MANCHESTER IS GREEN The Challenge HOW TO HELP FOOTBALL FANS Impact Report and Recommendations 2022 EAT BETTER FOR THEIR POCKETS, THEIR HEALTH AND THE PLANET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Hubbub Director Gavin Ellis
The Challenge
Manchester is Green Match Tactics
Full Time Results
Key Takeaways for Football Clubs
How to Help Fans Eat Less Meat and More Plants
How to Help Fans Reduce Food Waste
The Growing Conversation around Football and Climate
About Hubbub
Appendix (Stoppage Time)
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FOREWORD
Football is the UK’s most played and followed sport. It forms an integral part of this country’s cultural fabric and has a unique ability to entertain and inspire, perfectly showcased by the Women’s Euros victory this summer.
Gareth Southgate, England Men’s Manager, said that “football reflects society”, meaning it shines a light both on the things we should be proud of, and the areas where progress is still required. Having recently sparked conversations about topics such as racism, sexism and free school meals, the football community will spearhead many important conversations in years to come.
Meanwhile, tackling the climate emergency has become more urgent than ever. The impacts of man-made climate change are already being felt, with record-breaking temperatures and wildfires experienced in the UK this summer. It is predicted that by 2050, 25% of English Football League stadiums will be at risk of annual flooding. Without large-scale change, these dangerous trends are set to continue and worsen.
One area where there is scope for change, is around the food we eat. Research shows that swapping out meat and dairy products for plant-based foods and reducing food waste are two of the most effective ways to reduce our environmental impact. There is an opportunity to educate and engage people on how to do this.
We wanted to explore if we could use football as a hook to inspire fans and their households to eat better for the environment, and flip some of the stereotypes about football and food habits on their head: to see if we could shift from burgers, chips and pies to beans, pulses, and sweet potato fries. Our findings focus on the topic of sustainable diets: a great conversation opener for positive environmental behaviour. However, many of the insights in this report could be applied to a range of other sustainable behaviours from active travel to lower energy use.
In just three weeks, the Manchester is Green challenge led to 70% of fans who took part eating less meat and 77% eating more plants, 83% now waste less food and 68% of households are saving money since the challenge (£17.50 a week on average). Here’s how they did it and what we learnt along the way.
Gavin Ellis, Hubbub Director and Co-Founder3
now eat less meat said taking part in the challenge helped save them money on (£17.47 per week on average) feel healthier since taking part in the challenge are now making choices for the in other areas now eat more plants now waste less food 70% 68% 61% 79 77% 83% FULL TIME RESULTS THE BENEFITS Hubbub footy-themed they other for their Can football inspire climate action? Survey conducted 3 months after the challenge to measure long-term behaviour change (66 responses) • *Tifo
Imagine if all football fans were inspired to do something good for the planet... challenge on food average) making better the environment areas of their lives say football clubs should inspire fans to make better choices for the environment people watched live Premier League coverage in 2020/21 79% 88% 27million The planet is deep into FERGIE TIME The planet is deep into FERGIE TIME WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Hubbub set 72 Man City and Man United fans a footy-themed food challenge. Over three weeks, they took part in cook-alongs, competitions and other activities while learning how to eat better their pockets, their health and the planet. 25% of EnglishLeaguefootballstadiumswill beunderwater By2050*, MANCHESTER IS GREEN *Tifo Football, 2020
THE CHALLENGE
Manchester is Green was a three-week challenge run by Hubbub for Manchesterbased Manchester City and Manchester United fans in May 2022. We set up two closed Facebook groups – one for each group of fans - and through a series of activities, challenged 72 fans and their households (of whom, 66 completed the challenge) to eat better for their pockets, for their health, and for the planet.
Each week followed a different theme: Cooking from Scratch, Plant-Powered Eating and More Taste Less Waste. Within each theme, we aimed to encourage specific new behaviours which have associated environmental, health and cost benefits (see appendix).
MANCHESTER IS GREEN MATCH TACTICS
RECRUITMENT
We built a cohort of City and United fans from Manchester that aimed to accurately reflect the modern football fanbase and demographics of Manchester. We recruited at least 1/3 female fans and 1/3 from black or minority ethnic groups in order to represent the modern fanbase, with a good spread of ages and socio-economic backgrounds. All who completed the challenge received £100 for taking part.
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE METHODOLOGY
We used a tried and tested approach grounded in behaviour change theory to design a flexible and engaging digital campaign. The challenge was based on learning from previous successful trials run by Hubbub with customers from Tesco, M&S and Just Eat.
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Digital community and social norming
We invited fans to closed Facebook groups with 30-40 other City or United fans. This created a sense of community, where participants could try new things together and offer each other tips and inspiration.
Football-themed content
We shared football-themed content tailored to each team. Fans share a common language and we wanted to play on this and their club allegiance. During the PlantPowered Eating week we challenged players to try a ‘tactical substitution’.
Expert support and inspiration
We shared expert advice with fans about cooking, food waste, nutrition, and food safety. Hubbub experts were on hand in the Facebook groups to encourage, support and answer any questions that came up.
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The fun theory
We encouraged friendly competition, shared a bespoke cameo video by impressionist Darren Farlay, ran a competition for the best City or United-themed meal (Andy Coleslaw or Bacary Lasagne, anyone?) and much more besides. Fun and humour were used to make the challenge something people actively wanted to do, rather than felt obliged to do.
Within each theme we set a flexible ‘Matchday Challenge’. Fans enjoyed putting the information they had absorbed earlier in the week (e.g. through ‘Pro Tips’ sheets and ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions) into practice and competing for prizes by sharing a photo, video or post.
Highlighting benefits
We led on the opportunities to save money, learn new skills and feel healthier, alongside the positive environmental impacts of actions.
Flexible and accessible
To fit with people’s increasingly busy lives, fans could take part in challenges, cookalongs and more live or catch up at their convenience.
See the appendix for some examples of the kind of daily activities that took place on the Facebook groups.
MEASURING IMPACT
Surveys
We carried out in-depth surveys before, immediately after and three months on from the challenge with participant households to explore their shopping, eating, cooking and broader sustainability habits. Insights from these surveys helped us design a campaign that met people where they were on sustainability issues and enabled us to track changes over time.
Participant’s stories
We built in opportunities to gather qualitative insight from the cohort throughout the campaign. We also had in-depth conversations and conducted home interviews with a selection of participants after the challenge, to dig deeper into the survey insights.
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FULL TIME RESULTS
Three months after Manchester Is Green: The Challenge finished we surveyed those who took part, aiming to measure long-term behaviour change. This is what they told us (66 responses):
Eating less meat and more plants
• 70% now eat less meat and 77% now eat more plants
• 53% now very or extremely likely to eat less meat in future compared to just 13% before the challenge
• 61% have saved money by eating less meat
Wasting less food
• 83% now waste less food
• 68% are now very likely to waste less food in future
• 79% have saved money by wasting less food
Cooking more from scratch
• 59% now cook more from scratch
• 86% now very or extremely likely to cook more from scratch in future
• 59% have saved money by cooking more from scratch
Wider impact
• 68% said doing the challenge has helped them save money on food (£17.47 per week on average, which equates to £900/year)
• 61% feel healthier since taking part in the challenge
• 79% now making more pro-environmental choices in other areas of their lives (everything from reducing plastic use to doing more active travel)
“Football has a huge opportunity to engage with fans and help them become fans of the environment as well as of football. Our experience at Forest green Rovers shows how receptive football fans are to changing their lives - when presented with clear information and a role model. Manchester is Green shows how the beautiful game can inspire fans to help create the beautiful world we all want to live in.”
88% believe football clubs and players should inspire fans to take on planet friendly behavioursDale Vince OBE, chairman of Forest Green Rovers –The World’s Greenest Football Club Photo Credit: The Times
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KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR FOOTBALL CLUBS
Manchester is Green clearly demonstrates that football fans are interested in learning about and trying sustainable diets. 9 in 10 participants told us they believe football clubs and players should inspire fans to take on even more planet friendly behaviours. We have identified three key opportunities for football clubs to be early adopters in encouraging sustainable diets:
1. Match day
• Recommendation: Encourage more plant-based uptake on match-day menus. Use menu architecture, dish descriptions and promotion to encourage uptake and fans to ‘try something new’.
• Insight: fans simply need a nudge to try something new. Once they’ve taken this step, there’s often no looking back! The World Resources Institute has some great tips on boosting the sale of plant-based items.
2. Home fixture
• Recommendation: Inspire fans to take on even more planet-friendly behaviour at home, particularly eating more plant-based food and reducing food waste.
• Insight: Manchester United currently have 171M social media followers (across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), which means the 74,879 fans who attend Old Trafford on matchday represent just 0.04% of Manchester United’s wider online following (for Manchester City, this proportion is 0.06%). Clubs have a huge opportunity to use their reach to nudge fan’s behaviours in their own homes.
3. In the community
• Recommendation: Keep supporting local community groups taking action to help people cook more from scratch, eat less meat, and waste less food. Support initiatives that help people live more sustainably in other ways too.
• Insight: 8 in 10 fans surveyed told us they are now making more environmental choices in other areas of life after the challenge, from reducing plastic use to active travel.
“Since Manchester is Green, I’ve been buying my foods from stores that don’t use plastic packaging and have invested in my first eco-car.”Naomi, Miles Platting, Manchester United fan
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HOW TO HELP FANS
EAT LESS MEAT AND MORE PLANTS
Overview
• A survey by Future Farm found that 40% of fans have reduced their meat consumption since the start of COVID-19. Documentaries like The Game Changers (Netflix) have accelerated the changing narrative around plant-based diets.
Key insights
• Highlight benefits: eating more plants is healthier, often cheaper, as well as being better for the planet.
• Use the power of social norming: participants seeing people cooking a veggie meal was powerful, because it was relatable. Fans were inspired to hear about the success of Forest Green Rovers – more football clubs and players sharing their plant-based tips would spur behaviour change.
• Make it a challenge: just the fact that there was a challenge provided an excuse for participants to try something new. It also removed the stigma for some of ordering an oat milk coffee around mates, for example (‘I’m trying it out for a challenge’).
1. Plant-based foods being more affordable than meat options (70%)
2. More plant-based foods for sale on match days (64%)
3. Delicious descriptions and names for plant-based options (42%)
Carl, Newton Heath, Manchester United fan – reduced his meat consumption from five or six days a week to one or two days a week.
“I love bacon butties, pies and steak, I’m not really the kind of person that would normally go for this.”
What would encourage more fans to eat plant-based at the stadium? (from 66 responses to final survey):
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At the start of the challenge, Manchester United fan Gavin from Bolton told us that he had never cooked a vegetarian meal in his life. It didn’t take long for that to change… Start of the challenge After one week of the challenge PRE-CHALLENGE: POST-CHALLENGE: Everyday 23% 8% 23% 22% 32% 39% 11% 21% 4% 4% 4% 4% Everyday Never Answered: 89 | Skipped: 0 Answered: 66 | Skipped: 0 Never Five or six days a week Five or six days a weekThree or four days a week Three or four days a weekOne or two days a week One or two days a weekLess than once a week Less than once a week 30% now eat meat at least 5 times a week 30% now eat meat 2 days a week or less 47% ate meat at least 5 days a week 20% eat meat 2 days a week or less How often, if at all, do you eat meat?
HOW TO HELP FANS REDUCE FOOD WASTE
Overview
• According to research by WRAP, planning, careful storage and batch-cooking during COVID-19 lockdown reduced people’s levels of food waste by 22%. Continuing this trend could save households around £730 a year at a time when cost-saving is more important than ever.
Key insights
• Focus on the real barriers: the reason that households waste food often comes down to lack of meal planning and a scattergun approach to grocery shopping.
• Highlight cost-savings: with food prices increasing, households are more concerned than ever with making their food go further. Encouraging simple behaviours like batch cooking can have a huge impact.
• Share quick and simple leftover recipe inspiration: from fridgeforage omelettes to stir frys, there are many creative ways to use up spare ingredients. Sharing a touch of inspiration can go a long way.
“After winning the Subs Bench Showstopper Challenge with my spaghetti Spanish tortilla, I was inspired to reduce waste in other ways too. I put a bedframe that would normally have ended up in the skip on Facebook marketplace and found a new home for it almost immediately.”David, Cheadle, Manchester City Fan
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THE GROWING
AROUND FOOTBALL AND CLIMATE
The conversation around the role football can play in tackling climate change is rapidly evolving. Football has unique advantages in terms of mobilising collective change. Football clubs boast followings of loyal fans. They have enormous reach, huge financial clout, and vast networks of connections from big corporate sponsors to local community groups. Many football players also have massive online followings and are seen as role models. Despite their differences and rivalries, football fans have much in common: a shared sense of identity, shared rituals and a common language and the football calendar offers multiple opportunities for engagement.
Football itself has another unique gift: the ability to make a grown man cry. It is evocative to so many, in a way that little else is. A growing number of voices are now saying that football (and fans) could be a powerful and, as yet largely untapped asset in the fight against climate change:
• Last year, Forest Green Rovers – the world’s greenest and first vegan football club –secured a plant-powered promotion while demonstrating that plant-based food can appeal to a football loving audience.
• Pledgeball and Climate Outreach made a strong academic case for engaging football fans and have shown how pledges can drive behaviour change.
• Premier League side Brentford FC broke with tradition this year to announce that they would not be releasing a new home kit – instead encouraging reuse. And Reading FC used their new home shirt to deliver a powerful message about global warming
• Planet League have signed up 76 professional clubs to their platform where fans compete to reduce their climate impact. They’ve inspired fans to complete over 77,000 climate actions. They recently proposed that football clubs should focus on Scope F (their fanbase) to create 100x more impact than they could achieve inhouse.
Many football clubs are already taking action to reduce their impact on the environment through their own operations. However, we firmly believe there is an even greater opportunity for clubs to inspire their fans to do their bit. Imagine if fans came together to make positive changes for the planet in the same way they come together at The Etihad or Old Trafford to cheer on their team.
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CONVERSATION
ABOUT HUBBUB
Hubbub is an award-winning environmental charity that believes to create positive environmental change at the scale and speed required, everyone needs to get on board. We launched Manchester Is Green as part of a wider initiative called In Our Nature which is inspiring climate action in Manchester.
“As a younger player I can’t remember anyone being too concerned about climate change but that is changing fast. It’s impossible to ignore the challenges facing people and the planet as they are becoming so critical.”Former Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, quoted in The Athletic: Floods, fires and why football can play a big role in tackling climate change (August 2022)
“People have realised it’s up to us you know. It is literally now or never”.Elliot, Prestwich, Manchester City fan Photo Credit: Imago Images IMPACT VIDEO
WATCH OUR
APPENDIX
(STOPPAGE TIME)
1. BENEFITS OF COOKING MORE FROM SCRATCH, EATING MORE PLANTS AND WASTING LESS FOOD
Theme Behaviours Better for people’s pockets
Better for people’s health
Better for the planet
Cooking From Scratch
Cooking meals at home from fresh ingredients
Cooking from scratch is cheaper than eating out or ordering takeaways
Eating home cooked meals linked with better diet and lower obesity rates
68 chemicals used in plastic packaging (such as takeaway containers) are hazardous for the environment
Plant-Powered Eating
Eating more vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, pulses and fruit
Eating less meat and dairy Vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian diets can reduce food bills by up to one-third
Eating more plant foods would have health benefits for most people
Meat products have a higher carbon footprint than plant products
More Taste Less Waste
Planning meals and shopping Storing food in the right way Using up leftovers
Families can save £730 a year by reducing food waste
Greenhouse gas emissions from food waste in the UK are equivalent to 10 million cars
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2. EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES THAT TOOK PLACE ON THE FACEBOOK GROUP ACROSS THE THREE-WEEK CHALLENGE
Monday
Bridging the knowledge gap with Pro Tips
Tuesday
Inspiring people to think about food waste or how to eat better for the environment
Wednesday
Ask the expert with Forest Green Rovers and top chefs
Thursday
Live cookalongs! Feat. the likes of Ngwafu Tansie, local chef for Cracking Good Food
Friday
Big questions for discussion, e.g. what more could fans do for the planet
Weekend
Weekly Matchday Challenge, e.g. make a tactical substitution
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To City fans, Manchester is blue. To United fans, Manchester is red. We wanted to bring football fans together to show that too.
MANCHESTER IS GREEN
hello@hubbub.org.uk
