Dragons RFC were crowned winners at the Welsh Sports Association (WSA) Sports Industry Awards 2024 for the club’s Eco Dragons campaign.
The WSA hosted the second edition of the event for the sport and leisure sector in Wales at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff on Thursday (June 6) evening.
Dragons were shortlisted alongside Cymru Football Foundation and Wales Golf in the Best Sustainability Initiative - sponsored by Sport:80 – for the Eco Dragons initiative.
And the team at Rodney Parade were named winners at the special awards ceremony in the capital.
Rhys Blumberg, CEO at Dragons RFC, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for the team here at Rodney Parade to be recognised for the Eco Dragons project this season, with special mention to David Watts for driving the initiative.
“The campaign was about looking to improve our sustainability, carbon footprint and drive positive change. Our partnership with Pledgeball gave fans an online platform to visually take a stand on sustainability and we have then built on that foundation.
“The club has made several immediate changes to drive our sustainability pledge, installing electric car charging stations, swapping the stadium lighting to LEDs that are timed and sensored, and saving on unnecessary energy usage.
“We’ve also taken steps to rotate in more ecologically forgiving cleaning products, swapped to recycled paper and toilet paper, and phased in granular fertiliser. New vegan food options have also been made available across the stadium on match days.
“Our partners, such as Transport for Wales, Stagecoach South Wales, Newport Transport, Momentwm Newport Live, having been driving forces to allow us to give away free or discounted travel packages and showcase other green travel options.
“Now we want to build on the first year and keep the conversation going. We’ve set up a working party with Newport City Council and the University of South Wales, who are looking to use us as a case study, so this project can be rolled out to more clubs and sports.
“They are unlocking funding resources so the project can be expanded further, and more analysis can be carried out on fan trends, impact on changing perceptions and habits (travel to games, eco usage, attitudes to sustainability).
“We’re excited by the scope and impact of the project so far, but also the way it can grow in the years to come. The work has just started.”
We’re excited by the scope and impact of the project so far, but also the way it can grow in the years to come. The work has just started...
