Nordic climate favours synthetic turf’s sustainability

7 Mins Read

December 11, 2025

A Swedish study has concluded that, based on a life-cycle analysis, synthetic turf football pitches are better than natural turf from a sustainability perspective, at least as long as the synthetic turf material is recycled and the natural turf is cut by means of fossil fuel-powered grass-cutting equipment.

By: Guy Oldenkotte

PhD student at Linköping University (LiU), Mikael Säberg, studied the subject, as there isn’t much research on the topic despite there being a great deal of interest from the municipalities.

Using life-cycle analysis, Säberg and his colleagues at the Department of Management and Engineering (IEI) at LiU investigated the environmental impact of production, maintenance and decommissioning of synthetic turf pitches compared to natural turf pitches over a 10-, 20- and 30-year period. The researchers showed that synthetic turf pitches are a more environmentally sustainable option – with some reservations.

According to the researchers, natural turf exhibited the highest overall environmental impacts over the operational lifespan. They claim that the global warming potential was 30.6 kg CO₂ eq/m² while the synthetic turf reached 15.6 kg CO₂ eq/m².

During the construction phase, synthetic turf generated significant emissions, mainly from material production. In the use phase, natural turf showed the greatest impacts due to diesel consumption and fertiliser application.

At the end-of-life stage, synthetic turf’s sand and infill were reused, while the turf carpet and shock pad were incinerated for energy recovery. However, without recycling, synthetic turf would represent the highest environmental burden among the evaluated alternatives. Implementing effective recycling and energy recovery strategies is essential to mitigate its environmental impact. Furthermore, sourcing turf materials locally, combined with substituting conventional maintenance equipment with electric robotic alternatives, can further reduce overall environmental impacts.

Better guidance

The maintenance of a natural turf surface, on the other hand, is often done using petrol- or diesel-powered machines.

“What we can see is that synthetic turf production as well as natural turf maintenance can and needs to be improved in order to reduce emissions,” concludes Säberg.

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