. We will only have a future by working together, both in terms of social policy and our climate.

“Together we are active - that's what sport and FC Bayern as a club can convey.”

The report says total GHG emissions in 2021-22 were 75,966 tonnes of CO2. This includes:

• Scope 1 – 3,249 tonnes (4.28%)
• Scope 2 – 696 tonnes (0.92%)
• ​​​​​​​Scope 3 – 72,021 tonnes (94.8%).

Fans have the largest footprint

Unsurprisingly, by far the largest contributor is fans’ travel to and from matches, at 76.35% of Bayern’s total GHG emissions.

The report says action is being taken to reduce these levels.

It says: “At present, we are conducting a mobility analysis to determine which means of transport our fans use to travel to home matches, the distance they travel, etc.

“We will use the results of this analysis to take further measures to encourage sustainable fan mobility.”

The report adds: “To date, one of the most interesting interim results is the average distance that our fans travel to us.

“We have to take into account the anomaly that our fans from around the world travel to Munich via Bavaria and cover an average distance of over 250 kilometres per person.”

Sustainability game plan

FC Bayern has put together a list of actions designed to drive down carbon emissions at its clubs and arenas.

They include:

• A plan to eliminate the use of natural gas at the Allianz Arena by installing more Viessmann heat pumps
• Converting the club vehicle fleet to EVs
• Sourcing more renewable energy
• Increasing the number of e-charging stations at the club’s locations
• Changing the temperature of the pitch heating systems
• Compiling a waste assessment to reuse and recycle more of the plastic, glass, paper, etc produced by club activities.

Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern CEO, says: “FC Bayern is committed to acting responsibly every day. We want to remain just as true to our social core of ‘togetherness and for one another’ as we are to our traditionally responsible business practices.

“It is about taking responsibility for the future by meeting the ecological challenges and the changing expectations of society.”

He adds: “In order to move with the times, we must constantly review our understanding of sustainability and stay on the ball.

“Topics such as climate and environment, tolerance and diversity, health, safety and well-being are at the centre of FC Bayern's focus.

“Our members, fans, partners and sponsors as well as our employees expect this, and not least we expect it of ourselves.”

Views from the dugout

FC Bayern asked leaders from its basketball and women’s football teams for their views on sustainability and diversity in sport.

Marko Pešić, MD FC Bayern Munich Basketball

“As a global club, FC Bayern has a huge appeal that extends far beyond the sport. This imposes both a responsibility and an obligation.

“Sport in general stands for diversity and FC Bayern is about more than just football: FC Bayern Basketball gives us many opportunities to convey our social values.

“I only have to think of the “Red against Racism” club-wide campaign – that’s an important topic in basketball and we regularly take a stand.

“Under the slogan #WeCareTogether, we also organise numerous projects throughout the city or match-day initiatives.

“We are regularly involved with the Munich food bank, for example. We want to take responsibility – for sports culture, society and for the city in which we live.”

Bianca Rech, Head of Women’s Football, FC Bayern Munich AG

“I think that FC Bayern Women can show young fans in particular that there are no limits if you believe in your goals and always give 100%.

“Our players are role models who enable the club to reach families. We always develop concepts and measures from the perspective of the club as a whole.

“However, we can also tap into the different opportunities for identification with the professional areas of men’s football, women’s football and basketball.

“It is also a good signal of how the natural integration of women’s football into the club can succeed. At FC Bayern, there are also historical reasons for this – women’s football has been played here for over 53 years and hardly any other top international club can look back on such a long tradition.

“Here, we have a home where we are continually developing and can legitimately demonstrate what is possible.”

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