Topping the AFL sustainability ladder, the GIANTS have sounded the final siren on use of disposable draught beer plastic cups at home games in an historic deal with social impact enterprise, War on Single Use Plastic (WOSUP).
Kicking off in 2024, the Australia-first sustainability partnership sets a new standard across large-scale sport and entertainment events, aimed at eliminating the negative knock-on of plastic pollution.
WOSUP Co-Founder and CEO Martin Salter applauded the GIANTS for taking the lead as the first AFL/AFLW club to replace environmentally harmful single-use plastic draught beer cups with reusable and infinitely recyclable and reusable WOSUP aluminium cups.
He said the partnership – covering all draught beers in the general areas, served at home games at GIANTS Stadium, Sydney Showground, alongside release of official GIANTS merchandise cups – will divert approximately 27,000 single-use plastic cups from landfill across the 2024 season, and deliver a total carbon reduction of 81,000kg CO₂-e (equivalent of almost 129 native trees planted by Greenfleet per season or almost 16 trees per game).
“There’s no question plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing our planet,” Mr Salter said, adding large-scale venues and events are among the world’s biggest contributors to single-use plastic cup waste.
“In Australia alone, a line-up of 65 stadiums and 43 arenas churn through an estimated 40 to 50 million disposable cups each year. Of concern, only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled, while 75% of all aluminium produced remains in use, making it the most sustainable metal in the world and a key circular economy building block.”
GIANTS Executive General Manager – Commercial, Alex Stanley, was equally as thrilled with the new partnership.
“This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact and we’re excited to make a positive impact together,” Mr Stanley said.
“Removing single-use plastic from our home games will make a difference and we are extremely proud to be leading the way as the first AFL club to switch to reusable alternatives. WOSUP does a fantastic job in promoting reusable alternatives and we look forward to playing our part in continuing to support recycling and sustainability over plastic.”
Mr Salter said WOSUP was in discussions with other AFL/AFLW clubs and their venues and hoped the GIANTS’ endorsement would lead to an expedited transition away from all single-use plastic cups.
“It’s exciting that six months after WOSUP’s initial public offering and commitment to shareholders, that we’re delivering an historic sustainability partnership that leads the way in the future of sport and entertainment sponsorship,” he said.
“Our mission is to reduce global use of 50 million single-use plastic cups a year by 2030 and help sport and entertainment sectors, in Australia and globally, become carbon neutral by 2050 or earlier.
“Put simply, prevention – stopping plastic production at its source – is the best cure for pollution that’s choking our planet, with at least 11 million tonnes of plastic ending up in the world’s oceans every year, adding up to a year-on-year accumulation of 162 million tonnes [based on 2021 data reported by EARTHDAY.ORG].”
WOSUP’s lightweight aluminium cups are a safe and sustainable crowd-and-climate gamechanger and also keep drinks colder for longer.
The cups are purposely designed to be used again and again (hygienically washed and returned to venues for reuse), providing a cost-effective solution to ditch single-use plastic, boost sustainability targets, and create real-time dialogue with fans thanks to a bespoke technology platform, WOSUP Rewards.
Doubling as platform for eco-conscious venues, sponsors and other partners to showcase environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, the loyalty program (built into cups via customised QR codes) introduces a plug-and-play solution for a dynamic new “sustainability sponsorship” category, with plans underway to develop an environmental portal that tracks cup usage and eco impact at events.
WOSUP now extends its rights ownership to include the first AFL team at GIANTS Stadium. WOSUP is working with national brands to offer sponsorship of this exclusive audience through cup branding, WOSUP Rewards tech platform and in venue signage.
About WOSUP
WOSUP (War On Single Use Plastic) exists to help address one of the greatest environmental problems facing the world today – too much plastic waste. WOSUP Co-Founders Martin Salter and Karl Page were drinking beers at the footy when they found themselves sitting amid a sea of plastic cups. They began re-using their plastic cups and contemplating an alternative, eco-friendly solution. In 2018, WOSUP Australia was born. The Sydney-based social impact enterprise strives to make a positive difference by providing sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic. By creating 100% reusable aluminium cups and providing integrated services, complete with fan engagement technology, WOSUP offers a meaningful solution for public-facing service industries to ditch single-use plastic cups. WOSUP cups are the perfect fit for major sport and entertainment venues, festivals, clubs, pubs, cinemas, hospitality and tourism attractions. What’s more, WOSUP’s native tree planting partnership with Australia’s first carbon offset provider, Greenfleet, creates a net carbon reduction of 3kg CO₂-e per cup use, alongside positive land use outcomes. For more information, visit www.wosup.com.au
Did you know? As part of its commitment to sustainability, WOSUP commissioned an independent life cycle assessment (LCA) by Lifecycles into environmental advantages and disadvantages of its reusable aluminium cup, compared to four alternatives. Namely, three single-use products: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) cup; polylactic acid (PLA) cup; and an aluminium can. Plus, one reusable plastic cup made from polypropylene (PP). Based on delivery of one drink, the WOSUP cup was found to have the lowest impact on climate change, fossil fuel depletion, water scarcity and soil quality, with a carbon footprint of 32g CO₂-e, compared to reusable PP (50g CO₂-e); and single-use alternatives PLA (47g CO₂-e); PET (43g CO₂-e) and an aluminium can (244g CO₂-e). In a win-win for people and planet, the LCA concluded WOSUP’s native tree planting partnership with Australia’s first carbon offset provider, Greenfleet, created a net carbon abatement of 3kg CO₂-e per use, alongside positive land use outcomes.
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