Sustainability
Cleator Moor Celtic: Turning Carbon & Energy Data into Decisions
About the project
Cleator Moor Celtic Football Club has long been more than a sports team. As a vital community hub, it provides facilities, youth engagement, and social space for residents. Like many grassroots clubs, however, it faced two major challenges: rising energy costs and increasing expectations to reduce its carbon footprint.
Co-Lab supported the club through a two-phase journey. First, we worked with local partners including the Industrial Solutions Hub, young people, and industry leaders to identify practical renewable energy solutions. That collaboration, led by the Industrial Solutions Hub secured funding for solar generation, on-site storage, and EV charging points.
Once deployed, we then helped the club take the next step: quantifying the real impact. Using data from their energy management system, we developed a live Power BI dashboard that transforms raw performance data into actionable insights.
This process has enabled Cleator Moor Celtic to:
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Reduce operating costs through energy efficiency
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Track and report carbon reductions in real time
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Strengthen its role as a sustainability leader in the community
📍West Cumbria
💼 Energy
⚙️ Sustainability
The Dashboard in Action
The live Power BI dashboard developed by Co-Lab for Cleator Moor Celtic FC, showing energy generation, usage, export, carbon offset, and financial savings in real time.
Challenges
Balancing Costs, Carbon, and Community Needs
The club depends on donations and venue hire to sustain operations. Rising electricity bills threatened this financial stability, while national sustainability standards demanded visible reductions in emissions.
Initial analysis revealed that while their solar system (FoxESS) generated plenty of data, the default tools made it hard to interpret. Leaders lacked clarity on core questions:
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How much energy is being consumed versus exported?
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What is the real-time carbon offset?
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Where are the biggest opportunities to cut costs and reduce impact?
Without answers, decision-makers risked overspending and missing opportunities to improve resilience for both the club and community.
Solution
From Innovation to Implementation
Co-Lab’s role combined facilitation, innovation, and delivery.
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Phase 1: Identifying Solutions
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Brought together young people, industry partners, and the community to explore energy use.
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Designed solutions that could reduce costs and emissions while improving facilities.
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Supported the development of a business case with the Industrial Solutions Hub that secured £50,000 in funding from Sellafield Social Value and Electricity North West.
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Enabled the deployment of solar panels, storage, and EV charging points.
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Phase 2: Measuring Impact
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Extracted raw energy and carbon data from FoxESS systems.
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Transformed and structured the data for analysis.
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Built an interactive Carbon & Energy Dashboard in Power BI.
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Delivered real-time visibility of generation, usage, carbon offset, and financial savings.
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Process
Community Project Development
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Identify challenges and engage stakeholders.
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Capture ideas and design solutions with community input.
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Secure funding and deploy renewable technologies.
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Collect and transform system data.
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Visualise performance with a live dashboard.
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Track progress, demonstrate carbon savings, and reinvest benefits into the community.
Benefits
Building Economic and Environmental Resilience
Financial Stability - Annual electricity savings of £4–5K support the club’s long-term viability.
Carbon Reduction - Real-time tracking shows reductions of ~4,000 kg CO₂e per year, strengthening Scope 2 reporting.
Community Leadership - Cleator Moor Celtic is now a visible example of how sport, industry, and innovation can combine to tackle climate challenges.
Youth Engagement - Young people are empowered to design and lead solutions, building future skills and awareness.
Transparency - Club leaders and funders can monitor progress through a clear, accessible dashboard
