FC St. Pauli is the first professional football club with a balance sheet for the common good

Kiezkicker are already playing in the top league when it comes to sustainability

FC St. Pauli is the first professional football club in the world to have completed a balance sheet for the common good in accordance with the criteria of the Common Good Economy (GWÖ). The association, known as a pioneer for anti-racism, anti-discrimination and inclusion, was able to achieve a very good result with 527 points in this test carried out by independent auditors. A score that puts the Kiezkicker in the top league with sustainability pioneers such as Greenpeace, the organic pioneer Voelkel and the award-winning outdoor textile company Vaude. 

The common good balance sheet is a voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) audit that, in addition to the financial balance sheet of a company, provides information about the contribution that companies and organizations make to the common good. It records based on the Common Good Matrix the contribution to the common good that arises from economic activity. Because it is holistic, it covers common CSR reporting standards and is clear over and beyond. Esin Rager, as Vice President at FC St. Pauli specifically responsible for the area of ​​sustainability: “The systemic approach to accounting for the common good creates a 360-degree perspective on one’s own actions. We consciously chose this value-oriented audit because we were looking for an instrument that would enable us to critically evaluate our goals and measures. The number of points achieved is pleasing; This is less important to us than the insights we gain from the process. Another football is possible. Especially when we never rest on our laurels.”  “We don’t just say what we do, we also have it checked,” emphasizes Franziska Altenrath, who is responsible for strategy, change and sustainability (SVN.) at FC St. Pauli ) directs. It is important to be independently audited from outside “to see where we stand. This allows us to better identify the opportunities and risks of our strategies. The balance sheet sharpens our profile and shows where we should improve.”

Jutta Hieronymus, board member of the Common Good Economy Germany e.V. “The world is currently facing a multitude of crises. We can only address these if we transform the economy and society as a whole. A club with a reputation like FC St. Pauli is a prime example of how this can be achieved. It shows that long-term sporting success is also possible when ethical, social and ecological goals are reconciled with economic needs.”

FC St. Pauli was able to score points in terms of its public good balance for a variety of projects that are otherwise rarely found at German professional clubs. These include, for example, the abandonment of ethically critical sponsor categories such as sports betting, the creation of guidelines on diversity, a gender-balanced composition of the supervisory board, ecologically sustainable and fairly produced merchandise and the switch to organically produced and vegan stadium sausages. Esin Rager: “The challenges for value-oriented business can be clearly seen using the simple example of vegan and organic sausages. We see ourselves as an association that is there for everyone. An organic bratwurst currently costs around 90 cents more than a conventional sausage, which means more animal suffering, more environmentally harmful agriculture and usually more anti-social jobs. We can only take our fans along this path if we credibly explain the reasons and the necessity for this step. The common good balance sheet is one way to do this. And above all, it is an independently prepared judgment that we are not doing this as a sustainability fig leaf, but that we are really serious about it. 10.000 sausages per game makes a real difference.”

FC St. Pauli News -> to Common Good Report

Economy for the common good in Germany: germany.ecogood.org
Common Good Economy Austria: austria.ecogood.org

Hamburg, January 2.1.2024nd, XNUMX, photo FC St. Pauli.