{"id":12781,"date":"2024-04-18T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T13:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=12781"},"modified":"2024-04-18T13:12:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T13:12:41","slug":"footballs-sustainability-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/04\/18\/footballs-sustainability-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Football’s Sustainability Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris Goodwin talks to CONNECTED about his journey from chemistry student to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Manager at Chelsea Football Club, and the important role sports clubs have to play in the sustainability journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ChrisChris said: \u201cI graduated from Reading with a BSc in Chemistry in 2018 and am now a sustainability professional. I\u2019m so proud to see my university\u2019s emphasis on sustainability. From the climate stripes, to Reading topping the latest People & Planet University League table, it\u2019s so great to see and makes me proud to be a Reading graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris was listed on the edie 30 Under 30 2023<\/a>, which is a purpose-led community of bold, innovative young professionals who are changing the course of climate action in sustainable business. Chris shares with CONNECTED how the opportunities he was given at Reading have made a profound difference to his career, and how proud he is that his university\u2019s sustainability aims align with his own.<\/p>\n

Combining chemistry and sustainability<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Chris chose to study chemistry<\/a> at Reading because it was his favourite subject, but he admits that he didn\u2019t know what his end goal was after graduation.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI found chemistry fascinating as a topic, but I wasn\u2019t sure what I would do with my degree in terms of my career. It was halfway through my second year when I had a lightbulb moment and everything slotted into place.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBy accident I stumbled into a module lecture on Environmental Chemistry. I had never heard of this before and didn\u2019t know that combining chemistry and environmental studies was an option. I loved it straightaway and I knew immediately this was going to be the focus of my future career.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Chris then spent a year in industry as part of his degree and, thanks to his lecturers, he managed to secure a placement as an international research student at the University of South Australia. He said: \u201cLiving and working in Adelaide for 10 months was an absolute stand-out memory for me and I wouldn\u2019t have achieved this if not for Reading\u2019s help.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Reading Chris got an academic scholarship to the University of York to study an MSc in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Industrial Technology. Following this he worked in Kent, focusing on the extraction of natural hop oils, and then did some environmental consultancy work. But he knew that he wanted to do more and set his sights on becoming a sustainability professional.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIn June 2023 I achieved this goal and became the ESG manager at Chelsea Football Club. I think it\u2019s really important to understand that career paths aren\u2019t always linear \u2013 it can be a bit of a rollercoaster to get there, but ultimately I\u2019ve now found myself in the right place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The power of sport<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Chris\u2019 role at Chelsea is to help lead and deliver the club\u2019s sustainability strategy and Chris believes that sporting professions are uniquely positioned to advocate for, and influence on, issues such as climate change.<\/p>\n

\"TheHe said: \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty far-reaching role, encompassing all water, carbon and energy improvements; engagement and working with local communities; and ensuring we\u2019re compliant with all environmental legislation and keeping abreast of any changes in mandatory reporting.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Premier League football teams have only just started focusing on sustainability and this is a brand new role for Chelsea as well. At the moment I am shaping and moulding our goals and strategy. We\u2019ve already made some good strides at the club, including running our site on 100% renewable electricity and launching our new sustainability policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris shares that his new role at Chelsea has been well-received, from both the staff and the fans. He said: \u201cThe reception I\u2019ve had from the staff at Chelsea has been fantastic. They seem really glad that the club now has someone dedicated to sustainability and I\u2019ve set up a sustainability working group for our staff to share their ambitions for the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fans are really engaged as well \u2013 in fact, they are the ones who are challenging the club to do better. We\u2019ve recently had the Green Football Weekend, where different clubs got together to showcase sustainability-related work. During the event at the Kingsmeadow Stadium, we put on a 90% plant-based food menu, reduced the plastic we sold during the game and collected the plastic we couldn\u2019t eliminate on-site afterwards. Fans also played their part by collecting points for their green actions, with a big focus on encouraging people to try more vegetarian meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is on the sustainability journey together \u2013 from our staff and fans all the way up to sports governing bodies. Sustainability in sport needs to be highly collaborative.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSport has a voice and the power to take action to address some of the biggest issues we face and to engage people with these issues across the world. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve at Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finding my place<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Chris is enthusiastic about his new role and the part the University of Reading played in helping him to get here.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s all come together now for me and I\u2019ve found my place. Working in sustainability in sport is such an exciting and developing sector to be in \u2013 and it\u2019s only going to need more attention as it\u2019s such critical work. I feel like I\u2019m in the right place at the right time and I\u2019m very driven to learn more and deliver great sustainability initiatives for Chelsea.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for me is that I\u2019ve gone from working in a laboratory to working in sustainability in sport and I still get to apply everything I learnt during my degree to what I\u2019m doing now. All the hard work has paid off \u2013 I\u2019m over the moon to be able to do what I do and I\u2019m so proud of my four years at Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find out how the University of Reading is working with its local football club, Reading FC, on a sustainability partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image credits: Chelsea Football Club<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Goodwin talks to CONNECTED about his journey from chemistry student to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Manager at Chelsea Football Club, and the important role sports clubs have to play in the sustainability journey. Chris said: \u201cI graduated from Reading with a BSc in Chemistry in 2018 and am now a sustainability professional. I\u2019m so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":12789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,34,125,88,44],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFootball's Sustainability Goals - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reading graduate Chris Goodwin, Environmental Social Governance Manager at Chelsea FC, talks about sports clubs and sustainability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/04\/18\/footballs-sustainability-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Football's Sustainability Goals - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reading graduate Chris Goodwin, Environmental Social Governance Manager at Chelsea FC, talks about sports clubs and sustainability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/04\/18\/footballs-sustainability-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-18T13:12:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-18T13:12:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/04\/Headers-1600-x-550-6.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/04\/18\/footballs-sustainability-goals\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/04\/18\/footballs-sustainability-goals\/\",\"name\":\"Football's Sustainability Goals - 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