Super Bowl LIX Tackles Louisiana Land Loss With Oyster Shell Reef

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In the time we watch the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs compete at Super Bowl LIX, Louisiana will lose land the size of 2.5 football fields. The NFL’s Super Bowl activities include projects to combat this land loss, notably a living shoreline made from oyster shells.

Connecting Super Bowl With The Local Environment

NFL Green works to mitigate the environmental impact of Super Bowl every year by supporting local projects with the host city. Super Bowl LIX takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, a state losing one football field’s worth of wetlands into open water every 100 minutes.

This is among the fastest rates of land loss in the world, and is caused by sea level rise, hurricanes, levees and the loss of sediment that once replenished coastal wetlands. It threatens communities, wildlife, and infrastructure. Climate change is exacerbating the problem by intensifying storms, increasing rainfall, and driving higher storm surges.

“It’s important to go into a community and listen to what they need,” said Susan Groh, NFL Green co-director, who leads Super Bowl environmental projects with husband Jack. Land loss and coastal erosion are major local issues for Louisiana, but they have national implications. The state is a key hub for the U.S. energy industry, the Mississippi River, which runs through Louisiana, is vital for national commerce and Louisiana supplies a significant portion of the U.S. seafood market.

Oyster Reef Project Created During Super Bowl Week

The creation of a living shoreline from oyster shells is a Super Bowl project taking place in Leeville, a community 90 minutes south of New Orleans. Leeville was founded in 1893 by survivors of the Cheniere Caminada Hurricane and has since endured numerous hurricanes including Katrina, Ida and Francine, as well as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The oyster reef will slow erosion, protect inland communities from storm surges, and provide a habitat for new oysters and wildlife. The project is happening in partnership with Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, a local nonprofit that has been doing this work since 2014, special forces veterans, local government and community volunteers.

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PRESS RELEASE: GARFIELD Project Launches to Address Greenwashing and Sustainability Reporting in Football

GARFIELD Project Launches to Address Greenwashing and Sustainability Reporting in Football

Pisa, Italy, 21 January 2025: The first meeting of the GARFIELD* project took place today in at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, to outline the roadmap for the 30-month EU-funded project.

GARFIELD, an acronym for Greenwashing avoided through reporting: a football initiative for environmental leaders to develop, aims to address greenwashing in the football and sports sector, via Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Six European partners are involved:

• ARIS AC Thessalonikis – Greece
• FC Porto – Portugal
• Real Betis Balompié – Spain
• TSG 1899 Hoffenheim – Germany
• Sport Positive – United Kingdom
• Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Italy

GARFIELD will support the development, transfer and implementation of innovative management tools and practices, and bridge knowledge gaps in sustainability reporting of football organisations, at a time when CSRD is raising challenges.

Through this work, football clubs and organisations of all levels will benefit from increased knowledge and understanding, which will reduce the risks of greenwashing in their environmental communications, claims, and marketing activities.

Key areas of focus for the project include the creation of tools to support around CSRD and reduce greenwashing, training and education on key concepts of sustainability reporting activities and the development of “No Greenwashing in Football” Guidelines. The GARFIELD project envisions the sports sector as a leading industry in environmental reporting and communication. By supporting football organisations in implementing clear, concise and reliable sustainability reporting, GARFIELD aims to inspire change across the sports industry at all levels.

For more information about the GARFIELD project, contact [email protected]

* Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

EFL Launches Revamped Scheme For Soccer Sustainability

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The world’s original league soccer competition, the English Football League, has redeveloped its ‘Green Clubs’ environmental sustainability scheme. Bi-seasonal assessments will be rolled out and clubs now have the ability to achieve bronze, silver and gold status.

What Is Green Clubs?

EFL Green Clubs is a league-wide voluntary scheme that supports soccer clubs in England to improve their environmental practices and operations. It offers training and support for clubs as they develop green practices in areas such as purchasing, staff engagement and measuring their carbon footprint. The scheme is delivered in partnership with GreenCode, an environmental accreditation organisation owned by environmentalist and soccer club chairman, Dale Vince OBE.

Of the 72 member clubs in the EFL, 38 are signed up to Green Clubs, which initially launched in 2021. The new inclusion of bronze, silver and gold status will require clubs to reach a minimum number of points for each level, and have certain specific measures in place. Examples include a published environmental policy, a baseline carbon footprint, setting targets and having a director or board member responsible for environmental sustainability.

Wycombe Wanderers soccer player David Wheeler believes the beautiful game can can play a big part in creating positive action around climate change, saying “Clubs are hugely influential within their local communities which is why it is fantastic to see the EFL develop and expand its Green Clubs Scheme.”

A clear roadmap for EFL clubs and more opportunity to celebrate the work being done to reduce their environmental impact is what director of equality, diversity and inclusion, David McArdle, hopes the improved scheme will achieve. “By championing the achievements of this season’s participating clubs, we want to encourage further environmental action across the League.” he said.

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Space Agency And Snow Sports Team Up On Sustainability

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The use of space technologies and data to improve environmental sustainability in snow sports is the focus of a new agreement between the European Space Agency and International Ski and Snowboard Federation.

Sustainability, Snow Sports and Space
Climate change poses an existential threat to skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports. The US ski industry has lost more than five billion dollars over the past two decades due to human-caused global heating, and more than half of Europe’s resorts are at ‘high risk’ of snow-scarcity by 2100.

The winter sports industry has an imperative to act on sustainability to secure its long-term future. Technologies from human spaceflight such as satellite communication, navigation and observation have been identified as ways to support the management of sports competitions. That support extends to improving environmental sustainability, event safety and facility management.

The connection between sustainability and sport is becoming increasingly important, believes Davide Coppola, head of ESA’s Space Applications Initiatives Section. Speaking about the newly announced partnership with FIS, he said it “not only fosters innovation, but also has the potential to make a substantial impact on the broader events industry.”

ESA and FIS Partnership Focus
The memorandum of intent is part of ESA’s business applications and space solutions program, which uses space technology to solve challenges on earth. It will focus on deforestation prevention, biodiversity protection, carbon emissions reduction, circular economy and resilience.

Athlete performance, safety and security around events, and recreational snow sports experiences are anticipated future topics referenced within the FIS memorandum that space applications could help address.

ESA brings “the highest level of human knowledge and technology to our common mission of making the world – and snow sports, for that matter – much more sustainable,” said FIS sustainability director Susanna Sieff.

Space Applications For Sport
This is not the first time the space agency has connected the application of their technology to sport. Previous partnerships have been inked with European Platform for Sports Innovation, beginning in 2022, and UEFA from 2023.

The ongoing collaboration with UEFA has a sustainability-focussed element. It aims to understand the potential of space technologies to advance social and environmental solutions in European soccer, as well as crowd movement around stadiums and mapping pitches.

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Soccer At COP29: Clubs Unite For Climate Action

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Top flight soccer clubs have committed to increasing climate action with the creation of a new alliance, launched during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Football Clubs Alliance for Climate, led by European Club Association and Azerbaijani team Qarabağ FK, has initially been joined by Atlético de Madrid, Fenerbahçe SK, Flamengo, Galatasaray SK, Liverpool FC, Malmö FF, FC Porto, Real Betis Balompié, Tottenham Hotspur and Udinese Calcio.

“Football clubs have a role to play as catalysts of passion, collective effort and change,” say soccer players Rasheedat Ajibade of Atletico de Madrid Feminino and Dries Mertens of Galatasaray FK in the launch video. Udinese Calcio midfielder Jesper Karlström concludes, “We play for the planet, you make the difference.”

Aligned with the long-established UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action, a key component of the new alliance is encouraging more soccer clubs to join the initiative. Additional commitments include minimizing the club’s environmental impact, inspiring fans to take climate action, collaborating with cities and environmental NGOs to develop climate solutions and investing in green technologies.

FIFA Extends Partnership And Comes Under Fire

FIFA CEO Gianni Infantino made the trip to COP29 to extend a partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum to leverage the power of soccer to address climate change. “FIFA is supporting the Oceania FIFA Member Associations in climate-resilient soccer development and will continue to stand side-by-side with the PIF to help raise the issues directly affecting its members by embracing the unique power of soccer to educate, to inspire, and to unite the world.” he said.

Infantino has been criticised for flying into Baku by private jet, with Inside World Football saying “Gianni Infantino has once again pledged that his organization will help combat climate change. His own incessant use of private jets contradicts those claims.” During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament he reportedly travelled 40,000 kilometres by air in the Oceania region.

Ronaldinho Appearance

Brazilian former soccer star Ronaldinho travelled to Baku to take part in COP29. Posting a highlight reel of his trip on social media, he also arrived by private jet to attend events, visit pavilions inside the conference and meet young soccer players. The post included a caption “see you next year in Brazil!” The next annual global climate conference, COP30, will be hosted in the northern state of Belém.

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PRESS RELEASE: New Report Explores How Psychology Can Accelerate Climate Action in Sport

PRESS RELEASE: New Report Explores How Psychology Can Accelerate Climate Action in Sport

Insights from social psychology offer sports organisations a deeper understanding of how to create the change needed to accelerate climate action in sport.

November 19, London: People sit at the heart of every transformation needed within sport to move towards a healthier and more sustainable future. Therefore the exploration of insights from social psychology, such as understanding people’s values, overcoming misperceptions about what other people think, and the role of leadership and social norms can offer sports organisations a deeper understanding of how to create change.

“What’s Stopping Us? Applying psychology to accelerate climate action in sport” is a new report released today, brought to you by Sport Positive, UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), that explores these themes, with a view to illuminating a path forward.

The report’s recommendations, informed by the psychology of environmental behaviour change, call on the sports industry to take a series of actions, to acknowledge and address its environmental impacts, to lead by example and to adopt multiple roles to promote wider social and political transformation.

The report highlights the different ways in which people engage with climate change, outlining research on values, trust, emotions and collective action. It also highlights evidence about behaviour change within organisations, including social and structural barriers and how interventions should be tailored to different groups. While there are barriers to climate action in sport, there are also many ways to enable change, and sports organisations have several roles and opportunities to do so.

Speaking about the launch of the report, its lead author and researcher in CAST at Cardiff University, Briony Latter said, “With the growing interest in sport and climate change, we’re pleased to share these insights with the sector. There’s a lot of relevant research from within psychology that sports organisations and decision-makers can use to leverage the influence that sport has and lead on climate action.”

Sport Positive founder and CEO, Claire Poole commented; “Our core belief has always been  that sport has an unparalleled influence to tackle climate change. We approached CAST with the concept for this report, as we believe a deeper understanding of what drives human behaviour change sits at the heart of a more urgent approach to instigate climate action inside sports organisations and beyond.”

“Behavioural change is about our ability to think differently, feel differently and understand our relationships differently. To address climate change we need to be open to these factors. This report is a good starting point for sport to do just that.” shared Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Initiatives Lead at UNFCCC.

Read the full report: What’s Stopping Us? Applying psychology to accelerate climate action in sport.

**ENDS**

Media Contacts

Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST)
United Kingdom
[email protected]
www.cast.ac.uk

Sport Positive
United Kingdom
[email protected]
www.sportpositive.org

UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action
Germany
[email protected]
www.unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/sports-for-climate-action

Golf Legend Rory McIlroy Reacts To New Player Travel Emissions Tracker

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Player travel is the cause of over one third of DP World Tour event’s total greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this, the European Tour group has launched a player travel emissions tracker. This will enable its golfers to track, calculate and offset their travel-related greenhouse gas emissions across tournaments.

Elite golfers are aware of the environmental impact of their travel, with Rory McIlroy saying, “we have the opportunity to travel all over the world doing the job we love, but I do have a conscience about the impact that can have on the environment.”

McIlroy, who has reportedly been offsetting his tournament travel-related greenhouse gas emissions for four years ahead of this launch, added “I think we can all play our part in some way or another.”

Experts say offsetting isn’t a substitution for decarbonisation. In the current touring model, travel is an unavoidable part of the game for professional golfers.

The European Tour group are “doubling down on efforts to help mitigate these emissions” says head of sustainability, Maria Grandinetti-Milton. In addition to the player travel tracker, and a fan travel emissions tracker launched earlier this year, the group uses onset investments to drive awareness, supports carbon reduction across the sport as a whole and at individual events, through local community-based ecosystem restoration projects.

Other golfers have reacted to the launch of the player travel emissions tracker. Winner of the 2021 Spanish Open, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, says he has become more aware of his environmental impact and says “I will join the Tour’s initiative, because I think it’s the right thing to do.” He thinks athletes have the power to drive positive change for the environment, “we are many of the younger generation’s role-models, so you always want to lead by example.”

PGA TOUR and DP World Tour winner Dylan Frittelli added, “if the public see that, maybe they will follow along too with their travel.” He went on, “we’re being seen by people, so if we can put in little bits of information to help the environment and masses of people see that, it can only help.”

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Olympic Medalists Champion The Environment During Paris 2024

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Paris 2024 Olympians have already brought us memorable moments on and off the field of play. Two athletes got engaged to be married at the Olympic Village ahead of the Opening Ceremony, and USA Women’s Rugby Sevens bronze medalist Ilona Maher has become a social media viral sensation for her body positive and “behind the scenes” relatable content. Olympic athletes and medalists are also using their visibility and platforms to raise awareness for the environment, climate crisis and nature.

Rayssa Leal

Brazilian skateboarding prodigy, 16 year old Rayssa Leal won a bronze medal on 28 July for skateboarding in Paris. As well as being her nation’s sweetheart as the youngest-ever Olympic medalist at age 13 in Tokyo, Leal grew up near the Amazon rainforest and has witnessed its destruction first-hand.

For Paris 2024, Leal collaborated with the International Olympic Committee to compete on a specially designed skateboard to raise awareness about the importance of protecting nature, featuring macaws, her favourite species from the Amazon. Speaking about this recently, she said, “Humanity can only be healthy if we preserve nature – the quality of water, air and the environment. With the Olympic Games, I have a unique opportunity to share the importance of preserving the natural world.”

Alena Olsen

USA Women’s Rugby Sevens player Alena Olsen, who helped her team take a historic bronze medal, the USA’s first medal ever in the sport, is a self-proclaimed ecoathlete. However, it was her parents that underlined her care for the environment during Team USA games against Japan and Brazil. Olsen’s parents, Marissa and Olie wore bee antennaeto the game. “They’re making a really beautiful homage to how much I care about the environment and climate action,” Alena said.

For Earth Day in April, the USA Women’s Sevens team visited a local bee sanctuary to learn about the importance of bees to our ecosystem.

Imogen Grant

“Everyone in sport loves an underdog, and at the moment that’s all of us fighting against climate change,” women’s lightweight double sculls Paris 2024 gold medalist rower, Imogen Grant, told UN Climate Change in a video released Wednesday during the Games.

“In sport we always talk about these crazy, scary, huge goals, but we always split them down into smaller steps and action that we can take each day.” Grant is vegan and passionate about sustainability, as an Ambassador for the The Rivers Trust in the UK she has highlighted the need to clean up the pollution in waterways, and by sharing her experiences competing in extreme heat.

Before The Games

Athletes who qualified for Paris 2024 were championing environmental causes before the Games began. Earlier in July, twenty-two Paris hopefuls, including Nigerian shot-putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and American swimmer Jamal Hill, were part of a cohort of over 100 athletes who penned an open letter to CEOs of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. They asked for Paris 2024 to be used “as a launchpad for introducing more reuse at future Olympic Games and other sporting events.”

In June, more Paris-bound athletes wrote an open letter urging the International Olympic Committee to replace their sponsor Toyota with a “more technologically advanced, more transparent, and much lower emissions mobility partner.”

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Paris 2024 Heat: Ice Vests, Fans And Longer Breaks For Athletes

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After a rainy start, the extreme heat that meteorologists predicted has arrived to Paris 2024. France’s meteorological agency issued a yellow alert weather warning for Paris and the surrounding areas on Tuesday, with highs of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and an orange alert for strong thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and lightning likely from early evening over the French capital.

At Roland-Garros, USA’s Taylor-Fritz and Great Britain’s Jack Draper felt the heat in the men’s tennis second round. The court was watered before the second set as both players took an extended break. Draper held a bag of ice over his face during a break. As Taylor-Fritz took the win, BBC commentators said the “incredible heat took it out of Draper, you could see he was a spent force really from the start of the third set, and Taylor-Fritz mopped him up.”

Heat impacted the men’s hockey pool match between Great Britain and Netherlands at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in the northwest of Paris also. The break between quarters was extended from two minutes to four minutes, to enable more recovery time. Players were seen in the shade, hydrating, next to fans, with cold towels on their heads and around their necks.

Canadian beach volleyball players Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson got off to a “scorching start” to their campaign as they won against Paraguay’s Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla on Monday. Speaking to Humana-Paredes, it wasn’t just the performance that was scorching, but the temperature too, “We had ice “scarves” and ice packs on our head during our match. We were also drinking ice slushies during time outs” she said.

Marseilles in the south of France, where the olympic sailing events are taking place, has not escaped the hot weather being experienced in Paris. Vests filled with ice packs were used by some athletes to keep cool on Tuesday, with Czech women’s skiff crew Sara Tkadlecova commenting, “The heat is really bad and at least this is cooling me down.” American windsurfer Dominique Stater also wore an ice vest after her races in Marseille on Monday, “It’s pretty crazy heat, more than Miami.”

Spectators watching outdoor events are also managing the heat that athletes are competing in. There are signs advising visitors to wear hats, stay hydrated and reapply sunscreen. Staff members sprayed water over spectators during a break in the men’s pool beach volleyball match between Brazil and Cuba. Misting fans have been installed outside venues and spectators are receiving “pop-up notifications on all the Paris related apps now” highlighting the expected high temperatures and available water fountains, Madeleine Orr advised.

Orr, Assistant Professor at University of Toronto, is attending Paris 2024 as a spectator, but has written extensively about the heat risks that summer Olympics Games pose to athletes health. “We expected these conditions. With climate change, every event moving forward should build in as much flexibility in the schedule as possible.”

2023 was the officially hottest year on record and scientific studies show that extreme weather events, like the heat experienced at Paris 2024, are likely to become more frequent or intense with climate change. Sports event organisers, governing bodies, athletes and spectators will have to adapt to this new reality.

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Five Innovative Ways The Paris 2024 Olympics Are Going Green

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With one week to go until the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, QR codes have begun to be needed to access some parts of Paris as part of the security setup. Inside the perimeter, organisers have been working for years to make it the most sustainable Games ever. Large scale efforts include the use of 95% pre-existing venues, twice as many plant based food options being available, and 100% of venues being grid-connected and powered with renewable energy.

Games organisers have looked to more innovative methods to reduce environmental impact too, including medals made from Eiffel Tower iron, coffee tables made from recycled badminton shuttlecocks and drone-like buoys to protect delicate ecosystems.

1. Medals Made From Eiffel Tower Iron

Medals are the most coveted object of the Olympics Games for all athletes, and they will all contain part of the most iconic symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower.

Each medal will have 18 grams of original iron from the Eiffel Tower inserted, placed at the heart of the medals, to highlight circular economy messaging. The metal was removed and preserved during previous renovation campaigns, and now the Eiffel Tower operating company has allowed these pieces of history to find “second glory.”

The gold and silver used for the medals are both 100% recycled and certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council. The bronze medals are made from an alloy of copper, tin and zinc from the reuse of metal scraps from other productions of the Monnaie de Paris, a government-owned institution responsible for producing France’s coins.

2. Coffee Tables From Recycled Shuttlecocks

The Olympic Village is a symbol of the Games and the central living space for athletes and delegations during the event. That makes it a great place to showcase the environmental and social ambitions of Paris 2024. Athletes will find iconic eco-designed furniture, from coffee tables made from recycled badminton shuttlecocks, bean bags made from parachute fabric, chairs made from recycled bottle caps and sofas made from Vauban barriers.

3. A Second Life For 7,000 Toilet Brushes

It takes a lot of items to furnish the Games venues, and host athletes, volunteers and personnel in appropriate conditions. 620,000 items in total, although that is a reduction of 25% from the 800,000 items originally expected to be needed.

That number includes 180,000 clothes hangers, 16,000 beds and bedside tables, 6,000 toilet roll holders, 1,400 microwaves, 7,000 toilet brushes and 2,200 parasols. Paris 2024 has committed to 100% second life for equipment and furniture used in venues. This will happen via resale, recovery or donation. For example, the Village’s 16,000 mattresses and pillows will be donated for reuse to beneficiaries that include Paris Opera ballet school.

4. Drone-Like Buoys

Part of the sailing competitions for Paris 2024 will take by Calanques National Park in Marseille, where a protected habitat is present, Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. This seagrass has been named “the lungs of the Mediterranean” as 2.5 acres of seagrass can soak up as much carbon dioxide as 37 acres of rainforest. Some of the Olympic sailing competitions will take place above this habitat, so Games organisers plan to use geo-positioned buoys for the competitions, to limit anchoring in those areas.

Traditional buoys have an anchor that drops down to the sea floor to hold the buoy in place. This act could crush and destroy the seagrass, which would lead to carbon being released into the environment. The “drone-like” buoys were successfully tested during the sailing test event in Marseille in July 2023.

5. Electric Boats for Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 won’t have its opening ceremony in a stadium, instead it will take place on the river Seine, in a move that their latest sustainability report calls “unprecedented in the history of the Games.” As well as making the ceremony more inclusive, this provides a unique opportunity to accelerate the energy transition of boats navigating on the river.

During the ceremony about thirty parade boats will be electrically propelled and HAROPA PORT is supporting the electrification of Parison port quays with a total of 78 charging points ultimately available. Cécile Avezard, Director General of Voies Navigables de France, one of the organisations that manages the Seine’s public river domain, commented, “The Paris 2024 Games organized around the river demonstrate what waterways can bring to the sustainable city of tomorrow.”

These efforts sit against a backdrop of wider environmental issues such as heat concerns for athletes and spectators, how clean the Seine water is for swimming and calls for major environmental changes from sponsors.

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