German Bundesliga football club TSG Hoffenheim has launched a ‘Climate Ticket’ in partnership with non-profit climate protection organisation MyClimate Germany.
Fans can choose to purchase the ticket to help support the project funding small farmers in Ugandan forests. Each ticket buys a number of tree seedlings to be planted in the African country.
Online users will now be offered the option to buy a seedling for €1 at the end of the ordering process, which will be planted during the project.
“There is also the possibility to buy several seedlings per card purchase, by donating several euros,” said Stefan Wagner, who is responsible for the issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate development at TSG.
At the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bundesliga club said it was making all its actions climate-neutral within the framework of its future strategy.
The donation initiative encourages smallholder farmers to reforest forests and manage existing forests so that they can serve as a foundation for long-term sustainable land use and CO₂ absorption.
With about 200 seedlings, an area the size of a football field can be planted. According to the club, the donations not only help with climate protection, but also help people on the ground.
To date, this project has already created income opportunities for more than 1,700 smallholders, and with around 370,000 trees, 1,773 hectares of forest have been reforested to date – the equivalent of a total area of more than 2,500 football fields.
In a similar move, English pop rock band The 1975, who have become increasingly vocal in the battle against climate change, last month committed to planting a tree for every ticket sold ahead of their upcoming tour.
Image: TSG Hoffenheim
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