Lots of sports clubs pursue their activities at sports facilities outdoors. Therefore, the protection of natural and green spaces is of particular importance and needs to be ensured for grassland (at or around the edge of sports facilities), ruderal areas, hedges, trees, etc.
For sports clubs, the following goals are relevant to achieve sustainability:
- Protection and promotion of biodiversity
- Preference for indigenous plant and animal species
- Soil de-sealing measures
- Environmentally sound green space maintenance
- Low-key maintenance
- Training and education
If the above goals are met, the use of natural lawn instead of artificial turf can be recommended. There are reasons in favour and reasons against the use of either natural or artificial lawns. When natural lawn is properly tended in line with the indicators given above, and especially if it is moderately fertilised, it should be the first choice for environmental policy reasons, especially given the fact that artificial turf has obvious drawbacks regarding operation and maintenance and when it comes to disposal.