Editorial comment

The start of the football season in the UK has always been an occasion that excites me, and for the third round of fixtures I could not help but buy a train ticket back up to the north of England, where I grew up, to see the mighty Blackburn Rovers in action. It was a great day out (despite the mediocre football). Blackburn ran out 2 –1 winners thanks to a late goal, and there is optimism around the club that a return to the top flight for the first time since 2012 might be on the cards.

Whatever optimism there is after a strong start to the season will be taken with a pinch of salt however, as the last decade or so has not treated the 1994/95 Premier League winners kindly. Since a change of ownership in 2010, the Lancashire-based football club has suffered two relegations and been through 14 different managers amid regular fan protests.

Improvements on and off the field have been the focus, however the club has still found a way to address a much larger, global issue.

Blackburn Rovers, like so many clubs through all tiers of English football, has been doing what it can to become more sustainably run, and spread the message of sustainability throughout the community. For example, Blackburn is one of the English Football League’s (EFL) Green Club members, a league-wide scheme that supports clubs across the country to improve their environmental practices and operations.¹ Furthermore, the EFL has recently joined the British Association for Sustainable Sports (BASIS). Dominic Jordan, General Manager, BASIS, said: “I am delighted to welcome the EFL as new BASIS members. The resources, support and services we can offer them and, by extension, the 72 football league clubs can make a tangible difference to sustainability in English football.”² Since 2017, the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust has hosted an annual Sustainability Learning Conference. This event welcomes hundreds of pupils from across the north of England to Blackburn Rovers’ stadium, Ewood Park, to learn about the importance of sustainability.³

The fertilizer industry has also faced considerable problems over the last 10 years, such as the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but there has still been a determination to become more sustainable as an industry. It is estimated that in 2018, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers contributed to 2.1% of the world’s greenhouse emissions, and in recent years the fertilizer industry has taken measures to address this.⁴ The recent use of green ammonia in the fertilizer production process has made tremendous improvements in energy efficiency and more companies are moving towards the use of green ammonia in fertilizer production. For example, Clariant Catalysts has expanded its strategic collaboration with KBR to boost low-carbon ammonia production , and Trammo, CF Industries and Tecnicas Reunidas have all announced green ammonia fertilizer projects in the last few months.^{5 6 7 8}

From the global fertilizer industry, to the lofty heights of championship football, these sectors demonstrate that, regardless of the challenges faced, the pursuit of sustainability is a shared responsibility that is driving real, positive change across industries.

Editorial comment

Jack Roscoe - Editorial Assistant