Children from 22 primary schools across Qatar are leading the way towards delivering a carbon neutral 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™, and are having plenty of fun in the process thanks to Generation Amazing.

The children are part of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)-co-organised National Programme for Conservation and Energy Efficiency Tarsheed 22, and will play key part in the sustainability commitment over the coming years.

As their schools have reduced carbon emissions to a combined 688 tonnes per year by adding new sustainability technology, the students have learned about conservation as a way of life through the power of football – thanks to the Green Generation initiative of SC's flagship CSR programme, Generation Amazing.

The Green Generation initiative uses football to educate children aged between seven and 12 about environmental challenges and how to overcome them. The programme which consists in the delivery of environmental awareness drills to the same group of youth for 10 consecutive weeks, has already been delivered in some schools in Qatar and will be delivered in the 22 Tarsheed schools during 2017. This year it will expand to schools around the GCC region thereby spreading the message of sustainability, one of the core values of the first ever World Cup in the Middle East.

The SC's CSR Senior Manager, Isabel Gultresa, said: "Sustainability has always been a primary consideration for the tournament and each and every project currently underway was developed with the organisation's sustainability principles and goals in mind."

She added: "The first step for us to define the streams of our Generation Amazing programme, was contributing to a change in the behaviours of the leaders of tomorrow: our youth. A perfect way to accomplish this, is to maximise the efforts that the country is doing and use our existing partnerships by taking the Green Generation module of our programme and introducing it to the 22 schools that are part of our already existing Tarsheed 22 programme"

Tarsheed 22, co-launched by Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAAMA), targets sustainability and energy conservation training among primary school students and their parents and families through sports activities. It also monitors energy consumption patterns in the participating schools.

With the support of the Supreme Education Council, Tarsheed 22 will expand to include all Qatari primary, intermediate and secondary schools by 2022.

"The SC has designed a Generation Amazing manual to support all the stakeholders in delivery of the programme outlined," said Gultresa. "This includes modules for the training of the Generation Amazing coaches on different football for development activities for schools, workers and international communities, along with guidance on pitch sustainability and governance for the communities."

With initiatives like this, the SC is playing a "proactive role" in environmental development, the fourth pillar of the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030. The power and influence of the FIFA World Cup™ will help ensure the 2022 tournament leaves a lasting legacy for carbon management practices, climate actions and the economic diversification of Qatar and the region as a whole.