Liverpool FC has today announced a major new partnership with one of the world's biggest household goods manufacturers, in a bid to tackle plastic waste.
The Reds said on Thursday its new deal with US-based SC Johnson will mean a 'closed loop' recycling model for the more than 500,000 plastic bottles used at Anfield each season.
From the start of the partnership, called Goals For Change, fans at Anfield will be able to put the bottles in specially designed receptacles. SC Johnson will then collect the plastic and repurpose it to create new Mr Muscle trigger bottles.
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Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson, which also manufacturers brands such as Glade, Pledge, Windex and Ziploc, said plastic waste was a "critical" issue we need to solve.
Speaking at Anfield on Thursday, he said: "If there's one thing I've learnt in the last 20 years of trying to tackle the plastic waste issue as a company, it is that one business and just business as a whole cannot solve this issue alone.
"It's going to take stronger legislation, its going to take more awareness and sustainable behaviour on the part of the individuals, it's going to take building scale recycling systems and it's obviously going to take a large effort on the part of business to create more sustainable and recyclable products.
“Plastic waste is a threat to our planet for this and future generations. At SC Johnson, we believe we all have a responsibility to solve this critical environmental issue. Our partnership with Liverpool FC is one of the many steps SC Johnson is taking to move forward our vision for a waste-free world as it creates another local solution to this global problem by leveraging football to help close the plastic recycling loop.”
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Alan VanderMolen, senior vice president and chief communications officer for SC Johnson, could not disclose the finances of the deal - but told BusinessLive the amount involved was "not insubstantial".
Asked why the firm chose LFC over all of the other clubs in the world, he said: "First and foremost, their media footprint is huge.
"They've got the largest social following in football, which is very important to us.
"They've got a tremendous global fan base in markets that are important to us as well - Brazil, Mexico and Southeast Asia, their brands are very strong. Those are markets that are strong to us, and also places where we're innovating in packaging.
"We thought it gave us a great platform, as well as we're looking for partners in sports.
"We've got two at home in Wisconsin with Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA and the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball, they are committed to driving sustainability practices through their facilities.
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"[Liverpool FC's] ownership group in particular, we've been very impressed with.
"We look at a lot of clubs, and we look at their level of commitment over a period of time to drive down waste in their facilities. So we thought they were a great match for us."
Also at Anfield on Thursday was LFC legend Luis Garcia, who played a key role in the - when the Reds came back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan in Istanbul - and win the trophy on penalties.
With the Reds again seeing out a dramatic , Garcia spoke about his memories of that famous night 16 years ago. He also said despite a "great performance" by Jurgen Klopp's men on Wednesday, they were "fortunate" to score two goals in the second half and win the game 3-2.
Speaking about SC Johnson and today's announcement, Garcia said: "It is a massive global brand and I think when when two big historic brands like these get together, you know that something has to come from it.
"I think they do a great job and most importantly, we must continue doing these initiatives for the younger generation."
It was announced recently that this weekend's match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will be the "world's first" net zero carbon football game at elite level.
Garcia said this type of occasion is now "the way the world has to move forward".
He added: "We know how important it is. Global warming is happening and it's a real thing - it's not something that we just made up, so every single action that we can make to try to improve our environment, we have to move in that direction."
The Goals For Change partnership kicks off a series of initiatives to drive improvements in sustainability and health and hygiene - as well as provide pathways to greater economic and social mobility for under-served youth across LFC's communities in the 海角视频, Asia and Latin America.
In addition to recycling plastic waste at Anfield, SC Johnson and LFC said they will team up to focus on health and hygiene.
As the official cleaning and disinfectant partner, SC Johnson will provide soaps and hand sanitizers in 1,500 locations throughout the stadium and AXA Training Centre to help promote health and hygiene.
SC Johnson Professional, the company’s commercial business, will work with LFC to establish a "new standard of cleaning".
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Speaking as the deal was announced, Matt Scammell, commercial director at LFC, said: “We launched our sustainability programme the Red Way earlier this year and made a commitment to make a positive difference to our people, our communities and our planet.
"SC Johnson has made important step changes within their industry which have delivered incredible results through several sustainability initiatives.
“I feel very optimistic about the work we can do together through this partnership, both raising awareness and looking after the safety of our supporters and ultimately using our voices for good to help the next generation of Reds all around the world.”