Social Impact / Global Goals Centre
The innovative way Bristol football fans are reducing C02 emissions
An inspiring range of local heroes are being celebrated in the #Bristol17 campaign to encourage more people to take positive action to help tackle poverty, inequality and climate change.
Led by the Global Goals Centre, in collaboration with Bristol24/7, a short video for each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals is being released every Tuesday, highlighting a Bristol hero and their positive action.
The campaign is part of a countdown to the major climate conference, COP-26, being held in Glasgow in November.
is needed now More than ever
This week’s hero Katie Cross, who created Pledgball in 2019 – an innovative way to encourage football fans to reduce C02 emissions through positive lifestyle changes.
In an attempt to harness the power of huge numbers of football supporters, Pledgeball encourages them to pledge positive changes in their lives such as reducing meat consumption, washing at 30 degrees or harvesting rainwater for their gardens.
The pledges – and their equivalent saving of CO2 – are then pitted against the opposing football team’s fans in any fixture. The overall aim is to engage people in considering their actions in day to day life in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.
According to Pledgeball, almost 2 million kg of CO2 has been saved per year in pledges. This is the same as taking 400 cars off the road.
If you want to join, it’s easy. Easy everyday pledges that the organisation suggests include:
- Cook your leftovers and minimise your food waste
- Do a litter pick on your street
- Defrost your freezer and descale your kettle
- Reduce meat consumption by 50% (especially beef and lamb)
Head to the Pledgeball website for other examples. If you’re inspired and want to see what other people across Bristol are doing to address to SDGs, you can watch the films and find ideas of what you can do to get involved at www.globalgoalscentre.org/bristol-17
To watch our recent Bristol24/7 Presents event: How Bristol can be the first net-zero city, click here.
The event was sponsored by TLT.
Main image: Global Goals Centre/ Tusko
Read more: How Bristol can become the first net-zero city
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