FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 receives international sustainability certification

According to Chris Meakin, General Manager of SGS Qatar, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 successfully applied and demonstrated best practices within the framework of the Event Sustainability Management System (ISO 20121). He also stated that the benchmarks set for global sustainability development and controlling the event’s social, economic, and environmental impact were met.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22), FIFA’s operational arm and the tournament’s host country, has received ISO 20121 certification, the international standard that establishes requirements for developing and implementing an effective management system to deliver a sustainable event.

This makes the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 the first in FIFA history to receive one. Q22’s Sustainability Senior Manager, José Retana, expressed pride in receiving the certification, which demonstrates world-class management practices being implemented to deliver an inclusive, green, and legacy-oriented event.

Nasser Al Khater, CEO of Q22, said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Qatar 2022 from the start, and the independent recognition of the delivery of best practices reflects our enduring commitment to it.”

The audit was performed by SGS, which began the audit the year before during the Arab Cup 2021. The company is a leading testing, inspection, and certification firm with extensive experience certifying mega-sport event organizers against ISO 20121 requirements, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the French Open tennis tournament.

The following sustainability management mechanisms were evaluated during the FIFA Arab Cup™ audit:

– Disabled fans access infrastructure and services, including seating, mobility assistance, and innovative features such as audio descriptive commentary

– Waste reduction and recycling, including employee training, segregation, and public awareness

– Raising activities carried out with the assistance of volunteers for sustainability

– Sustainable procurement of tournament-related items, such as recycled plastic uniforms and the use of compostable food packaging 

– Social and environmental audits to ensure supplier compliance with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code 

– Incident reporting and resolution during the tournament, including governance arrangements and the collection of lessons learned

The certification enabled the organizers to meet the target of addressing the topic of transparency and accountability, which was identified as an important issue during the development of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainability Strategy.