All HJK home games to be carbon neutral next season

HJK First Teams aim to be completely carbon neutral by 2025. All HJK men’s and women’s league home games in season 2020 will be carbon neutral.  

HJK and Loiste energy have signed a long term contract and compiled an environmental programme that aims to make HJK’s First Teams completely carbon neutral by 2025. As part of the programme all the pitches managed by HJK will start to use Loiste Puhdas enviromental friendly electricity. 

All the men’s and women’s league home games in the next season will be carbon neutral. The goal is to decrease the emissions of the home games at least by 20 percent and compensate the rest through EU Emissions Trading System. 

– Things don’t happen without ambitious goals. We challenge ourselves but also our partners to decrease their emissions for example in the restaurant business or waste management. Together with Loiste we will build a model that all the event organisers can use to arrange a carbon neutral event at Telia 5G Arena, says Aki Riihilahti, the CEO of HJK Helsinki. 

The first carbon neutral match was arranged in the previous season when HJK Helsinki faced FC Inter in October. The carbon footprint of the match was analyzed and the emissions were compensated. The spectators were encouraged to come to the match by foot, bike or public transport. 

– We have noticed an increasing interest towards climate change and carbon footprint in the corporate world and event business. Our joint project regarding carbon neutral match events is a fantastic and concrete example of Loiste’s products and services that companies can use to advance their responsibility and environmental friendliness up to leaving no carbon footprints at all. In the spring 2019 we did a research on the attitude towards climate change amongst Finnish people especially from the energy business’s point of view. It turns out that 76 percent of the Finns see it as a serious threat, says Ulla Leppä, the Vice President of Loiste. 

The procedures and success of the programme can be followed on HJK’s website https://www.hjk.fi/ymparistovastuu/

– As a sports club we influence on people’s everyday lives. We must have responsibility on common matters, Aki Riihilahti sums. 

More information:

Marketing Manager Sanna Laine, Loiste, 
Tel +358 40 553 2669, [email protected]

Commercial Director Sami Smolander, HJK Helsinki, 
Tel +358 400 685 532, [email protected]