Bundesliga is taking its first steps to becoming the first professional football league in the world to be officially carbon neutral.

The German Football League (DFL) wants the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga to be sustainable from top to bottom, and they'll take a vote this December on whether to include environmental targets in the rules and regulations of the country's professional game.

If the motion is passed by German clubs later this year, it means professional clubs will be bound by rules to reduce their carbon footprint, and could face sanctions if they fail to do so.

German clubs are some of the most forward-thinking in the world when it comes to sustainability, with  Mainz becoming the country's first carbon neutral club in 2010. More recently, Wolfsburg use 100 per cent green energy at the Volkswagen Arena, and Freiburg use solar energy to power their stadium.

While it's positive to see clubs take these steps of their own accord, introducing legislation into the game like this makes it far more likely for football to make fast and widespread changes to aid the fight against the climate crisis.