JUVENTUS
Defining sustainability vision and practices in the football industry
#Report
#External engagement
#Content and stories
#Sustainability
#Internal engagement & training
Brief
Support Juventus Football Club in developing a structured approach to sustainability, defining its relevance to the company’s future business challenges and taking into full account the broad social implications of football in society, both in Italy and the wider world.
We have supported Juventus since late 2013, and since then we worked together every year to define their sustainability journey. We also help them to be recognised as sustainability thought-leader in the football industry (e.g. UEFA and ECA events).
Our work
INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND WORKSHOPS
- Kick-off workshop with leadership team
- Annual cycles of interviews with management to gather information and track initiatives, goals & achievement
- Behind-the-scenes stadium visits with match-day team.
- Support for sustainability committee meetings
The Juventus report is a “demonstration of true innovation and leadership. It doesn’t just define Juventus’ commitment to sustainability; it stands as a rallying cry to clubs and businesses to make sport safe, healthy and fair.”
Corporate and Financial Awards, jury motivation
EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
Since 2014 we have engaged stakeholders, ranging from one-to-one interviews to surveys of thousands of supporters globally
- Qualitative interviews with and surveys of professional stakeholders (suppliers, shareholders, sponsors, journalists, institutions, partners)
- Interviews with domestic and international experts from the world of football and the sustainability of sport
- Juventus supporters domestically and at an international level. Our survey of international supporters (2017) garnered over 5,000 responses.
This activity was undertaken to guide Juventus in drawing up a structured and long-term strategy on sustainability issues (and materiality analysis).
DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK & GOVERNANCE
Engagement activities, together with the materiality matrix, led us to define in 2015 an initial sustainability framework, which matured through 2016 into the Juventus Sustainability Model.
In 2017, work to define a company-wide framework continued. This led to a strategic document, with specific indications for action, to increase internal awareness and help guide the setting of measurable sustainability targets supporting the business.
In parallel, we helped put in place the Club’s sustainability governance, helping set up a sustainability unit and co-ordinating its Sustainability Committee.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
We supported Juventus from the “Report 0” that mapped sustainability activities for the first time to the latest 2016-2017 report.
For each report we:
- Defined the content organisation and narrative
- Collected data and produced content (in Italian and English)
- Guided the club’s graphical agencies or developed the layout with our partner agency yvat & klerb
Obtained the Global Reporting Initiative’s “Materiality Matters” check
Result
Juventus published its first sustainability report at its shareholders’ meeting in October 2014, becoming one of a handful of clubs worldwide to do so according to GRI guidelines and the first to receive the “Materiality Matters” check from the GRI.
The Juventus report won the Gold trophy at the UK’s Corporate & Financial Awards 2015 for the Best Printed Report in the International category and was described by the jury as “outstanding.”
The club has received recognition as a sustainability leader in football, hosting the first workshop on CSR and sustainability of the European Club Association (ECA) in 2016.
