Build bridges. Move people. Protect the environment.

FC Augsburg's sustainability strategy / Photo: © FC Augsburg

With its sustainability strategy, the FCA wants to use the connecting power of football to move people, protect our environment and build bridges – from the club to society.

The focus is on promoting physical activity among young people – a core competence and mission of a football club. What is more surprising, however, is the central anchoring of the thematic complex “clean water and water protection”, derived from SGD 6. With lighthouse projects such as the “FCA forest” as bridge builders, educational programs are aimed at and developed in the context of education for sustainable development.

CHALLENGE

How do many players become a team?

Or in a figurative sense: How do you bundle the numerous, very different social projects that the football club has supported in its community for many years in order to show at a glance what FCA stands for and what its priorities are? How can the club, together with tried and tested old sponsors and well-established new sponsors, embark on the path to more sustainability and use its sphere of influence to bring sustainability issues onto the stage and into the stadium even more than before? And last but not least: How can sustainable commitment be established as a recognizable part of the FC Augsburg brand? The FCA approached us with these questions.

Fun is the top priority in the step kickt! exercise program in cooperation with FC Augsburg / Photo: © FC Augsburg

SOLUTION

Built close to water

The recognition value of a brand is high when the company focuses on a topic that fits the brand and works it out clearly. At the beginning of our cooperation, the FCA dedicated itself to two projects that were already well advanced: the planning of a day-care center in which the FCA core competence of movement is the principle of the pedagogical concept and which stands as a beacon for further measures to promote physical activity for young people in the Augsburg city area, as well as one together with reforestation measures initiated by the city of Augsburg in a municipal forest area. In addition to these measures that have already been initiated, the FCA, together with fors.earth, worked out a third focus in a materiality analysis: water.

In 2019, the city of Augsburg, with its centuries-old water management system, was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The overarching theme of water, which is based on SDG 6, "Clean water and sanitation facilities", has since been anchored in the city's core brand and has also been developed in external communication. At FCA, it quickly became clear that there were numerous points of contact with water, such as watering the pitch or the sanitary facilities in the stadium. After the focus topics had been found, fors.earth supported the FCA in defining the level of ambition, identifying relevant stakeholders and setting up product development processes in sports sponsorship together with the marketer SPORTFIVE in order to approach existing and potential new sponsors. With the claim Building bridges. Move people. Protect the environment. FCA's commitment was finally communicated to the outside world to show the new direction.

Waldpflanzaktion FC Augsburg

Hand in hand for the new FCA forest: joint planting campaign by players and fans / Photo: © FC Augsburg

IMPACT

Lighthouse projects: daycare, forest and water projects

The FCA has defined clear fields of action in the areas of exercise and education, social commitment and environmental and climate protection, in which it will be more active in the future. Thanks to the club’s reach and inspirational power, they can not only inform their fans transparently and keep them up to date, but ideally also motivate them to accompany them along the way and get involved in sustainable issues themselves. A measurable impact only arises when theory is translated into practice. Three lighthouse projects bring the FCA sustainability strategy to life:

1) The FCA day-care center planned with the Lehmbau Group creates urgently needed childcare places and counteracts the lack of exercise among children. At the same time, it acts as an anchor for further measures to promote physical activity for young people in the Augsburg city area.

2) Since the first joint planting campaign in April 2022, in which members, FCA employees and players, among others, actively participated, the FCA forest joint project will grow into a climate-resilient mixed forest with around 20,000 trees over the next few years.

3) With the focus topic water, the FCA wants to generate more attention for the World Heritage of the city of Augsburg and the topic of clean drinking water. For this purpose, the FCA cooperates, for example, with the non-profit association Pure Water for Generations e.V.. The NGO founded by Pascal Rösler has set itself the goal of sensitizing children and young people to the careful use of water within the framework of so-called "water days". After the first water day was held in 2022, three water days are already being held this year with school classes from Augsburg.

In addition, there is a clear motive behind the orientation: to use football enthusiasm as a bridge builder, in order to enable young people in particular to act in a sustainable manner through attractive educational offers at special learning locations and through active programs and to support them in understanding the effects of their own actions on the world .

“As an association with regional roots, social commitment is part of our DNA. We also want to take our responsibility even more seriously in the area of environmental and climate protection and have therefore set out to gradually improve in all areas. Against the background of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Augsburg water management system, we want to place a special focus on the subject of water. The strong FC Augsburg brand and the associated large reach will help us draw attention to the topic and actively help shape the transformation.”

Michael Ströll, Managing Director FC Augsburg

Your Contact Person:

Dennis König

Managing Partner

Phone: +49 151 25780987
Email: dennis.koenig@fors.earth

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