Sydney Thunder becomes first Big Bash League club to run carbon-neutral match

The Sydney Thunder, an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League, are set to become the first KFC Big Bash League club to run a carbon-neutral match when they welcome the Thunder Nation to ENGIE Stadium tonight.

As part of Thunder's commitment to making a positive impact across Western Sydney, this initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of match days and contribute to a more sustainable future.

In collaboration with ENGIE Stadium, the club calculated their carbon footprint through Sydney Showground's Climate Conscious Event initiative partner Clima, and purchased an equivalent amount of carbon credits with ENGIE Stadium to offset the impact.  

Clima conducted a detailed assessment of Thunder’s match day to estimate the carbon footprint, which is the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by the match. Guided by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, this assessment considered factors like electricity, fuel use, waste, food, goods and services, and attendee travel, using forecasts and data from previous games.

To offset these emissions, Thunder and ENGIE Stadium supported two remarkable projects:

• McLachlan Carbon Project (NSW, Australia): A regenerative farming initiative that stores carbon in the soil through innovative grazing and planting techniques.

This project also supports biodiversity and sustainable land use. Find out more about the project here.  

• Bhadla Solar Farm (Rajasthan, India): A 300MW solar farm replacing fossil fuels with clean energy, while creating jobs and supporting the local community with education and capacity building.

Find out more about the project here. 

After the match, the calculations will be updated with actual data and additional offsets will be purchased, if required. While offsets are part of the approach now, Thunder are also actively working to reduce emissions over time.

Sydney Thunder General Manager, Trent Copeland noted “At Sydney Thunder, our goal is not just to win the BBL and deliver world-class experiences at our events, but to also take meaningful steps toward sustainability. Working with Clima and Sydney Showground, under the outstanding leadership of Darryl Jeffrey, has been incredible. This carbon-neutral match is a significant milestone for us and a testament to our commitment to making a real difference.

“Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword for us – it’s a responsibility. This initiative is something every organisation should be striving for, and we’re proud to be leading the way in the BBL. We hope it inspires positive change, not just in Western Sydney, but across Australia’s sporting and events landscape.”

Clima Chief Executive, Giulio D’Andrea enthused “at Clima, we’re thrilled to work with Sydney Thunder and ENGIE Stadium to deliver the Big Bash League’s first carbon-neutral match. Supporting a local project in NSW alongside an international solar initiative highlights the global and local impact that these efforts can achieve. It’s fantastic to see a club like Sydney Thunder taking meaningful action, and their fans deserve to know they’re part of something that’s driving real change for the planet.”

Sydney Showground General Manager, Darryl Jeffrey added “Sydney Showground is thrilled to work with Sydney Thunder and Clima to help make climate conscious events a reality. As a venue, reducing event emissions has been a big focus for us over the past few years, particularly through our upgrades to ENGIE Stadium and venue partnership with Clima. So, to start the year by working with these two great organisations to make a real and historical impact and support clean energy and sustainable farming projects through these carbon offsets is a great achievement.”

This initiative follows ENGIE Stadium’s recent investment in $4 million LED lighting upgrade to reduce the venue's power consumption by half on event days.

The Climate Conscious Events initiative is designed to help event organisers understand, reduce, and compensate for the environmental impact of their events, setting a new standard of environmental excellence in the industry. For more information, please click here.