The floodlights at Rosenborg Trondheim soccer club are blazing less often, the costly under-pitch heating to keep frost at bay is being used more sparingly, and winger Michael Jamtfall has taken to driving an electric car.

    The Norwegian team may not be doing brilliantly in Europe — Rosenborg lost 0-1 at home to Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Cup — but they are making big energy savings in a drive to cut costs, and emissions of greenhouse gases.

    Rosenborg say they will axe their annual energy use by the equivalent of the electricity used by over 40 average Norwegian homes — I had no idea that a sports club with about 90 employees, including players, could save so much energy (…or burn through so much in the first place).

    The club has invested about $40,000 in measures to save energy, and will earn that back in less than half a year, said Arne Melan, technical expert at the club. “We’re trying to change people’s attitudes,” he said.

      The heating and ventilation systems have been overhauled so that they are only on during office hours, saving huge amounts of energy (Many Norwegians keep the heating on round the clock, fearing that it will be impossible to warm up again on bone-chilling winter days).

 Shower heads in the changing rooms have been modified to save water and insulation has been put around water pipes. Under-pitch heating — helping keep the grass alive through the winter and avoiding a dangerous rock-solid surface — is being used less. 

    “The floodlights at the training ground often used to be on all evening…even if no one was training. Now we have a computer programme that turns them on only when players are there,” Melan said.

   So how far is your sports club cutting back on energy waste and greenhouse gas emissions?