Sustainability = Responsibility 7 Pillars guiding the way for the CHL sustainability strategy

The various national leagues in Europe and their clubs are the backbone of the CHL. They send us their best teams to compete for the title of European club champions. But the national leagues (through their clubs) are also the ones hosting the games. In some cases, these national leagues are already further in regards to their sustainability actions. Some already have sustainability standards that need to be followed by the clubs or sustainability action is even part of the clubs’ licensing agreements. Other leagues are merely starting out or don’t have sustainability as a focus yet. It was therefore important for us to understand what these leagues are already doing, if they had a person in charge of sustainability and determine what the best way moving forward would be. We sent all our shareholder leagues a questionnaire in December 2023 asking for their insights. A copy of the questionnaire can be downloaded here.

Questionnaire

Even though sport often refers to its innovative nature, when it comes to sustainability it is lagging behind other industries. Most ice hockey clubs do not yet have a head of sustainability or publish a sustainability report. However, especially large, international corporations that invest in professional sports often do, and the same can be said for the commercial partners of the CHL. Our biggest partners all have sustainability roadmaps, targets and put a certain emphasis on social, economic and environmental impacts. It was therefore important for us to start a conversation with Infront. Infront not only has its own sustainability strategy and published its first sustainability report in 2023, but they are also in touch with all our current and potential partners. As part of a workshop with the Infront team we discussed our intentions related to sustainability and it is our goal to closely collaborate with Infront on anything related to sustainability and our partners. Ideally, in the upcoming years we can identify opportunities to collaborate and can offer communication platforms for our partners to talk about their sustainability projects if they want to.

As we set out to put more emphasis on sustainability topics in our league, we want to make sure we create something useful for our participating clubs very quickly. A sustainability checklist that inspires the clubs to be more aware of their impacts and become more sustainable. As our conversations with the leagues showed, the degree to which sustainability plays a role in these clubs’ strategies varies greatly. Some are already actively tackling their impacts, while others are yet to define how they want to approach sustainability related areas of their business. We decided to create two Playbooks to address the most material topics and impacts of any sports organisation. The CHL Sustainability Playbook gives an overview of sustainability actions that can be taken to make a club and event more sustainable. It is based on the broad understanding of sustainability, including environmental, social, and governmental aspects. The CHL Environmental Playbook for ice hockey games focuses on the environmental impact an Ice Hockey Game has on the world, and how it can be organised more sustainably. Short and concise, the playbooks should serve as a way for clubs to plan and execute their events in the most sustainable fashion.

CHL Sustainability Playbook CHL Environmental Playbook for Ice Hockey Games

One of the most used metrics when it comes to sustainability reporting is CO2-emissions. Calculating them is not so easy, though. Primarily because one needs to differentiate between the three scopes of emissions according the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the world’s most renowned form of emissions declarations:

• Scope 1: direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organisation (e.g. emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles).
• Scope 2: Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organisation’s GHG inventory because they are a result of the organisation’s energy use.
• Scope 3: Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation, but that the organisation indirectly affects in its value chain (e.g. business travel, employee commutes, waste disposal, end-of-life disposal of your products).

If you want to learn more about the Greenhouse Protocol and its scopes, please visit: https://ghgprotocol.org/

The vast majority of any organisation’s emissions stems from scope 3. And the biggest source of emissions in sports is typically mobility/traveling where fan travel accounts for up to 80% of total emissions. As CHL, there are two major sources of mobility-related emissions. The emissions caused by our own team/staff when traveling to games, and the emissions caused by the teams (and their fans) participating in the competition.

Talking about metrics and emissions without mentioning mobility would be largely misleading and incomplete. We acknowledge that traveling is accountable for most of our emissions. The truth is, organizing an international club competition is only possible if there is traveling involved. It’s what makes the Champions Hockey League unique in the ice hockey world. But that doesn’t mean we don’t strive to minimize the impact we’re having. By using software, we try to optimise our game schedules so that the clubs can travel as efficiently as possible. When it comes to staff travel, we look at it as a necessary part of the way we work as we are organising or delivering our events around Europe. Travel is also important for building and maintaining relationships across all stakeholder groups. However, we acknowledge that air travel is a critical sustainability priority for the CHL and we need to optimise our travel footprint in this regard. The CHL Office has included environmental considerations in its travel policy. Where reasonable and feasible, alternative means to air travel are considered. Other involved parties such as Game Officials and Venue Managers are typically locally assigned to the majority of games and therefore do not significantly contribute to our footprint.

The process of signing game sheets at CHL games is completely paperless (Team Managers and Game Officials sign electronically).

We developed our own digital collaboration tool “Club Hub” which eases the communication and day-to-day collaboration with the participating clubs. It contains tasks, important dates, centralised documents and links as well as access to the our brand assets and streamlines the workflow for everyone involved, same as other tools like the smart archive.

Fans are at the heart of the CHL. To engage, entertain and educate them, we put a significant effort into digital innovations. From automated video content, to a predictor game, quizzes, polls and in-arena activations – we are keen to explore technology in favor of the fan experience.

We decided to reduce the number of printed materials. Most booklets (Club Info Booklet, General Assembly Materials, Media Guide) are only provided as digital versions. The only exception is the season review. Also, invitation processes to events (e.g. CHL Final or CHL Draw) are paperless.

Contracts which regulate the participation of national leagues, clubs, players, coaches, staff and game officials in the CHL (Letter of confirmation, Letter of commitment and Entry Forms) are archived digitally (more than 1000 contracts annually).

We replaced six physical on-site pre-season press conferences with one centralised virtual press conference.

A significant number of meetings with international participation of clubs or other representatives such as Marketing & Communication Workshops, Club Manual Workshops, Committee Meetings, Referee in Chief Meetings, Sport Director Meetings etc. take place online. Only flagship events such as the CHL Draw or the General Assembly Meeting are face-to-face.

Anyone who works in sport knows that it's not (only) about what happens on the pitch or at the venue. It's also about working as a team, about supporting and encouraging each other.

Every season, 10 to 12 volunteers act as venue managers for the Champions Hockey League (CHL) to ensure the smooth running of a CHL match day. In their “normal life”, the volunteers work in different positions for the CHL’s media and marketing partner Infront. Infront supports this voluntarily role in coordination with the respective line manager and grants the corresponding days off.

The assignment as CHL Venue Manager is in high demand: "It was super exciting for me to be able to take a look at a different sport," explains Alina Leitner when discussing her motivation to volunteer. She normally works at Infront Austria in the team for the Nordic winter sports disciplines - cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined. In this function she is also involved in many events – same as her colleague Daniel Osterauer, who works as a project manager for biathlon among other things. "Working as a venue manager at the CHL gave me the opportunity to get to know new people, learn more about ice hockey and work together with colleagues from other Infront departments," says Daniel.

Unlike Alina and Daniel, many of the other volunteers daily operate in classic corporate functions like accounting, HR or marketing, where they normally have little interaction with event management. Clément Baschet from the French Marketing & Development team: "As a venue manager you have autonomy, responsibility and get to know completely new tasks. I have found this enriching."

The volunteer job can indeed be challenging. Venue managers are responsible for the smooth running of the match day and are therefore the direct contact person on site for the CHL, Infront, the hockey clubs, sponsors and broadcasters. The volunteers must ensure that all marketing and media rights of the CHL partners are fulfilled, which means they need to check the advertising on the ice surface and players' equipment as well as TV graphics, camera angles and technology before the game.

"The TV broadcast check in particular pushed me out of my comfort zone at first," admits Clément. "I had to make sure that the broadcast of the game would look good." However, in the end, he said, he personally benefited the most from the tasks that were new to him.

Corinne Kälin, who normally works in HR at Infront, also had to break the mould: "As venue manager in Aalborg, Denmark, I had to lead all the briefings with the clubs, broadcasters and officials - even though I normally don't like standing in front of people. But everyone was so nice and supportive that after day one I wasn’t shy anymore."

All venue managers agree that their job for the CHL not only provided them with lots of new impressions and a unique experience working at a major sport event, but also boosted self-confidence: "I still benefit from my experiences at CHL games in my day-to-day work," says Leon Peters. He oversaw the SAP Arena in Mannheim in the 2023/24 season. "During the events, there were often questions from various stakeholders such as clubs, broadcasters or spectators that couldn't be answered directly. In such situations, it was important to keep calm and find a solution. These moments outside my comfort zone allowed me to grow personally and professionally and showed me how important it is to accept new challenges in order to develop further."

Everyone benefits from the volunteer work of Infront employees: "In the 2023/24 season, the CHL played in 23 arenas in 12 European countries. The commitment of my colleagues at Infront allows us to cover about 50% of the venues managed by our own people,” says Enrico Brunold, CHL Project Manager at Infront. “For larger distances, the colleagues remain stationed locally throughout the entire assignment. This has clear advantages for the CHL and us as the co-responsible organiser: We know the working conditions, minimize travel expenses and guarantee the quality of the service. At the same time, we give our employees the unique opportunity to be in the middle of the action, learn new skills and get a taste of event work." Infront and the CHL will keep working with volunteers again next season.

Beyond the comfort zone: Volunteer venue managers from the CHL’s media and marketing partner Infront take on a lot of responsibility during CHL match days home.

TV broadcast check: Together with the responsible Infront experts on site, the venue managers ensure that fans can experience the game at home.

Remote commentary has become as a cornerstone in the production strategy of sporting events, including the Champions Hockey League. Infront Productions, entrusted with fulfilling all of the CHL's broadcasting needs, recognised the importance of enhancing the viewer experience through high-quality commentary. In 2021, they forged a partnership with US-based remote commentary solution specialist Spalk who allows commentators to call games from the comfort of their own homes, irrespective of their geographical location. This means that commentators can provide real-time analysis and play-by-play commentary without the need to travel to the venue, thus reducing carbon emissions associated with transportation.

In the context of the CHL, Spalk's remote commentary solution has been integrated into the league's livestreams, offering viewers a comprehensive and immersive experience. Through collaboration with Infront Productions, it is ensured that all games are accompanied by high-quality commentary, enhancing viewer engagement and satisfaction.

So, how does remote commentary work within the CHL environment? The process begins by sourcing a pool of experienced commentators with expertise in ice hockey from around the world. These commentators operate remotely, accessing the live feed of CHL games from a dedicated platform. Meanwhile, the technical aspects of production, including downlink and encoding workflows, are centralised at Infront Production’s technical facilities. This centralised approach ensures that commentaries are seamlessly integrated with the live feed, resulting in a smooth viewing experience for fans.

Beyond the immediate benefits of remote commentary, such as scalability and cost-effectiveness, the collaboration between Infront Productions, and Spalk in the context of the CHL competition also brings about significant sustainability advantages. By eliminating the need for commentators to travel to each game, the approach reduces carbon emissions and environmental impact associated with traditional broadcasting methods.

In the past two years, two to three vehicles of the Skoda VIP had already been electric. This was very well received by the guests. At the 2024 final in Geneva, transportation of guests from and to the airport as well as to the after party was organized all-electric for the first time. The e-cars were also used for last minute pick-ups and in the event of delays. In total, this saved CO2 emissions accounting for around 1200 km of travel. The silent, emission-free transportation through the urban traffic not only pleased the VIP guests. It was also a benefit for the host city and its residents. With its sustainable fleet Official Sponsor Skoda was able to present itself in the best possible light and set a mark for the future.

Photo Credit: Valtin Flütsch (Infront Sports & Media AG)

“Our company is committed to a responsible and sustainable approach in all stages of hockey jersey production, which is completely in line with the CHL’s concern for sustainability,” said Matthias Wolf, General Manager at Warrior Sports. “We are proud to have developed a certified sustainable hockey jersey that meets the needs of athletes while also emphasizing eco-friendliness. This reflects our commitment to both high performance and environmental responsibility. We are excited to see our sustainable jersey in action in the Champions Hockey League with reigning champions Genève-Servette.”

“In our efforts to take responsibility, we approached Warrior Sports earlier this year to explore the possibility of equipping our teams with sustainable jerseys. We are very pleased that Warrior was committed and ready to provide our champions with their latest development for an initial phase,” said Monika Reinhard, CHL COO. “We look forward to seeing the sustainable jerseys in action and advancing our environmental goals.”

Also, Genève-Servette Sports Director Marc Gautschi is pleased to be part of the collaboration: "I am very happy to see that our CHL jerseys are produced sustainably this season. This is a subject that is important to Genève-Servette, and we are doing our utmost to be as eco-responsible as possible. Our National League jerseys will also be sustainable for the fourth consecutive year. It's an important topic, and as a high-profile club, it is our duty to set an example."

The sustainable jersey from Warrior Sports is made from 100% polyester, produced using recycled yarn containing plastic recyclate. This material is carefully monitored and certified according to international standards, such as the Global Recycled Standard and OEKO-TEX, ensuring environmental responsibility. The printing on the jerseys is done with environmentally friendly Italian water-based inks. After use, the plastic ink canisters are recycled to ensure reuse. A special paper made in Germany, meeting high quality and environmental standards, is used in the printing process. The parts of the hockey jersey are stitched with threads made from recycled polyester. The sustainable jersey is produced in Czechia, within the European Union, which maintains high standards of quality and sustainability.