Sustainability has been at the heart of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ from the very start.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 Sustainability Strategy enabled us to deliver a tournament that set new benchmarks for social, human, economic and environmental development.

This tournament will change the way future FIFA World Cup™ competitions and other sporting mega-events are organised. It will build a lasting, sustainable legacy that contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Qatar National Vision 2030.

This tournament was about making everyone feel welcome, safe and entertained and part of a unique FIFA World Cup™ experience in Qatar. We believe that the generations to come should benefit from a lasting legacy, so we’re working to make our planet greener, increase accessibility and inclusivity, and develop new opportunities for everyone.

Preparing Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022™ was a huge task. The massive construction projects were carefully monitored and controlled to minimise the impact on the environment.

We reused and recycled waste and water wherever possible; while smart controls prevented excessive usage of resources across our facilities.

Sustainable building

All eight FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ stadiums are winning praise for their sustainable design, construction and everyday management. We established the best practices to reduce dust at our sites during construction. Subsequently, Khalifa International Stadium achieved 4-star Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) certification in 2017 and Al Janoub Stadium achieved the same in 2019.

Education City Stadium and Al Bayt Stadium both received 5-star GSAS certifications in 2020 - for design build and construction management, and a gold certification for operational procedures.

What’s more, our headquarters, Al Bidda Tower, also received GSAS’s platinum certification for operations.

You can learn more about our commitment to sustainability by downloading our Working Towards Green Hotels in Qatar report.

Downloads

picture_as_pdf FIFA World Cup 2022™ Construction Site Waste Management Report(4.28 MB)

picture_as_pdf FIFA World Cup 2022™ Construction Site Dust Management Report(3.68 MB)

Carbon neutral

Our goal is to offset all greenhouse gas emissions, while advancing low-carbon solutions in Qatar and the region. A carbon-neutral tournament is delivered through a four-step process: awareness, measurement, reduction and offsetting. We are progressing rapidly in all areas.

Renewable energy solutions are planned for wherever possible; solar-powered lighting has already been installed at parking lots and precinct perimeters. Solar-powered air quality monitoring is being tested at training sites. The Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) is researching how cooling systems can be powered by solar panels.

We have also partnered with the Qatar-based Global Carbon Council to deliver some of our carbon offsets from local sources. We will measure our carbon inventory, in collaboration with FIFA, including all the work we've done so far in reducing emissions, such as energy and water-efficient stadiums, using recycled materials and implementing waste management strategies. The final step is to offset whatever inventory remains.

You can find out more about our commitment to reduce emissions by downloading our latest Greenhouse Gas Emission report.

Green spaces

We have created vast new parks around the stadiums and training sites, which that are irrigated with recycled water. Our Tree Nursery is also producing thousands of trees and we’ve selected low-water-consumption and regional plants for sustainable landscaping. By early 2020, 500,000m2 of turf, 5,000 trees and 80,000 shrubs had been planted in stadium precincts and public spaces across Qatar.

1. Thanks to our landscape conservation planning, water consumption at operational stadiums is 40% lower than international requirements
2. 75% of plants are native species and drought tolerant to combat desertification, a growing concern across the region
3. Typical desert landscapes are mimicked as much as possible, rather than using turf
4. Irrigation systems for landscape use 100% recycled water

Public transport

To take cars off the road, we developed our public transport system, including the Doha Metro, new bus routes and tram systems in Lusail and Education City. We also shifted 25% of public buses to electric buses for use during the tournament. This technology helped reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution.

picture_as_pdf FIFA-World-Cup-2022™-First-Sustainability-Progress-Report.pdf (5.86 MB)

picture_as_pdf FWC-2022-Sustainability-Strategy.pdf (22.87 MB)

picture_as_pdf FWC-2022-Executive-Summary_EN.pdf (2.72 MB)

picture_as_pdf FWC-2022-Sustainability-Policy_EN.pdf (103.74 KB)

picture_as_pdf FWC-2022-Strategy-Process-Development.pdf (1.08 MB)

picture_as_pdf FIFA-World-Cup-Qatar-2022™-Sustainable-Stadiums-EN.pdf (13.83 MB)