Football Manager 2020 to Save 20 Tonnes of Plastic With New Environmentally Friendly Packaging

Football Manager 2020 will ditch traditional plastic packaging in favour of environmentally friendly materials for this year’s game, with Sports Interactive calling on all of the entertainment industries to consider abandoning dependence on plastic and turn to more sustainable solutions.

Miles Jacobson OBE, Studio Director of Sports Interactive, unveiled the new packaging in a special video while chatting to Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin, an influential voice on climate change and environmental issues, about the problems facing our planet.

Working alongside game publisher Sega, Football Manager 2020 will be packaged in 100% recycled board and will come with a manual printed on 100% recycled paper, shrink-wrapped in fully recyclable low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

The only part which will not be easily recyclable will be the DVD itself, but even this can be repurposed by specialist companies – a list will be published on the Football Manager website.

It is estimated that the alternative packaging will save 55g of plastic per physical unit, which could equate to a saving of up to 20 tonnes of plastic packaging over the game’s full life cycle.

"Due to the current climate emergency, we've decided that from here on we will distribute our games in the most environmentally-friendly way that we possibly can,” said Jacobson.

Image by Jamie Spencer

“There's no getting away from the fact that this new set-up is more expensive than traditional packaging – about 30% more expensive, in fact – but we believe this is a price worth paying.

“I would ask that anyone involved in the development, creation or production of plastic 

packaging in any of the entertainment industries should take a look at the many environmentally-friendly options available to them, swallow the extra expense and make the switch.”

Bellerin commented, “I feel that with the platform that football has given me, I have been able to think about that subjects that I care about more and it has given me that voice.

DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/GettyImages

“I’ve always believed it is a duty for people like me that have this voice to use it in a positive way. The environment is the most important for me because I’ve lived in this world and I’ve seen it in such a beautiful way. If I ever have kids, I want my kids to experience it, other generations, and every single human, in the same way that I have been able to.

“The way it’s going right now, I don’t think that is going to happen. That’s why I want to be an advocate for change.”