Diario Responsable: Real Betis, the first Spanish club to obtain EMAS registration for its environmental management
Disclaimer: This article has been translated using artificial intelligence and may not be entirely accurate. If there are any inconsistencies, please refer to the original version in Español.
The Verdiblancos team becomes a pioneer in Spain and the second in Europe to register in the European Union’s EMAS Registry, a recognition that endorses its commitment to sustainability and the continuous improvement of its environmental performance.
Real Betis Balompié has reached a new milestone in Spanish sport: it has become the first football club in the country and the second in all of Europe to achieve registration in the European Union’s EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) registry. As reported by the General Secretariat for Environment and Climate Change of the Regional Government of Andalusia, this accreditation certifies that the club has a robust environmental management system, independently audited and with results publicly communicated through an environmental declaration.
Beyond ISO 14001
The club already had international ISO 14001 certification, but EMAS represents a more ambitious step: it requires transparency through a public report detailing sustainability policies, objectives, and results. With this recognition, Betis joins FC Porto, the first European club to register, within the framework of the European Free Kicks project , funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa (Italy). This initiative seeks to align football with the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
“An independent entity recognizes our environmental management, adhering to the principles of sustainability, one of the club’s fundamental pillars,” emphasized Enrique Castillo, Director of Operations at Real Betis.
Sustainable innovation in the Sports City
The process of implementing environmental measures has lasted an entire season and involved various club departments. Among the initiatives implemented at the Rafael Gordillo Sports City are:
- Rainwater harvesting : reuse of rainwater for irrigation, reducing consumption of the public network.
- Replacing rubber with cork on artificial fields, avoiding microplastics and reducing turf temperature.
- Intelligent lighting that regulates light output according to actual needs.
- Bioclimatic design of the main building, which minimizes sun exposure and reduces the demand for air conditioning.
- Hot water production using aerothermal energy , eliminating the use of natural gas.
- Electric mobility , with 100% electric vehicles, charging stations, and our own photovoltaic energy.
- Grazing with goats and sheep , used as natural “bio-mowers” that reduce polluting machinery and provide organic fertilization.
According to Fausto Scaldaferri, head of the club’s Environmental Management System, the biggest challenges were integrating environmental issues into a sector “where sustainability is still something new and little known” and involving suppliers in the same process.
A role model
The EMAS recognition consolidates Real Betis’s position as a benchmark for sustainability in sports, with the ambition to inspire other organizations. The club emphasizes that football, due to its social reach, can act as a powerful platform to increase environmental awareness.
This commitment is also part of the Forever Green strategy , a sustainability platform created by the club five years ago. Thanks to this strategy, Betis was recognized by the independent consultancy Brand Finance as the second most sustainable European club and the first in La Liga. Furthermore, in 2021, it registered its 2019 and 2020 carbon footprints in the Andalusian Emissions Compensation System (SACE), reaffirming its climate responsibility.
What is EMAS?
EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is a voluntary system established by the European Union in 1995 that recognizes organizations committed to continuously improving their environmental performance. Registered entities must publicly report their results through audited indicators that comply with transparency and rigor criteria, guaranteed by the Public Administration.
Read the original article in Spanish here.
