Football Association of Denmark
The local multiplier event in Brondby challenges environmental management in sports and beyond
The presence of the project partners in Denmark, for their regular project meeting was wisely used by the Danish FA to organise their local dissemination event the very day after bringing together regional and national sport organisations to discuss challenges and solutions with their foreign counterparts.
The title chosen for the event, “Co-creation of Green Sustainability in the World of Sports”, had the objective to reflect the Danish FA’s commitment to the topic and to inspire active engagement among a wider audience, particularly in mobilising volunteers within their organisations to adopt sustainable and green practices. The goal was therefore, not only to foster individual responsibility but also to cultivate a collective mindset that embraces sustainability as a core principle. By encouraging the sharing of knowledge around various initiatives and the challenges faced by different organizations, the event aimed to create a collaborative environment that empowers participants to enact positive change.
The 35 participants took part in this dynamic event, kindly hosted by the Danish Olympic Committee in Brondby. In order to provide input, provoke discussion, but also to showcase examples of good practices and existing initiatives that were proven to be exemplary, the FA invited speakers such as Trine Sørensen of the Danish Olympic Committee, Sanne Stephensen‚, coordinator of the 365 Volunteers platform of one of Europe’s largest music festivals – Roskilde and Ann Lykke Davidsen of the Danish Handball Federation. Each of these speakers brought a wealth of experience and has spearheaded various projects focused on developing and implementing green initiatives, making them ideal contributors to our dialogue.
The event as enriched by a group exercise, facilitated by Christian Kierkegaard of the Danish Olympic Committee, which had the objective to simulate a collaborative approach to identifying, prioritising and assessing challenges and furthermore identification of relevant stakeholders and the complexity of various challenges.
The event ended with a field trip to the neighbouring Brondby stadium where the participants had the opportunity to hear more about the club’s collaboration with the Brondby municipality, the contribution the club makes to the local community and probably the most interesting initiative – the Second Sun project which involves large steel panels strategically installed on the stadium to reflect sunlight onto parts of the pitch which are in constant shade throughout the year and thus considerably decrease energy consumption and emissions linked to it.