My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions
1
First Name
Last Name
Pronouns
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Initiative Title
Arsenal In The Community Sustainability Initiative
Lead Organization Name
Arsenal Football Club
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1985
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.arsenal.com/community || https://www.arsenal.com/sustainability
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Environment & Sustainability
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
An Arsenal In The Community initiative to educate, inspire, and engage local Islington young people to address environmental sustainability issues, and encourage positive actions.
Challenge Focus: What topic does your initiative most directly relate to?
Climate action through awareness and engagement
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Being one of London's most densely populated boroughs, Islington faces a range of environmental & social challenges, with intense pressure on public spaces and limited opportunities for safe, healthy outdoor activity. Access to green spaces is significantly below the London average: 29% of Islington residents have no direct access to private green space. This lack of accessible green space intersects with other challenges. Islington Council identifies anti-social behaviour as a persistent issue. The borough has long highlighted the complexity of needs in youth safety strategies, such as limited safe communities and the need for preventative community-based support. Arsenal In The Community (AITC) sits right in the heart of the community. Based in The Arsenal Hub just off Holloway Road, Arsenal In The Community has been working directly with Islington's estates, schools, and community hubs for 40 years. These trusted relationships with local young people that have been meaningfully built through football-based engagement position the Club to respond to local environmental inequalities while providing safe, structured alternatives to anti-social behaviour.
Your approach: How are you addressing the problem outlined above? How are you using the power of sport and physical activity to build awareness, shift behavior, and enable sustainable participation for all in response to the climate crisis? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Arsenal in the Community has been using the power of the Arsenal name to positively impact the lives of young people since 1985. AITC connects with young people through football sessions, school programmes, and estate-based outreach. The Arsenal badge carries significant cultural weight locally, and young people often attend an initial session because of their affinity with the Club. Once they are engaged, Arsenal In The Community can integrate sustainability awareness in a way that feels relevant and accessible, for example, combining football drills with the importance of local green space access. This approach means environmental learning isn’t theoretical and is grounded in a real community context, delivered by coaches young people already trust. Arsenal In The Community’s existing model emphasises behavioural and attitude change through: - consistent role modelling from coaches - the effect of peer influence - participation in hands-on projects By embedding climate awareness into something young people already care about (sport, identity and belonging), Arsenal In The Community turns sustainability from an abstract concept into a lived practice. Our ambition to help move the world forward sits at the heart of our club strategy – defined by the actions we take for our community, rooted in Islington and inspiring change globally. We know that we can play a powerful role in social and environmental progress in our home borough of Islington and around the world. Fundamental to this is acting for our environment, where our goal is to become net-zero by 2040. In November 2024, we launched our Net Zero commitment with near-term and long-term targets validated by the SBTi.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Arsenal In The Community’s programmes are designed to keep young people engaged over months and years, not just for one-off interventions. These sessions are also delivered in places where young people already spend time (e.g., estates, schools, parks, etc.). Sustainable participation is supported through: Barrier-free, regular weekly sessions that provide stability and continuity, especially within communities with limited safe outdoor space. Progression pathways where young people can become leaders, volunteers or peer mentors, to strengthen both personal agency and long-tern engagement with environmental responsibility. Partnering with local schools, estates and organisations, ensuring sessions are accessible, local and aligned with community needs. Arsenal In The Community also involves the adults around young people too, ensuring that: Sustainability messages travel beyond the pitch into households, Community members feel part of the work rather than recipients of it, Environmental improvements (e.g., cleaner estates, greener spaces) are sustained collectively. This community-wide involvement strengthens social cohesion and reinforces positive behaviours.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in raising climate awareness, shifting behaviors, or reducing environmental impact or harm? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had¡, and/or what impact do you envision having in the future?
The team delivers sport, social and education programmes to over 5,000 individuals each week. Because local young people are already deeply engaged through football and the proximity of the Club, the initiative can introduce climate concepts in ways that feel accessible rather than overwhelming. Over time, AITC anticipates that young people will develop a clearer understanding of how environmental issues relate to their daily lives. As a founder member of BASIS, we have been recognised as a sporting organisation who is looking to reduce the impact of its operations for a long time. Along with the other members, we believe that taking action, like our Net Zero commitment with near and long-term targets, is essential in inspiring our supporters, other clubs, associations, governing bodies and venues to also act. We have initiated a change training programme across the club to embed the targets and create shared responsibility to act. Environmental action also forms one of the key pillars of success within the club. Following the launch of our science-based target, we ran a training programme for staff to raise awareness and understanding of what the club has committed to and to empower everyone to act. We delivered this training programme in partnership with Sustained Futures, who committed to train one young person in the local community for every member of staff that took part in the training. As a result, we were able to engage with over 600 young people from around the local London Borough of Islington through our AITC team. It is also important to us that our supporters and wider community are part of this journey with us, and we place a major emphasis on educating and raising awareness of our actions and broader sustainability goals.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Arsenal In The Community is uniquely positioned to respond to the environmental and social challenges faced by young people in Islington. For decades, Arsenal In The Community has used a proven engagement model: leveraging the power, identity, and global reputation of Arsenal Football Club to reach young people who might otherwise disengage from structured programmes. Football acts as the “hook”: a trusted, inspiring entry point that helps build relationships, credibility, and long‑term participation. The reason why running sustainability awareness through Arsenal is innovative, is because our brand keeps young people coming back no matter what. In 2023, we delivered the Protect the Planet Challenge, in collaboration with the Premier League Inspires programme, integrating facts around stadium building and greenhouse gases into the sessions, held in the schools. These sessions addressed the key environmental challenges a football club contributes to, for example, a full-size football pitch uses a small swimming pool-worth of water. This approach was developed to be transparent around the unique challenges and opportunities facing a football club. With this, the sessions bring to light the extensive sustainability efforts the Club makes to act for the environment.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your organization up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
Environmental sustainability is championed by the ESG department, but actions are taken across the business. We have integrated Acting For the Environment as one of the core pillars of the club, including buy-in from our corporate functions. We have done education in the community before, focusing on social issues like sustainability, namely our collaboration with Octopus Energy, which set out to promote knowledge and understanding of Arsenal’s environmental policy and ongoing projects, as well as explaining the positive impact of what 100% of renewable energy means. Accessing this funding from GO London, it would enable Arsenal to use its wealth of previous experience to champion a specific climate project. Arsenal Football Club have been tackling climate and sustainability challenges for many years. We have been taking action towards our net-zero goal for a number of years. We were the first Premier League club to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework in 2020 to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and commit ourselves to climate action. We’ve delivered several projects, including the upgrade of nearly 9,000 lightbulbs to LED at Emirates Stadium, using 100% renewable electricity across all sites, as well as maintaining our matchday reusable cup programme. When the Club cares about everyday endeavours to promote sustainability, the supporters do as well.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/ to grow.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details (LINK).
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