"Eco World Cup"--An Interview with Hartmut Stahl

Hartmut Stahl is one of the few people visiting the FIFA World Cup stadiums this month for reasons other than football. A scientist at the German Institute of Applied Ecology, he’s there to see if the objectives of the Green Goal Programme are being met. He is pleased to report that things are going "even better than anticipated".

Dr. Stahl, you are not here as a football fan. What exactly are you up to in the stadiums?
I am checking to see how our Green Goal program is being put into practice. For example, we are looking to see how many fans use public transport to travel to the stadiums and how well that system is working. We’re checking to see how rubbish is disposed, how much garbage is left below the seats after matches and whether there is much lying around outside the stadiums afterwards. We look to see how much promotional material the sponsors are handing out. As well as that, we’re having a great time enjoying the incredible atmosphere in the stadiums.

Are the fans aware of Green Goal?
Especially when it comes to refuse disposal. The stalls have stickers and notices stating that the cups that the drinks are served in need to be returned and have a deposit on them. A lot of visitors from abroad are unaware of this concept. There are also rubbish receptacles with pictograms on them explaining how to sort what you are throwing away, as well as the Green Goal logo.

Waste prevention is an important aspect of Green Goal. How well is it working?
Waste prevention is one of the aspects that are going even better than anticipated. First of all, you have the reusable drinks cups. Most people return these, some take them home as a souvenir. Beside that most of the food from the stalls is served without packaging. Also, people coming into the stadium are not allowed to bring their own drinks in, so no potential litter can be brought in from outside.

So the stadiums are looking clean, unlike after Bundesliga matches?
That's right. As we expected, the few drinks cups left lying around beneath the seats are brought back and re-used. Even in the media centers, there is hardly any waste, as everything is electronic now and paper is hardly needed any more. The restaurants have reusable cutlery. Around the stadium, depending on the venue, we could maybe do better with putting a few extra rubbish bins in place, as the hotter it is, the more people drink.

Green Goal also says that one in two fans should travel to the stadiums using public transport and not by cars. How has this been shaping up so far?
My impression is that this is also working incredibly well. In Munich, around 60 percent of fans are using the subway, where originally we had forecast 30 to 40 percent. During a game, I went down into the stadium's car park and it was almost empty. At other stadiums like Dortmund or Hannover, where you can get to the ground on foot from the station, lots of people were walking. In other venues, you see a lot of cyclists as well.

Could the local authorities have done more to promote sustainable means of transport?
I've no complaints thus far. The signposts which have been erected at the stations are both good and frequent. And by the way, I don't think that I have ever seen so many people in railways stations at any one time. Of course, there are differences from one stadium to another, simply because the cities have different transport networks.

What is less visible are the measures which the stadiums have taken to reduce energy and water consumption. Will fans be aware of this?
No. People coming to the stadiums aren't aware of what has been done in this respect. There are water-free urinals, overflow limiters on the washbasins and electricity-saving measures, which are all things that save resources but go virtually unnoticed. The fans also don't get to see the solar panels on the stadiums, which is a shame.

LINK :
FIFA