Date: 06 Mar 2023
Official launch of Phase 2
On the 4th of March 2023 in Croke Park, the GAA launched Phase 2 of the Green Club Programme which will see a significant increase in the number of clubs participating in the programme across the island of Ireland.
Over 200 clubs will now undertake sustainability-related actions across 5 thematic areas with the aim of ‘greening’ their facilities and operations as well as making their club activities and practices more sustainable. Clubs that successfully complete a minimum number of projects under the programme can be classified as a Green Club.
Speaking at the launch event Jimmy D’Arcy, GAA Youth Leadership & Sustainability Manager said “'The GAA alongside our sister organisations the Camogie Association and LGFA are games organisations built on our commitment to the communities that our clubs represent. This Green Clubs Programme and Toolkit will support our members to ensure that our extensive network of facilities at club and county level are equipped to follow best practice across the five pillars of Energy, Water, Waste, Biodiversity and Travel and to ensure we play our part as community leaders in environmental sustainability.”
The CCMA and the local government sector, represented by the Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) have been collaborating with the GAA to progress the Green Club Programme since late 2019.
Phase 1 of the programme was officially launched by Minister Eamonn Ryan on 9th December 2020. This phase focused on the development of thematic toolkits. Toolkits for each of the 5 thematic areas, including Energy, Waste, Water, Biodiversity, and Travel were developed over phase 1 in collaboration with over 40 pilot clubs and regional grounds, as well as with expert partners including in the Republic of Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), The Regional Waste Management Offices, Irish Water, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), the National Biodiversity Data Centre, the National Transport Authority and Road Safety Authority as well as, in Northern Ireland, Action Renewables, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, and Northern Ireland Water.
Phase 1 of the Green Club Programme concluded with the launch and publication of the Green Club Toolkits on the 3rd December 2022 in Croke Park, with representation from the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications, the CCMA, the CAROs, expert partners and pilot clubs in attendance.
The local government sector will play a key role in the success of participating clubs over phase 2 of the Green Club Programme. Every local authority has a Point of Contact in place who clubs can get in contact with for advice and support on the different projects they are undertaking. The CARO will provide support to the Point of Contacts over phase 2 to ensure the local government sector effectively plays its role in helping participating clubs, where required towards the completion of projects under the 5 themes.
For further information on the Green Club Programme visit https://www.gaa.ie/greenclub
The GAA Green Club Toolkit is a publicly available online resource at: https://learning.gaa.ie/greenclub