Our Hero – Katie Cross
Katie Cross is an incredibly driven person who works tirelessly to better the world we live in – she created Pledgball in 2019 to harness the power of huge numbers of football supporters by encouraging them to pledge positive changes in their lives such as reducing meat consumption, washing at 30 degrees or harvesting rainwater for their gardens.
These pledges, and their equivalent saving of CO2 are then pitted against the opposing football team’s fans in any fixture. The overall aim is to engage people in considering their actions in day to day life in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.
What can I do?
To date the website shows that nearly 2 million kg of CO2 has been saved per year in pledges made, which is equivalent to taking over 400 cars off the road.
Easy pledges you can make to join them include:
- Cook your leftovers and minimise your food waste
- Do a litter pick on your street
- Defrost your freezer and descale your kettle
- Reduce meat consumption by 50% (especially beef and lamb)
- Hang your washing out instead of using the tumble dryer
- Keep your thermostat at 19 degrees
- Set a 5-minute timer for your showers
About the Nominating Organisation – Pledgeball
Pledgeball came from humble beginnings – with friendly men’s and women’s football tournaments in Bristol. The only entrance fee for a team was for players to pledge to do something green. Pledges included taking maximum 5 minute showers or doing a beach clean. Pledgeball now has a partnership with Championship team Bristol City F.C. and is continuing to grow, forming meaningful partnerships with large organisations, all because of Katie.
Myself and the other women who play football with Katie for the Misfits WFC and it’s wider community, The BWFCL, are incredibly proud of what she stands for and her enthusiasm for change, it’s a talking point amongst the team that helps us all make more sustainable choices.
Goal 13 – Climate Action
Our Hero is working towards Global Goal 13. This Goal aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
