In recent years, the club has shown its unwavering commitment to this huge topic through its regular involvement with partners and fans in terms of sending out a concrete message about respecting the environment and the planet, so much so that the club has received recognition on the international stage, such as at the World Football Summit last September in Seville.
Udinese Calcio is also an example in terms of sustainability relating to business management and has turned into a notable model over the last few decades globally, with exemplary financial management allowing the club to maintain a constant financial balance along with stunning sporting results, such as competing in Serie A for 28 seasons in a row and qualifying for Europe on 11 occasions. This has all occurred while investments have been made in Dacia Arena, a stunning club-owned stadium, and in a scouting department that is revered the world over, providing solid foundations for a fully sustainable model.
In this regard, a report named the Brand Finance Football Sustainability Perceptions Index was put together, based on surveys carried out with fans in the main football-loving countries, who were asked to give their views on three sustainability metrics: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
Based on the data collected during the first semester of 2022, Udinese are the fourth-most sustainable club in the world and rank top in Italy. Liverpool lead the way in the European standings with a total score of 86/100.
The second and third places are held by Spanish sides Betis (83/100) and Real Madrid (79/100), followed by the first Italian outfit on the list.
Udinese sit in fourth on an ESG score of 78.8/100, as one of the first clubs in Italy to have signed up to the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action programme, as well as being involved in several collaborative initiatives with club partners, with the aim of further promoting the club’s level of sustainability.
A clear example of this is the partnership with Bluenergy, which has allowed the club’s home, Dacia Arena, to be supplied exclusively with energy from renewable sources, making the stadium one of the first venues in Europe to be classified as zero emissions. An even more meaningful indicator is the project that was kicked off with Macron, the first team’s kit supplier, which has been providing kits for the last three seasons with environmentally sustainable materials, with each playing jersey made from 13 recycled PET plastic bottles.
Udinese is at the forefront of Italian football on the global stage, with AC Milan the only other Italian representative in the top ten (eighth with an ESG of 73.3).