Héctor Bellerín: the changing face of athlete impact investing.
Known for his passionate advocacy for veganism, sustainability and social responsibility, the 27-year-old Spanish and Sporting Clube de Portugal footballer is doing notable initiatives off the field.
Bellerín has been a prominent sporting voice calling for businesses, governments and society at large to take climate action. He is vegan. He has pledged to plant almost 60,000 trees in the Amazon rainforest.
Bellerín is putting his money where his mouth is. He has identified sport as the key medium to drive impact. This is an important shift; sport has always played a role in social development, but to date most of its progress has been linked to philanthropic endeavours and partnerships with NGOs or other impact-oriented companies.
Bellerín’s invested $300,000 to acquire a stake of about 2% in Forest Green Rovers Football Club – where he has become the second largest shareholder after the green energy industrialist Dale Vince – is just striking. For a number of years, the provincial club from the south-west of England has been the reference point for sport and sustainability. It’s carbon neutral, offers a vegan-only menu, and has been cited by FIFA and the UN as the “greenest football team on the planet”.