Purpose Driven Soccer Clubs Committed To Positive Social Impact And Environmental Sustainability

In recent years, sports franchises have been abandoning Oakland for greener pastures. In 2019, the Golden State Warriors were the first franchise to move, hopping across the bay to San Francisco despite reaching five-straight finals in Oakland. The Raiders followed suit in 2020, trading the Bay Area for Las Vegas. Now the Oakland A’s seem set to join the Raiders in Sin City. But the city’s soccer clubs — the Oakland Roots Sports Club (The Roots) and its new sister team, the Oakland Soul (The Soul) — remain completely committed to the long term prosperity and sustainability of Oakland.

The Roots and Soul are unique clubs in the American sports landscape. Competing in the United Soccer League (USL), the clubs’ exposure is limited compared to that of an MLS, NFL, or NBA franchise. Yet they are well known for their trendy merchandise, their distinct Oakland identity and their unapologetic stances on political, social, and environmental justice issues. Both clubs’ commitment to community is at the core of their foundational philosophy, which is to bring health, equity, and happiness to the city of Oakland. According to Mike Geddes, the Chief Purpose Officer for both the Roots and the Soul, the ownership group sees the clubs as community assets, akin to a museum or a library, rather than as extractive profit driven sports enterprises which could leave the city at a moment’s notice. However, both clubs’ purpose driven approach does not mean they are uncompetitive. Geddes made it clear the Roots and Soul “have no lesser desire to win than any other sports organization,” in fact, he says “the clubs must win and make money to be viable businesses.” But the ownership group believes that the best way of achieving results is being purpose driven, and “harnessing the power of Oakland for sport and social good.”

The Roots had to navigate choppy waters in their early days. In 2019 and 2020 the club had to cancel games as raging forest fires – exacerbated by the effects of climate change – caused air quality to spike above permissible levels for outdoor activity.. Eventually, the entire 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, Geddes says, the pandemic-enforced break produced “fascinating conversations” among club executives and players, all of whom agreed a sports team does not lose its value when it is not on the field. The Roots used this time to further develop their health, equity, and happiness pillars. They also discussed community engagement and established club positions on social and political issues that they thought were reflective of Oakland.

So far, this community-centered, purpose driven approach has been a success. The Roots routinely sell out their home games, providing a space where the diverse Oakland community can gather and celebrate. The Roots and Soul are also in talks with the city to open a new 10,000-seat stadium next to the Oakland Arena, which will allow for increased capacity and provide professional grade, environmentally sustainable facilities. The potential move to the Oakland Arena area will also bring both clubs closer to the heart of Oakland.

Despite the club’s relatively small stature in the US sports ecosystem, the Roots have had a sizable impact on social justice issues. As a representative of Oakland, the club has embraced the city’s diverse ethnic demographics and progressive social and political views, and is helping educate players and fans through innovative initiatives designed to combat racism and LGBTQ+ discrimination.

In 2020, the Roots became the first American sports team to join Common Goal, a non-profit organization using soccer to fight for social and environmental justice. The club has also used Pride Week to educate players and staff on gender and identity, inviting a trans athlete to come and shed light on the topic. More recently, the Roots – in conjunction with Soccer in the Streets, Soccer Without Borders and America Scores — developed an anti-racism project called Switch the Pitch. This initiative aims to eradicate racism in North American soccer by educating players and coaches about empathy, respect, inclusivity, and awareness. But this is only the beginning. Led by Geddes, the Roots and Soul have their eyes firmly fixed on creating a safer environment for kids, more specifically girls, to play the beautiful game. The creation of the Soul is the first step towards providing girls in the East Bay “an elite pathway to pro soccer,” and an environment where they are protected and empowered. The clubs are also attempting to strengthen the pipeline for local talent development, while helping increase diversity within North American soccer. Aliyah Jones, a native Oaklander who recently signed with the Soul, is the perfect symbol of the pathway to professionalism that the Soul hopes to create.

The Roots are quite proud of their ongoing racial justice work and commitment to the Oakland community. It is one of the major reasons for their success, and explains why the community embraced the newly-formed Soul so quickly. As that work continues, both clubs find themselves at the beginning of another journey: becoming climate positive. The Roots and Soul will use science-based targets to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to levels recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). According to Geddes, this is the bare minimum the clubs should be expected to do. But in a state with critical climate change issues — forest fires, flooding, atmospheric rivers, and drought — and a city with historic planning policies that have exacerbated pollution and environmental justice concerns in low income and Black neighborhoods, any steps the clubs take to address climate change or bring awareness to it are impactful.

Geddes admits that climate change is a daunting problem, and one that is “not getting any smaller.” He understands why many other sports organizations, when confronted with the issue, feel they cannot address it, or why smaller sports teams feel they need to be more successful before they can have a real impact in the sustainability space. But he claims, “we need to be thinking about this stuff right now,” and sees this moment as a tremendous opportunity for sports organizations to bring in committed partners and increase the visibility of the problem.

Having seen their own games canceled due to forest fires, the Roots see climate change as a threat to the long-term health of their community. As such, they are seeking to green their operations as part of their health pillar. The club hired Sustainable Business Consulting to identify their major sources of emissions, and to help them set science-based targets for emissions reductions and to find certified offsets. The club has also taken advantage of the local academic scientific community, teaming up with Stanford, Presidio Graduate School, and Cal State East Bay to augment their research into their carbon emissions.

So far, the club has taken some actionable steps to reduce its environmental impact. It is increasing remote work opportunities for staff and reducing commuting when possible. The Roots are also running their office on solar energy and encourage staff to use public transportation if available. Moreover, the club has a sponsorship agreement with East Bay Community Energy, an energy delivery company in Alameda County that prioritizes local wind and solar power. This sponsorship serves a dual purpose: it actively brings low-priced, clean energy to the community and informs fans about clean energy sources.

Geddes admits that due to the nature of the sports industry, the Roots will never be an environmentally restorative organization, but he hopes the three-year environmental sustainability strategy being put in place with the help of Sustainable Business Consulting will help the club drastically reduce its environmental impact and offset its historic emissions.

Expectedly, the research shows that the club’s major source of emissions is (team and fan) travel. While the team avoids short haul flights and flies commercial, not private, scheduling and the size of the country necessitate air travel for most away games. But even here, the Roots are pushing for improvement. Geddes says he has had conversations with the USL Impact Committee about restructuring the calendar and has openly asked “do we need to play games on the other side of the country?” He is also urging his fellow league members to help address the climate issue. In his words, “all of us should start this work now, and hopefully we can all support each other as the work continues.”

With much more work to be done, the Roots and Soul are in a constant process of education and evolution as they seek to lessen their environmental impact. This means accepting imperfection and being vulnerable by openly admitting where the organization can do better. Both clubs recognize the ongoing need to reassess business operations from top to bottom and find places where impactful changes can be made. This could include finding ways for staff to take public transportation to work and encouraging fans to do the same for games. It also means installing energy efficient technology at club headquarters and reducing energy and water consumption where possible. All this while remaining competitive on the field and continuing their commitment to the social justice issues and Oakland identity that has made them popular to begin with.

For now, the clubs use carbon offsets, as imperfect as they may be, to reduce their environmental impact. Geddes is hopeful the clubs can eventually transition away from buying offsets for nature regeneration programs abroad, and further their participation in urban regreening programs in Oakland. As always, he is focused on what the clubs can do for the community. He says, “I wouldn’t make any claims that our climate initiatives have made any impact. We are looking at ourselves and looking at how we can change.” Despite that, it is clear the Roots and Soul are setting a positive example by working in tandem with the community to make a positive environmental impact, just as they have on social and political issues.