Club shows support for Sky Ocean Rescue

Following our recent announcement where we outlined measures to reduce single-use plastics at our new stadium, we shall dedicate tonight’s home match against Watford to celebrate the Premier League's new partnership with Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign.

The partnership will see both organisations use their global reach and appeal to raise awareness and inspire people to take positive action to reduce their single-use plastic intake, making small changes that will have a big impact.

A number of activations are planned in conjunction with the Premier League and Sky around our fixture to support the partnership.  This will include a takeover of Wembley and an appearance by Plasticus, the Sky Ocean Rescue whale, made from 250 kilograms of recycled single-use plastic, the same amount dumped in our oceans every minute, outside the ground.

Players from both sides will wear Sky Ocean Rescue-branded warm-up t-shirts ahead of the match, with the ball plinth, pitch flag, handshake board and LED boards also featuring campaign branding. Meanwhile, Club Ambassador Gary Mabbutt will appear during the half-time interval to speak about the Club’s commitment.

Below: Gary Mabbutt attends a Sky Ocean Rescue workshop at Weston Park Primary School in Haringey to educate local school children on reducing single use plastic

The Club is the first in the Premier League to have announced its plans to start reducing single-use plastics across club operations, with our new stadium being free from plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and all plastic disposable packaging associated with these items. In addition, every fan that is part of our One Hotspur membership scheme next season will be given a Bag for Life that they will be encouraged to use on match days, while our retail outlets will phase out standard 5p carrier bags.

You can read our announcement in full here. 

The Premier League intends to provide support and guidance for all its clubs on how they can phase out single-use plastic from their stadiums and operations. They will be supported by the Sky Ocean Rescue Ninjas, a specialist team of plastics experts who are dedicated to helping businesses reduce their single-use plastic usage.

Sky and the Premier League are also coming together to inspire young fans. Through the Premier League Primary Stars programme, which reaches 15,000 primary schools in England and Wales, children will be able to learn about what it means to be single-use plastic free. Using fun games and challenges, they will learn how they can make a difference and educate their parents in the process.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur, said: “We are dedicated to minimising the environmental impacts of our activities and are committed to playing our part in reducing single-use plastics across our club operations. We shall be encouraging our suppliers, partners and supporters to help us to phase out their use. This is a worldwide problem so we are delighted to see the announcement of this partnership to further raise awareness and continue to drive home this message to an even bigger audience.”

Barney Francis, Managing Director, Sky Sports, said: “Sky Ocean Rescue has been running for just over a year and we are proud of the momentum we have created. We’ve already reached millions of people, inspiring them to make simple everyday changes to help save our oceans.  Football has a unique ability to reach billions across the world and I’m delighted that the Premier League, and its clubs are getting involved to further build on our campaign. Today we’re calling on football fans to make a simple change and join us to help stop our oceans drowning in plastic."

Richard Scudamore, Executive Chairman, Premier League, added: “We are extremely proud to be joining Sky Ocean Rescue in the fight to save our oceans. As an organisation with a global audience we, and our clubs, are able to encourage people around the world to think and take positive action to reduce their use of plastic.”

Below: Harry Kane warms-up for his plastic bottle challenge as we support the Premier League's new partnership with Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign.

In the year since it launched, Sky Ocean Rescue has already reached more than nine million people with over half a million plastic bottles being saved from Sky’s offices in the UK.

And it’s not just in the office that the small changes are adding up. Nearly 70,000 plastic bottles have been saved by cast and crew in Sky Sports, and a campaign at the Kia Oval last year led to 60% less plastic bottles being sold at the venue compared to the same time the year before.

You can find out more about Sky Ocean Rescue and the issues affecting our oceans at the Sky Ocean Rescue Facebook page, @skyoceanrescue on Twitter, or visit skyoceanrescue.com, while you can show your support by using #PassOnPlastic