Environmental protection policy

Football is not just the most popular game in the world — it’s a universal language that has long since expanded beyond the boundaries of what it was supposed to be.

Football is also a true phenomenon and as such it cannot (and must not) remain indifferent to global issues that the world is facing today. Moreover, football must be an example and a force for good which inspires its followers to contribute to improving the environment and the conditions in which modern people live, as well as to ensure a sustainable future for upcoming generations.

We, the people of Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 AD, are honoured to be involved in this phenomenon but also feel responsible to do our part.

Applicability and Relevance

 This Policy, as well as the principles and commitments enshrined in it, shall apply to and be relevant for:

• all of our employees in their daily operations, including directors, professional footballers, coaches and supporting sports and technical staff;
• all of our fans;
• all of our activities — managerial, administrative, sports and technical ones, training-related, competition-related.

 Policy Purpose and Principles

 In our work we are driven by the sense of commitment and compassion for the common ambition to prevent adverse climate change and environmental degradation, as well as the spirit and principles enshrined in the 2030 UEFA Football Sustainability Strategy and related guidelines, the acts and initiatives of international law, European Union law, the Constitution of Bulgaria and the acts of Bulgarian national law in the field of environmental protection.

We recognise the challenges posed by the constant climate change. We also realise that environmental destruction has become a global issue and that we need to work together as a team in order to address it.

As we are aware of the impact resulting from the activities of Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 AD and of the negative footprint that football leaves on the environment, we cannot remain indifferent. It will take both timely collective effort and responsible actions by each of us.

The purpose of this Policy is to:

• identify the guiding principles that we uphold and outline our commitments regarding environmental protection, pollution prevention and biodiversity protection;
• provide a framework for the management of environmental impacts in order to improve the sustainability of the club, taking into account the major risks and opportunities for the development of our core business.

Given the above, we can outline our principles as follows:

• promoting a proactive approach to environmental challenges through efficient management that ensures compliance with the applicable legal provisions in the field of environmental and its protection;
• promoting environmental responsibility and greater awareness among our employees, clients, suppliers and the general public through programmes and initiatives involving their commitment towards reducing and limiting harmful impacts on the environment;
• promoting the development and dissemination of environmentally friendly technologies and solutions for the effective management of energy and water resources and for the conservation of biodiversity;
• identifying, assessing and addressing the risks and opportunities related to environmental protection in accordance with the specifics of our business;
• seeking and promoting proactive cooperation with stakeholders, including but not limited to state and municipal authorities, non-governmental organisations and business partners, with a view to organising and conducting initiatives related to environmental protection in order to ensure, as far as possible, the sustainable development of our community and society as a whole, and reduce the ecological footprint;
• promoting the transition from a linear to a circular economy by reducing waste and encouraging its separate collection and recycling;
• optimising the consumption of energy and water resources and promoting, as far as possible in our activity, the utilisation of energy from renewable sources.

Our Commitment

 In order to achieve our purposes and ensure the sustainability of our principles, we will:

• strive, as far as possible, to invest in environmentally friendly technologies;
• strive, as far as practicable, to use of energy from renewable sources for our activities;
• strive to optimise the electricity consumption in general;
• strive to periodically update the vehicle fleet of our company with brand new vehicles which would meet ever higher environmental standards;
• take the environment factor into account in our business decisions.

For us proper attitude toward the environment lies in the small things, and that is why we:

• turn off the lights when we don't need them, as well as electrical equipment when it is not being used; we also install photocell-controlled LED lights wherever possible and appropriate;
• strive to limit the use of paper and plastic packaging in our daily operations and do our best to use recycled and recyclable paper; we have eliminated the use of disposable plastic cups in our daily operations;
• encourage our employees to make business trips only when actually necessary, and in all other cases we rely on remote means of communication (such as tele- and video-conferences);
• encourage our employees to use the public transport or bicycles to travel to and from their place of work, as well as our fans to avoid the use of cars when visiting our matches;
• encourage our fans to clean up after themselves at the end of each match and then dispose of the waste only at the designated areas, and we promote separate waste collection;
• strive to use only the most environmentally friendly detergents for the cleaning of our premises; the same applies to the products we use to treat our artificial and natural grass surfaces;
• strive to reuse and recycle, whenever and wherever possible.

Reports and Suggestions

 Our priority is to observe and uphold our guiding values and principles, while simultaneously striving to prevent their violation.

That is why we encourage anyone who has any recommendations and suggestions pertaining to the Environmental Protection Policy, or believes that it is being violated, to contact us using the following e-mail address [email protected].

Our Involvement

 The management and employees of Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 AD hereby declare their personal involvement, commitment and responsibility for the implementation of this Policy and call upon anyone involved with the club’s activities to follow our example.

Policy Awareness and Familiarisation

 We realise that the awareness and familiarisation of a wide range of individuals with our guiding values and principles is of critical importance if we want to achieve the purposes of this Policy. That is why it will be provided to each of our employees and will be published on our official website. Furthermore, a copy of the Policy may be provided upon request to anyone to whom it applies, on site at our offices in the city of Razgrad, Targovishtko Shose, ‘Ludogorets’ Sports Centre.

Policy Adoption, Review and Updating

This Policy was adopted by a decision of the Board of Directors of Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 AD dated 20.02.2023. It will be reviewed periodically and possibly updated to reflect any newly emerging circumstances or changes to the applicable law.