Pledgeball
Engaging sports fans in climate action
Pledgeball is catalysing climate action in the sports world by fostering climate conversations among fans and working with sports clubs and leagues to accelerate structural change. Pledgeball encourages fans to commit to low-carbon lifestyle pledges through a digital platform. This allows fans to ‘compete’ by comparing the cumulative carbon emission reductions of their pledges, sparking engagement both online and during live match events. This public demonstration of fans’ support for climate action addresses a key current public engagement barrier: the vast majority of people support climate action, but they believe others do not. By leveraging the competitive spirit of sports, Pledgeball taps into one of the largest spheres of popular culture to normalise climate engagement and action among new audiences.
The Foundation is providing core funding to support Pledgeball to scale by building its organisational capacity and expanding its reach. As part of our Climate and Ocean Programme, this funding aligns with our commitment to champion evidence-driven communication to help shift social norms and strengthen public support for climate action through innovative, wide-reaching approaches.
Pledgeball is successfully increasing climate awareness and action across various sports, and its reach has expanded from grassroots football clubs in the UK to international tournaments. Analysis of its approach has shown that fans’ engaging with Pledgeball can increase the frequency of conversations about climate change, individuals’ sense of agency to take positive climate action, and the likelihood of people making sustainable choices. Pledgeball was selected to work with UEFA and Mastercard during the 2024 UEFA Champions League, where its work was promoted as an example of best practice, leading to 91,000 pledges from fans during the tournament. Through initiatives like the Sustainable Travel Charter, which promotes eco-friendly travel practices for football clubs, Pledgeball is working directly with sports organisations to embed sustainable practices at an institutional level. Pledgeball’s work has been recognised by the BBC Green Sport Awards 2024 where they won the Grassroots Organisation Award.
“Pledgeball’s approach is rooted in robust social science principles and has already demonstrated significant behaviour changes and emissions reductions. There is huge potential to scale this success up to achieve sustainability across the sector.”
Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, MBE, Director of UK Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation
With the Foundation’s support, Pledgeball has appointed a Communications Manager and Commercial Operations Manager, who are working to accelerate its growth and help embed its work into new sports and regions. Beyond football, Pledgeball is also working with rugby, tennis and athletics clubs to reach wider sports audiences.
“Our partnership with Pledgeball has provided us with the ideal vehicle to educate and inspire fans around environmental sustainability. The cumulative impact of our fanbase is demonstrably high. Pledgeball also enables us to communicate with audiences who may not typically engage with content around climate change and sustainability.”
Peter Smith, Group Head of Change and Sustainability, Bristol Sport Group
Pledgeball continues to focus on capacity building and growing its network. Partnerships with major sporting clubs and networks, including UEFA Champions League, the International Biathlon Union, Bristol Sport Group and the Women’s Rugby World Cup, are helping them reach new audiences and integrate climate action into major sporting events. These collaborations provide financial support and a platform to raise awareness, creating a ripple effect, where fans, clubs, and leagues are contributing to the broader climate movement. By supporting Pledgeball, the Foundation aims to help drive widespread cultural change, advancing both individual and structural climate action across the sports industry.
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