"Schalke equalizes!" S04 travels to away games in an environmentally neutral manner

For years, FC Schalke 04 has been committed to protecting the environment and a sustainable approach to nature. With its VELTINS Arena, the club has been certified several times for sustainable corporate management. As a club with a long history and great responsibility, continuous development towards more sustainability is therefore an important focus. That is why the club will travel to its away games in an environmentally neutral manner from the start of the 2021/2022 season.

For this purpose, FC Schalke 04 is working closely with HeimatERBE GmbH and greenzero.me GmbH. Greenzero.me supports the Königsblauen in accurately assessing and understanding the environmental impacts arising from the away games. To this end, the mobility behavior and accommodation of the Bundesliga team is analyzed for its environmental impact, optimization potential is identified and directly implemented in order to reach the venues as sustainably and resource-efficiently as possible.

In the current season, the club is focusing primarily on the team’s travel behavior to away games – with attention not only to CO2 emissions, but also to other main effects that travel has on the environment. At the beginning of the season, the preliminary travel plans were analyzed with regard to the chosen sources of transport and the expected environmental impact was calculated. On this basis, it is now necessary to make or reconsider future travel decisions with caution.

Unavoidable consequences for the environment caused by the trips are compensated in cooperation with HeimatERBE GmbH from Essen. To this end, extensive renaturation measures supervised by experts are taking place on an area of the former Ewald 5 mine site in Herten, just a few kilometers from the VELTINS Arena. This will create new ecological value directly in the region, benefiting the mining region and its residents.

Schalke board member Peter Knäbel sees the measure as an important step for the future: “At Schalke, we feel a responsibility not only to the people from our region, but also to our environment. We want to help ensure that future generations can live here in the Ruhr region just as well or even better than we do today. That’s why we made a conscious decision to start right here, in our home region, with our commitment – together with HeimatERBE GmbH.”

Dr. Gratzel, Managing Director of HeimatERBE GmbH, on the cooperation: “With this commitment, Schalke 04 is setting an example for sustainability and environmental protection. It is a great sign that the club is aware of its ecological responsibility in relation to the away games. We are pleased to use the compensation ecologically optimal on Ewald 5 in Herten.”