The 'greenest' Premier League team revealed and it's not who you think

The 'cleanest' Premier League clubs can be revealed after the 20 football giants were ranked for their CO2 emissions, sustainability, pollution and green spaces. And Brighton and Hove Albion have been crowned green champions after topping the table with an environmentally-friendly home win, scoring 80.6 out of 100.

Their Amex Stadium has the second-largest green space within 500 metres of any top flight stadium, with 188.67 hectares for fans - second only to Brentford FC. Brighton's ground has the second-best air quality in the league too, with an IQAir air quality index level of 33, which is 14.1 under the Premier League average of 47.1.

The Seagulls also boast 7, of an possible 11, 'club sustainability' measures - including reusing rain and groundwater at their training ground and academies, 100 per cent diversion of landfill waste plus renewable energy use.

Lastly they have the seventh-least CO2 emissions from transport, at 255,600 tonnes. The Premier League club average is 432,440 tonnes.

The extensive data study from Tipman Tips creates an eco-table ranking all 20 Premier League clubs including Manchester City and United, Liverpool and Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur.

Fraser Bricknell, founder at Tipman Tips, explained: "With the Premier League outlining its strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, clubs introducing more sustainability measures, and fans becoming more aware of their own carbon footprint, we wanted to find out which clubs are at the forefront of sustainability in the Premier League.

"Brighton's excellent air quality, abundant green space, and low transport emissions, see the Seagulls set a benchmark for eco-friendly football."

The study analysed four factors to give a total 'Green Score' out of 100 including:

'Pollution Levels' sourced from IQAir air quality index, which measures the air quality where each stadium is located ranging from 0-50 (good) to 301-plus (hazardous). (Scored out of 30)

'Green Space' sourced from Natural England Green Infrastructure Framework, measured the amount of publicly accessible green infrastructure within a 500 metre radius of each stadium. (Scored out of 30)

'Club Sustainability Measures' sourced from the Sport Positive Premier League Clubs Environmental Sustainability Report, which outlined how many club sustainability measures have been implemented by each Premier League club of a possible 11 measures. (Scored out of 20)

'Transport CO2 Emissions' sourced from DESNZ Local Authority CO2eq Emissions 2023, which outlines the total polluting carbon emissions from transport in each location where a stadium is located. (Scored out of 20)

Scoring 72 out of 100 is Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium - taking the team second in the overall table - as it's surrounded by the most green space of any top flight ground, with a huge 214.38 hectares within a 500 metre radius of the stadium.

North London giants Spurs secure third spot, with a score of 59.3 out of 100. Tottenham Hotspur have the second-highest number of club sustainability measures in place in the league, at 10 out of a possible 11.

Their new stadium is a borough of London that produces relatively low transport CO2 emissions too, at 136,600 tonnes, the fourth-lowest figure in the league.

Despite only having five sustainability measures in place, Chelsea rank fourth overall with a score of 52 out of 100. Stamford Bridge, based in Hammersmith and Fulham, is in the area with the lowest CO2 transport emissions in the league, at just 122,300 tonnes.

Fulham sit just behind their West London rivals in fifth, with a score of 51.1 out of 100. Also benefitting from the lowest transport CO2 emissions, Craven Cottage just misses out on fourth as it has seven fewer hectares of green space nearby than Stamford Bridge.

But in the 'relegation spots' at the very foot of the table, Leeds United is the least green club with the lowest score in the league, at just 5.4 out of 100.

Leeds suffers from extremely high transport CO2 emissions, with the most in the league at over 1.4 million tonnes, zero club sustainability measures in place, and very little nearby green space within a 500 metre radius of the stadium at just 8.04 hectares.

While Brighton and Hove Albion came top overall for their green credentials, Leeds United in their far older stadium of Elland Road in Beeston came bottom.

The other bottom five spots were taken by Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.

While the top five also featured Brentford, Spurs, Chelsea and Fulham. Manchester City came 14th, Arsenal 12th and Premier League champions Liverpool were 11th.

Rank	Club	No. of Club Sustainability Measures /11	Pollution Levels	Transport CO2 Emissions	Green Space (hectares)	Total Score /100
1	Brighton and Hove Albion	7	33	255,600	188.67	80.6
2	Brentford	5	39	331,900	214.38	72
3	Tottenham Hotspur	10	40	136,600	27.97	59.3
4	Chelsea	5	39	122,300	22.78	52
5	Fulham	5	39	122,300	15.28	51.1
6	Bournemouth	1	30	424,200	47.13	48.6
7	Crystal Palace	6	38	315,200	20.99	48.6
8	Burnley	4	58	126,500	154.84	46
9	West Ham United	3	40	219,500	26.94	43.6
10	Newcastle United	6	46	380,300	40.13	42
11	Liverpool	11	57	508,900	78.86	39.8
12	Arsenal	7	53	192,800	9.6	38.2
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	8	57	265,300	19.77	34.1
14	Manchester City	10	53	621,400	13.24	32.8
15	Sunderland	0	45	355,400	2.15	28.3
16	Nottingham Forest	3	55	400,400	28.79	24.7
17	Manchester United	5	53	621,400	2.14	21.3
18	Everton	5	57	508,900	1.28	17
19	Aston Villa	3	54	1,312,400	25.22	15.8
20	Leeds United	0	56	1,427,500	8.04	5.4