Global Recycling Day: What Is Sport Doing And Is It Enough?

Recycling plays a vital role in the sports industry by minimizing environmental impact and we are familiar with the 3R’s; reduce, reuse, recycle. Circular economist Harald Friedl posted recently about many more ‘R’s’ within resource stewardship; reconnect (to nature and ourselves), refuse, rethink, redesign, reduce, reuse, re-share, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, residuals management, recycle and recover.

The global sports industry creates waste from food, food and drink packaging, materials, apparel and merchandise, signage, equipment, overlay and more. Will.i.am once said ‘waste is only waste if we waste it’. So on Global Recycling Day, what is sport doing to not waste it’s waste?

Sports apparel and merchandise

It is easy to find recent information on the economic value of the global sports apparel industry. Fortune Business Insights valued it at $195.50 billion in 2022 and projects it to grow to $271.77 billion by 2030. It is more difficult to find good data on its global ecological impact.

According to a 2018 report by Quantis, the apparel and footwear sectors are accountable for 8% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions (comparatively, commercial aviation accounts for 2-3% of global energy-related CO₂emissions), but there is no good data on sports apparel or merchandise specifically. The only sports organisation I can find that has measured merchandise emissions is Liverpool FC. Given the size of the sport and apparel, footwear and merchandise markets, we can presume that it is substantial.

It would be impossible to reference all the recycling efforts going on, but a few here outline the type of work happening. FC88 work with football through the upcycling of apparel into new, desirable products, by turning deadstock into corporate gifts or merchandise. Nicole Bekkers, Founder & CEO of FC88 said, ‘Through upcycling, sports organisations can keep the emotional value of their sports apparel alive and work towards a better, more sustainable solution for the huge piles of deadstock in the sports industry’.

Re-Action ‘protest against the consumer story that tells us we need shiny new, highly technical kit to access the outdoors.’ Members rescue products, revive them through repair and rebranding and repurpose them, then redistribute items through resale, rental and donation and reallocate profits to regenerate the outdoors.

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How Can AI In Sports Score For Environment And Climate?

From opponent analysis, tactical insights, officiating and improving athlete performance, artificial intelligence and machine learning have already been incorporated into sport. The NBA is using generative AI for personalized user content. Two-time Olympic marathoner Des Linden has a digital twin heart to simulate her heart rate, blood flow and oxygen levels, to fine tune training and improve performance. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to Atlanta Falcons, has implemented facial recognition ticketing.

In spite of these impressive applications, reports indicate a modest influence of the sports industry on the global AI market. From June 2020 to June 2023, 363 AI-related patents were granted in the sports sector worldwide, compared to 4,155 in the automotive industry. Here we explore some potential AI applications that could support environmental sustainability and address climate change-related needs for the sports sector.

Athlete injury prevention

Climate change is exacerbating risks to athlete health. Training and competing in extreme heat, poor air quality due to pollution or wildfire smoke or on surfaces hardened by drought are just some of the ways we’re already seeing this manifest. These conditions can contribute to increased risk of injury through dehydration, pulmonary illness, fatigue-induced strain/pull and repetitive strain.

AI offers real-time biomechanics precision monitoring and predictive analysis for athlete form, posture and movement. If indicators of stress or exhaustion are detected, coaches, managers and players could make more informed decisions on intervention, which may reduce the risk of injury in some cases. Wearable devices equipped with sensors and AI offer instant feedback.

Former Australian Diamonds netball player, Amy Steel, suffered a severe heat illness during competition in 2016 that ended her netball career and resulted in potentially lifelong health difficulties. When asked if she thinks AI applications might have helped prevent this, Amy responded, “We can see from my experience that it’s no longer adequate to take a heat and humidity reading before a game, and then assume it will be safe for the remainder of the match.”

She went on, “We know that people have individual responses to heat, and we can see that in my case. I had broken the club fitness testing record only a couple weeks before my heat stroke, and yet I was the player who experienced the most severe heat illness. Perhaps wearables may be able to help understand these individual differences and help to keep players safe. Ideally in the long term we would hope that these type of technologies can translate into better heat management strategies that can enable grassroots sport to continue safely without the need to rely on expensive equipment.”

Predictive modelling for weather

AI can now reportedly outperform conventional weather forecasting, predicting severe weather such as extreme heat and the path of cyclones faster and more accurately. The Financial Times reported that it could be 1,000 times cheaper in terms of energy consumption too.

As instances of extreme weather events or inhospitable conditions increase due to a changing climate, this application could assist sports organisers, especially organisers of outdoor sports, touring sports or competitions, to be more accurately informed further in advance. This could enable them to take necessary actions to adapt or postpone events to ensure athlete, staff and spectator safety, or provide welfare advice earlier to participants.

Predictive modelling for fan behaviour

In the aftermath of COVID-19 when fans were beginning to go back into stadiums, technology firms used AI to work with teams on ticket pricing, to better forecast what fans would be willing to spend on an event. LaLiga has created a machine learning solution that maximizes TV audiences and stadium attendance when scheduling matches. Sports organisations have begun to use predictive modelling for delivering targeted content and promotions also.

A potential environmental benefit of predictive modelling of fan behaviour in stadiums is waste reduction. With improved understanding of attendance trends, fan demographics and food, beverage and merchandise preferences, sports organizations could reduce unnecessary waste by leveraging this data to find efficiencies. Promotions could be tailored according to fan preferences and habits, further reducing potential waste streams.

In addition to waste reduction, some organizations are utilizing AI-based solutions to encourage and gamify waste separation, rewarding sports fans for proper sorting that enables recycling. This technology can also offer venues more data on waste types, levels and separation for reporting purposes.

Energy efficiency

Sports stadiums and venues are energy intensive when they are in use for games and events, and sometimes have staff offices and conference spaces that mean smaller parts of the venue are used more frequently. Building management systems are used to control and monitor various systems and functions of a building, and create a lot of data.

Implementing AI in smart buildings, that have sensors and Internet of Things technology, can maximise energy efficiency. AI algorithms can analyse and interpret building management systems data to make real-time adjustments to heating, cooling and lighting systems. This can optimize energy consumption and reduce overall environmental impact.

Emissions prediction and strategy development

A recent research paper presents a novel approach to developing AI-powered carbon emission strategies for sports event management. In brief, a model for analyzing the influence of population, wealth, and technology on carbon emissions in sports events is used, alongside a neural network that predicts future emissions trends. This is then enhanced with transfer learning, creating a comprehensive approach for carbon emissions analysis in sports event management.

Whilst there are limitations in the study, it shares that ‘significance of this research lies in its potential to empower sports event managers with a data-driven approach to carbon emissions management.’ The researchers posit that sport could transition towards greater sustainability by leveraging AI to predict carbon emissions in sports events accurately and to develop effective carbon neutrality strategies.

Generative AI for fan travel data

Collecting exhaustive data for fan travel to games for greenhouse gas emissions reporting is difficult for sports organisers. Often a small data sample is collected and extrapolated to give indications of fan travel emissions to sports events or competitions.

Generative AI can employ machine learning techniques to create synthetic data that closely resembles real data, simulates various scenarios, generates hypothetical datasets, and fills gaps in existing data. Whilst a potentially interesting application, there are risks relating to creating data in this way. It is crucial that this kind of generative AI extrapolation is tested, reviewed and validated by humans.

The opportunity

Some of these AI applications for sport are already in place, others will need much more exploration and regulation before they are robust enough to be considered. We also can’t forget the environmental impact of AI, which the International Energy Agency says ‘uses more energy than other forms of computing – a crucial consideration as the world seeks to build a more efficient energy system. Training a single model uses more electricity than 100 US homes consume in an entire year.’

The global sports industry is already being reshaped by the application of AI and other emerging technologies that have formed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However we already stand on the brink of the Fifth Industrial Revolution or the cognitive age, which will prioritise purpose, the protection of the environment and sustainability. As sports organisations create, influence or adopt AI and ML applications, it is vital they take advantage of the chance to emphasize sustainability, environmental consciousness, and inclusivity at every possible opportunity.

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UEFA Launches Carbon Footprint Calculator For Football

This week at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, European football’s governing body UEFA launched its carbon footprint calculator. At its core the calculator is a tool that simplifies the classification of greenhouse gas protocol categories, and aligns specifically with football operations.

The calculator is accompanied by a user guide, tutorial videos and a full methodology. It has been validated by a third-party verifier. It is the first time a sports governing body has rolled out such a tool at this scale ‘to help anyone involved in football calculate, understand and therefore act on their emissions related to the game.’

National Hockey League and SAP launched NHL Venue Metrics in 2022 to measure and analyze the carbon footprint generated by its 32 clubs. The International Orienteering Federation has a carbon calculator for the CO2 emissions of your car trip and FIA launched an online carbon calculation tool for their own federation as well as for their stakeholders in 2021.

Two common challenges cited by football and sports organizations when it comes to advancing their efforts in environmental sustainability are not knowing where to begin, and lacking the internal resource or expertise to do this work.

The phrase, ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure’ is often quoted and the Economist reported there are 300,000 football clubs globally, in 2015. This calculator won’t give them the resource needed to collect and input the data to the tool, or create a reduction strategy for them. However, it will help enable those who are ready to calculate their baseline carbon footprint do so in a more standardised way. It should encourage more clubs to begin this work.

This was highlighted by Thomas Seillé, head of projects and CSR for French Football Association speaking at the launch this week. He commented during a panel discussion that the tool ‘allows organisations to save time and concentrate on data collection and the most important part, to elaborate on an emissions reduction strategy. This is just the beginning of the journey.’

Speakers at the event were asked to share insights on the wider landscape of climate reporting and environmentally-focussed activities in football and sport.

Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Sports for Climate Action Lead at UN Climate Change noted that ‘football can step up and do much more’ and that the calculator is an ‘encouraging sign.’

Ariela Caglio, associate professor of management accounting at Bocconi University and senior advisor to UEFA spoke about the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive reporting in Europe, and how it will affect not just football clubs that will be subject to disclosure, but many more because of their sponsor’s obligations under CSRD. She highlighted that the carbon calculator anticipates what clubs and organisation’s will need to provide in the coming years in regard to greenhouse gas emissions.

Michael Lloyd, environmental sustainability manager at Arsenal Football Club was asked about collaboration on environmental initiatives between Premier League clubs during the event, he replied ‘We all want to be the best on the pitch, but outside of that we work closely together. We’re picking up pace.’

Matouš Michnevič, vice president and ESG lead for Europe at Mastercard said ‘Sports clubs have to catch up with corporates’ and highlighted the role of incentives for fans, saying ‘if they aren’t living a financially healthy life, they won’t care about sustainability.’

Thom Rawson of Sustainable Football notes in his round up of the calculator launch that there are no shortcuts to generating good quality, detailed, complete data to enter into the tool. There is scope for the tool to evolve in the future, but this launch is a strong indicator of the way football, and by extension sport, is moving towards a more action led, standardised approach to tackling environmental impacts.

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Premier League Clubs Agree To Minimum Standard Of Environmental Action

The Premier League released a statement today that following two days of meetings with clubs, and after extensive consultation, a new Premier League Environmental Sustainability Commitment has been agreed.

‘Underpin long-term environmental ambitions’

The Commitment outlines four operational measures, which will build on existing actions and provide a foundation to underpin long-term environmental ambitions. They are:

1. Develop a robust environmental sustainability policy, by the end of the 2024/25 season

2. Designate a senior employee to lead the club’s environmental sustainability activities

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Super Bowl 2024: How Green Are NFL, Allegiant Stadium, 49ers, Chiefs?

More than 110 million people will watch the biggest event of the US sporting calendar this weekend, to see if the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

With the New York Times reporting that over 1000 private jets are expected at Las Vegas airport this weekend, how are those involved with Super Bowl LVIII taking environmental responsibility?

NFL: ‘Make progress together’

NFL Green Week events for Super Bowl LVIII began on January 20th with activities like tree planting, donating sports equipment and school supplies to local children, and a Salute to Service event.

NFL Green is the league’s environmental program, celebrating its 30 year anniversary this year. Speaking about these activities, NFL Green director Susan Groh advised, ‘We have implemented 14 community greening projects in the months leading up to Super Bowl LVIII. They have included habitat restoration, planting pollinator attracting gardens and tree planting. We work to leave a positive ‘green legacy’ in the communities that host our events and tailor our greening projects to the needs of each community. In Las Vegas, which is experiencing decades long drought and heavy impact from the urban heat island effect, trees have been the top request.’

One such event was NFL Green Obodo Urban Farm Planting in the historic Westside of Las Vegas, where fruit trees were planted as part of the Farm’s goals to increase access to fresh fruit and produce to the community.

When asked what the NFL were doing more broadly, Anna Isaacson, senior vice president for social responsibility told me, ‘The NFL engages around sustainability at all of our tentpole events. We have extensive greening initiatives at Super Bowl but also focus on sustainable operations and community greening at the NFL Draft, Pro Bowl and Kickoff. The league also engages with all 32 clubs on an ongoing basis to share best greening practices and learnings so that we can all make progress together.’ The NFL is also monitoring the diversion rates for other Super Bowl Week events and on gameday, with the goal to increase zero-waste events next year and eventually convert all activities to zero-waste.

There is growing pressure on sports leagues globally to use their influence to lead on more substantive and holistic approaches to environmental sustainability, from optimising game scheduling to reduce travel emissions, encouraging and incentivising lower carbon travel options for fans and supporting clubs to understand their environmental impact, increase action and engage with fans on this topic.

Allegiant Stadium is hosting this year, in its LEED Gold certified venue which is 100% powered by Nevada-sourced renewable energy. Waste is diverted from landfill and is repurposed, reused, or donated through 20 material streams. On average, 12,000 pounds of kitchen preparation cuttings and food scraps are collected per large stadium event, which is used as animal feed for a local livestock farm. Team members receive training, so guest interactions inspire fans and visitors to become eco-champions.

The finalists off the field performance

The Kansas City Chiefs launched their ‘Extra Yard for the Environment’ program focussing on recycling and waste diversion in 2013. They report between 50 and 60 percent waste diversion, with over 400 tons of waste going to either recycling or compost.

Arrowhead Stadium has solar arrays that generate about 29,000 kWh of electricity a year. An under-soil heating system enables the Chiefs to play in the winter and replaced 200 electric heaters. These and other energy saving efforts enables the team to save between $200,000-$400,000 a year.

Arrowhead Stadium is a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue and the Kansas City area is preparing for a windfall of federal funds that will benefit the area. Up to $200 million will be granted over five years for green transportation corridors, bike lanes and tree plantings.

For San Fransisco 49ers, Levi’s Stadium was designed to reduce energy demand and generate more electricity annually, via on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems, than is consumed during the 10 scheduled games each season. Electric vehicle charging, public transport access, bicycle parking and a walking trail help visitors access lower-carbon transport options.

A recycled water program accounts for 85% of all water at the stadium and is used for field irrigation, flushing toilets and cooling tower make- up water. In partnership with Farmscape, the stadium has the a rooftop farm, which supports 40 rotational crops that end up in food dishes served onsite.

Sports teams buy a lot of products and services, so ensuring sustainability through their supply chain is crucial. The 49ers have a sustainable purchasing program that enables purchased consumables, food and durable goods to be local, organic, recycled and compostable. The Niners website has a sustainability section outlining all their efforts. Their most recent initiative, ‘Faithful To The Planet’ launched in 2023. It aims to make a collective impact on sustainability and environmental projects through corporate partners.

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Green Football Weekend: Shooting For Action And Impact

For the second year running Green Football Weekend is mobilizing fans, clubs, leagues, players, broadcasters and partners to help protect our planet. The world’s biggest football campaign to tackle climate change takes place this weekend, 2 to 5 February. Since 18 January through to 7 February fans can earn points for their club, which are then added to the Green Football standings. Fans can win prizes and importantly, see their favourite team lift the trophy.

Clubs are getting involved by hosting environmentally-friendly games, providing green transport alternatives for fans, offering special deals on veggie snacks and using the opportunity to showcase their efforts to build a greener future.

This year is powered by Ecotricity and the theme is Transfer To Veg. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation reports that 14.5% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to livestock farming, so making the switch to more vegetarian or plant-based meals can make a real impact. To help with inspiration, big names in football and food have created the Green Football Weekend Veggie Cookbook, with recipes from the likes of Raheem Sterling, Amy Turner, Tom Kerridge and Levi Roots.

Can it make a difference?
80% of UK residents surveyed in 2023 expressed concern about climate change and football is a favourite pastime of millions of Britons. About 30 million people identify themselves as fans of the sport and almost 1 million of them attend live matches on weekends between August and May.

The source of this pastime however is under threat, with football already being impacted by climate change, and the global football industry contributing to the crisis too. Football lovers have got skin in the game and they’ve started making themselves known. According to the Green Football Weekend post-match report from last year, the inaugural 2023 campaign actively engaged an estimated 39,000 fans online and activated 3,211 fans in 63,370 direct actions or pledges.

There are many initiatives already in place to enable action on climate and biodiversity within sport, but it’s not just about making changes behind the scenes. To leverage the true power they hold, football organizations should use their reach to connect, communicate and advocate for wider climate action. Green Football Weekend and efforts like it can help with momentum and keeping this topic on the agenda.

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2023 Was The Warmest On Record: What It Means For Sports You Love

2023 was the officially hottest year on record for our planet. It was the first year with all days over 1°C warmer than the pre-industrial period, in fact the global average temperature in 2023 was 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels, nearing the 1.5°C Paris Agreement threshold. Temperatures likely exceed those of any period in the last 100,000 years.

Scientific studies show that extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent or intense with climate change. As we set a path to more of the same or even worse, what can we expect our sports to look like in the future?

Athletes crash

The impact on human health sits at the heart of sport and leisure in a changing climate. The physiological impacts of exertion in extreme heat include decline in athletic performance, muscle cramps, exhaustion, fainting, and loss of consciousness. Instances of athletes already experiencing these impacts are persistent; from tennis, baseball and softball, athletics, football and more. Young people participating in sport during extreme heat are particularly at risk, which is leading to some fatal consequences. Spectators and those working at sporting events are negatively impacted too.

In the future we can expect to see a heightened duty of care for athletes and young people, more frequent weather-related health alerts, acclimation periods, heat rules and cooling breaks being invoked more often, and if adverse conditions are deemed unsafe, changes to timing, scheduling or cancellations.

Outright cancellations

We have already seen several high profile sporting events being cancelled because of extreme weather events; Typhoon Hagibis cancelled two matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and flooding lead to the 2023 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy being cancelled.

When these happen in real time during competitions or deep into planning phases, it can have operational and financial impacts on the host and participating sports organisations. It can also impact travelling fans, who miss out on the spectacle but depending on the insurance they have in place with travel and accommodation providers may also financially lose out. Athletes themselves can miss out on performing for their team or country, earning caps or medals and even financial rewards.

Timing changes

Last year in Budapest, World Athletics Championships marathon race timings were changed to begin earlier in the day – at 7am – to avoid the high daytime temperatures of 35°C/95°F. To deal with the July 2022 heatwave in the UK, training for the England women’s football team during UEFA Euros campaign was also moved to earlier in the day to avoid the midday sun.

The biggest headache for event organisers and sports organisations involved is the last minute logistics juggle of these changes. However, depending on the event, broadcast could also be affected, which in turn could impact rights holders’ revenue. For fans it means uncertainty when attending sports events that they’ll happen when planned and the potential for an impaired fan experience. For athletes it could mean a change of sleep and training patterns, food intake timings and preparation.

Calendar changes

Moving sporting events to a different time of the day, or the next day is one thing. But what about a wholesale move to a different time of year?

World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, has spoken out a number of times about climate change potentially impacting the scheduling of its major events including the World Championships. Saying they may need to look at “uncoupling some of the tougher endurance events from our world championships in the summer months.”

If this is decided far enough in advance, the logistics of event organising would be manageable, however it could impact broadcasters and rights if multiple sporting events overlap due to schedule changes. This in turn could impact viewers. For mega-sports events or competitions where athletes have regular season matches, it could affect team performance locally. For athletes, their competitions may take place at different times, and they may not get to compete alongside national team-mates.

Location changes

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021, to avoid the heat and humidity being experienced in the capital, organisers moved the marathon and race-walks 800km north to Sapporo. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work, as that day northern Japan also experienced the same record-breaking heatwave as Tokyo, with athletes competing in 35°C/95°F temperatures.

As well as these reactive changes, we will see longer-term locations shifts too. Research from University of Waterloo shows, at the current trend, that only one of the 21 cities that hosted the Winter Olympics in the past 100 years will have a climate suitable for winter sports by the end of the year 2100.

Existing hosts of sports and major competitions may no longer have the climate to support certain sports, however they may not see it as the end of the road, which is leading to…

Landscape changes

The landscapes that have traditionally hosted winter sports are disappearing. Entire regional economies rely on winter sports tourism and events, they are looking to adapt to keep these economies alive. To delve deeper into the local push and pull of this, read this excellent piece by Gavin Fernie-Jones about the Savoie region of the French Alps. Artificial snowmaking is at the heart of this, with experts showing that water and energy needs to create artificial snow are extremely high.

Some parts of the world have sub-optimal climates for a given sport, but there are instances where both the finance and desire to create artificial ecosystems exist.

We can see this in smaller adaptations where the climate does not readily support a comfortable experience for athletes and fans. Such as energy-intensive air conditioning in outdoor stadiums, in Qatar for the men’s 2022 FIFA World Cup.

You could hardly call this example a change of landscape, but what if it goes from adapting for comfort to something else entirely. Such as creating a winter sports resort in the desert. That is what is happening for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which is being hosted in Trojena, Saudi Arabia – the $500bn resort which will be available for winter sports for three months a year. It is reported that temperatures in the area range from -17°C (1.4°F) to 22°C (71.6°F) in winter, but snowfall is rare as the area is very dry. The resort will have to rely entirely on artificial snow as well as some dry ski slopes.

Is there a world where some sports cease?

In some places, we are seeing a transition away from sports happening already. The small ski resort of Métabief in France, concerned about depleting snow cover and wishing to keep a tourist trade, has introduced a range of off-snow activities, including an all-season toboggan run, winter mountain biking, caving and guided horse rides.

As a warming planet causes more seasonal uncertainty, the business case for some sports or leisure activities may stop making sense even before the ecosystems stop supporting them.

We can still do a lot

Using sports to communicate on the climate crisis can provide a powerful narrative to engage sports fans and participants about current and future risks, in a way that resonates with them.

Some of these impacts and risks are now baked in due to our changing climate, but there is still a lot we can do to avoid the worst outcomes. Sports organisations can continue to play a crucial leadership role by taking action, but there are many other groups in the ecosystem of sport and leisure that can play a part. Fans, athletes, suppliers, sponsors, brands and participants can use their voice and influence to effect positive change.

For a start:

• Ask if your sports team has signed up to UN Sports for Climate Action and what environmental commitments they’ve made.
• Think about who owns your club or team, as well as where you spend your money, and if these organisations appear to understand and show they prioritise climate action.
• If you care about the environment and want your club, team, league or governing body to visibly do more, get in contact and tell them.
• Find likeminded friends, colleagues, people in your network and talk about these issues, share information and educate those around you. A study in 2018 showed the power of a committed minority to shift conventional thinking and reshape society; taking only 25% to reach a tipping point.
• Vote for political leaders that take climate change and biodiversity loss seriously. Governments should be setting policy frameworks and incentives to enable positive change and behaviour.
• Think about your own participation in sport and how you can minimise your footprint and consumption; understanding that systemic change is needed, and the onus shouldn’t rest just on individual change.

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Sustainability And Sport 2023: A Year In Review – Part Two

Part One of this Year in Review outlines the extreme weather impacts on sport in 2023 and what captured the media and public’s attention. Take a read first for the full year-end sport and sustainability review.

Here we will look at progress the industry has charted this year; from sports organisations making climate and sustainability commitments, notable news and new research and survey findings that have supported industry.

UN Sports for Climate Action (UN SfCA) is the anchor for the global sport and climate movement, and it celebrated it’s 5-year anniversary this month. This year 38 new sports organisations joined UN SfCA, making carbon reduction and net zero commitments. That is one new signatory every 9 or 10 days on average in 2023, under the tenets of transparency and the substantive need to report annually.

Improving and New

Talking of transparency, we love to see the raft of increasingly visual and engaging annual sustainability reports from organisation’s that have made commitments in previous years – from the likes of UCI, that published its first Sustainability Report in 2023, to Formula E who published their sustainability report for Season 8 and 11^th Hour Racing released their extensive and interactive Campaign Report from 2019 – 2023.

A number of sustainability strategies from sports organisations were released this year too. Football seemed to lead the way, with the English Football Association (FA) released its new 5-year strategy Playing for the Future in July, the same month that UEFA and Germany released the Euro 2024 ESG Strategy.

Following the initial release of UEFA’s Football Sustainability Strategy 2030 – Strength through Unity in December 2021, AS Roma shared their strategy in September this year as the official pilot club. The Irish FA’s Sustainability Strategy, launched in June, and the Scottish FA’s 3-year Football Social Responsibility strategy released in September, both adopt the framework of UEFA’s Strength through Unity in different ways.

At a club level, global behemoth Barcelona FC launched its first Sustainability Report in October, bringing together the Club’s activities and policies in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 season. Chelsea FC released its top-line sustainability policy for the first time also.

At a governing body level, UK Sport launched a substantive Environmental Sustainability Strategy in March, which alongside specific actions and targets highlights the advocacy influence of high performance sport. The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) got theirs out too this year, an absolute win for the world of cricket that prior to this year had lagged a little in this area. At an academic level Texas A&M Athletics launched the first of its kind sustainability masterplan for collegiate sports, another big step that will hopefully propel action from others.

In wider industry news, Sports for Nature celebrated their 1-year anniversary this year, with a total of 43 signatories committing to take action to safeguard nature. The inaugural Green Football Weekend took place, with more than 80 of the UK’s football clubs getting involved and reaching 30 million fans. Edgbaston Stadium hosted cricket’s first ‘Go Green Game’, and not forgetting Sofie Junge Pedersen leading 44 Women’s World Cup players to take action by offsetting their flights to Australia and New Zealand for the competition.

Whilst we saw great steps forward, there were some steps backwards too. In June, the Swiss advertising regulator ruled that FIFA had misled consumers by claiming that the men’s Qatar World Cup in 2022 was carbon neutral. The Swiss Fairness Commission, Switzerland’s advertising regulator, ordered FIFA to “refrain in the future from alleging that the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar would allegedly be climate and C02 neutral” unless it could provide “full proof of the calculation . . . of all CO₂ emissions caused by the tournament, and proof that these CO₂ emissions have been fully offset”.

Research, Reports, Surveys

Scientific research and data underpins our understanding of impacts and risks we can expect now and in the future and surveys help us understand the current sentiment of the industry.

Some big statistics out of surveys that were undertaken this year:

• World Athletics shared that 75% of its surveyed athletes perceive a direct negative impact on their health and performance due to climate change
• UN SfCA Bigger than the Game survey showed 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that sports clubs should facilitate climate action amongst fans
• Sport Positive Summit annual debate poll showed 82% of respondents believe sport should now be disengaging from sponsorship money that comes from fossil fuels or heavy carbon emitters

There are many more than we reference here, but academic research released from within our community this year particularly examine the impacts of extreme heat. If you haven’t read these already, take a look:

• Climate impacts in sport: extreme heat as a climate hazard and adaptation options, from authors Cheryl Mallen, Greg Dingle and Scott McRoberts
• Outdoor Sport in Extreme Heat: Capturing the Personal Experiences of Elite Athletes, from author Kate Sambrook
• Protective guidelines and mitigation strategies for hot conditions in professional football: starting 11 Hot Tips for consideration, from author Vincent Gouttebarge, Rob Duffield, Steve van Hollander and Ron Maughan:

Also both well worth a read if you haven’t gotten around to it yet, the Game Changer II Report, an update from the original report that came out in 2018 and the European Commission’s Sport’s Contribution to the European Green Deal – A sport sector playbook.

Another significant indicator of progress in the global sport and sustainability movement that we’ve noticed in 2023 is increased output on this topic from the global south. We read a heart wrenching piece on ‘How climate change is ending the sporting dreams of India’s young’ in April, a clarion call from Charles Nyende, a former Kenya rugby international in September ‘It’s about time Kenyan sports fully entered the climate space’ and ‘How climate change is becoming sport’s biggest challenge out of Pakistan’ in December.

Fossil Fuelled Partnerships

The last theme that warrants mention in a 2023 review is the uptick in coverage and discussion of fossil fuels within sport sponsorship. As well as the activism and campaigns mentioned in yesterday’s article, we have seen reports and voluntary codes launched that help sport understand the impact of these partnerships and encourage them to desist from having these sponsors.

The Climate Council in Australia have launched a voluntary code for sports clubs and arts institutions to remove fossil fuel sponsorship from their uniforms, stadiums and events. ChangeNOW and 17 Sport launched a similar Sport Sponsors Climate Pledge, and Badvertising launched a toolkit on how to screen-out polluting sponsors for sports organisations.

In Summary

Although there is a lot of information here, happily this Year In Review only scratches the surface of what has been achieved by the global sports and climate community in 2023.

What is striking, especially in regard to the impact of climate change on sport, is that the sports tournaments affected by heat or wildfire smoke or flooding, are a drop in the ocean in comparison to the wider human suffering and displacement that these events caused. It also reminded me that as even as sports organisations continue to take great actions, there are many sports that are targeting growth and expansion now and in the coming years. The level of action needed to allow that to happen whilst reducing carbon, climate and biodiversity impacts is gargantuan, if it is even possible.

Holding this firmly in mind as we enter 2024, we look forward to sports doubling down on action. I’m sure it’s going to be even more purposeful and more impactful than ever before. See you there.

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Sustainability And Sport 2023: A Year In Review – Part One

2023 is all but wrapped up, so it’s a great time to reflect on what has happened this year during this time between Christmas and New Year; in Norway they call it romjul, in Germany it’s zwischen den jahren and in Britain it’s twixmas or crimbo limbo.

This year in review will be split into two parts; this article will serve to remind us of the extreme weather impacts on sport this year and happenings that garnered the most media attention. Tomorrow’s article will cover the progress of the industry in the past 12 months, and the research, reports and surveys released that have supported this progress.

It’s Getting Hot In Here

Heat impacts on major sports tournaments were once again a big theme for 2023. Happening across the entire year in both summer and winter sports, in the northern and southern hemisphere.

The Australian Open in January and the US Open in September, both during the region’s respective summers, are often cited because of extreme heat impacts on players and spectators, and this year was no different. In Melbourne, play was stopped on the outdoor courts due to heat and torrential rain. In Flushing Meadows, player Daniil Medvedev once again spoke out about the conditions, saying ‘one player is going to die’ because of the heat.

Changing weather patterns also continued to impact sport this year. We were exasperated by scenes in Luchon Superbagnère, France back in 2020, and in January 2023 we once again saw insane scenes of a ski resort ‘ferrying snow to the slopes via helicopter’ to service its patrons after a mild winter, this time in Gstaad, Switzerland.

An unusual spring heat wave (32C/90F) hit the Sydney Marathon in October and 26 runners were hospitalised. In November, Brazil recorded it’s hottest ever temperatures of 44.8C/112.6F, leading to many warnings for those participating in sport.

Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, has spoken previously about having to change competition calendars and the Budapest Championships in August gave rise to that narrative again. Temperatures reached 36C/98F and led to schedule changes after the Government warned people to avoid physical exertion between 11am and 5pm.

As well as these examples of timing changes for sport, extreme weather conditions in 2023 led to major events being cancelled or postponed. In May, the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, was cancelled due to devastating flooding in the region.

In June an array of sports events in the United States were cancelled or postponed due to air quality alerts caused by Canadian wildfire smoke drifting south. Many outdoor sports fixtures were affected in the likes of New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington and Missouri, but even indoor sports didn’t escape. A WNBA game in Brooklyn between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty was also postponed, with the decision being made to ‘protect the health and safety of our fans, teams and community.’

Not every instance of extreme weather can be attributable to climate change, but experts cite the increase in likelihood and severity of extreme weather events in a changing climate. World Weather Attribution reported that climate change more than doubled the likelihood of extreme fire weather conditions in Eastern Canada that lead to the wildfires.

Sit Up and Pay Attention

Major sports tournaments were increasingly targeted by climate activists throughout 2023. The British-based group, Just Stop Oil, once again took their orange-hued protests to sports.

Firstly to the snooker World Championships in April. Who can forget the mobilisation of a vacuum cleaner in getting the powder off the snooker table and player-turned-pundit Stephen Hendry’s questionable lament ‘You just hope the cloth can be recovered’. Rugby Union came next in May, with disruption of the Twickenham-based final between Saracens and Sale; two protestors were arrested. Then cricket, with the second ashes test at Lord’s in June being targeted with the now infamous orange powder and England wicketkeeper, Jonny Bairstow, physically removing a protester. To round things off; tennis. A gentleman and lady in their 60s entered Court 18 during a match at Wimbledon in July and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces.

In other parts of the globe, the German group Letzte Generation mimicked Just Stop Oil’s tactic by spilling orange paint across the road at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Four activists from Extinction Rebellion in the United States disrupted Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova’s semi-final match at the US Open by standing and shouting ‘no tennis on a dead planet’, with one gluing his bare feet to the concrete. Post-match Coco Gauff reacted that she’d prefer it didn’t happen during her match, but ‘if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.’

These protests were largely aimed at Government inaction on the climate crisis, but we also saw campaigns that targeted sports competitions and their fossil fuel partners. Celebrities came out in force to call for Wimbledon to end its new sponsorship deal with Barclays over the bank’s support for fossil fuel projects. Greenpeace France led probably one of the most affecting campaigns against a tournament and their oil major sponsor at Rugby World Cup 2023 and its sponsor, TotalEnergies. Scenes of a scale model of a stadium and it’s players and spectators being flooded with oil is surely one of the most memorable images of the year.

Coco Gauff’s response to activism has already been mentioned, but we saw athletes take action under their own steam this year also. US-based non-profit EcoAthletes reported a 48% increase in athletes joining its global roster to use their platform to combat the climate crisis. British long distance runner Innes Fitzgerald received a lot of global attention for her refusal to fly from England to Australia for the World Cross Country Championships in January, due to her concern about the climate crisis. Denmark’s Sofie Junge Pedersen led forty four Women’s World Cup 2023 players to take action by offsetting their flights to Australia and New Zealand for the competition, in what has been cited as the largest player-led action on climate in football. These actions sparked conversations, numerous headlines and a clutch of Awards for both athletes this year.

In 2023 sports have continued to both be increasingly impacted by the climate crisis and used by athletes and protestors as a way to raise awareness. This article might feel a bit bleak, but don’t worry, how have sports organisations and the wider community have risen to the challenge will be covered tomorrow in Part 2 of Sustainability And Sport 2023: A Year In Review.

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Connecting COP28 Outcomes To Sport

COP28 has ended with agreement. For the first time there is a text signed by 200 global leaders that talks of “transition away from” fossil fuels. Not “phaseout” or “phase-down,” as the text had started out and that many wanted, but a big deal.

There is a lot to process and digest, so a quick recap. It’s been a controversial edition of the annual climate summit. Reports state that nearly 100,000 delegates registered for COP28, including 2,500 oil and gas lobbyists. There has been a lot of discourse surrounding Sultan Al Jaber’s presidency and some of his comments during the summit.

Sports were visible across the two-week summit, the highlight of which was the five-year anniversary of UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, which was launched at COP24 in Katowice, Poland. You can watch the recording of The Power of Sport for Climate Action anniversary event and see other sports-focussed events that happened during COP28 here.

Those events—whilst excellent—aren’t actually what I want to talk about here. Instead I want to explore the major themes within the summit negotiations, as they relate to sport’s journey to increase climate action.

Energy

Energy is probably the biggest theme at the COP due to the work to specifically get fossil fuels included in the Global Stocktake text. The final text “calls on parties, in a nationally determined manner” to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems “in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

Action must follow—massive amounts of finance must be mobilized for developing countries to help make the energy transition possible—but the die is cast. Fossil fuels are on their way out. Over 100 countries also backed a COP28 pledge to triple clean energy by 2030.

So what can sport do when it comes to playing a role in supporting global governments in this effort? It can’t dismantle the $7 trillion currently given annually in subsidies to oil, coal and gas, but sport can:

• Not seek or accept sponsorship from or align with fossil fuel organizations or those who finance or underwrite fossil fuel exploration, extraction or distribution
• Increase renewable energy capacity at sports venues and training grounds
• Encourage fans and organizations in their ecosystem and supply chain to transition to renewable energy in their own homes and businesses
• Ensure facilities, buildings and venue are as energy efficient as possible
• Collect data on energy use and energy efficiency and disclose those through effective and clear reporting

Transport

Sustainable mobility was another big theme at COP28, with 60 global pledges to double green transport by 2030 including from Chile and Colombia. The sustainable land transport community also agreed to annually observe November 26 as World Sustainable Transport Day, which was launched by the UN General Assembly in 2023.

Sport turned out in force under the transport theme. FIA had official observer status for the first time and highlighted the potential of sustainable fuels, the future of powertrains and infrastructure, consumer engagement, as well as shared knowledge and innovation transfer between track and road.

Formula E led the charge on the importance of a sustainable future for motorsport and Mark Harper MP commended Formula E for demonstrating how high-performance racing and environmental responsibility can coexist and effectively advance the carbon agenda.

Envision Racing announced that Professor Ed Hawkins’ climate stripes will feature on their electric race car and kit from next season. The stripes will be integrated into the team’s Race Against Climate Change program, including International “Show Your Stripes” Day on 21st June 2024 (save the date).

Sport Can Support This Effort By:

• Changing competition schedules and locations to reduce travel distances, and make routes and timing more efficient, as quickly as possible
• Encourage and incentivise fans and participants to use active and green public transport options where possible
• Power team coaches and transport with sustainable fuels
• Put guardrails and processes in place to manage staff travel, prioritize videoconferencing where possible, and mandate modes and class of travel depending on need and distance
• Collect data on staff, organization and fan travel, and disclose through effective and clear reporting

Food

Food and agriculture have become a larger focus at the annual COP in recent years. The COP28 UAE declaration on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action was signed by nearly 160 countries.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization also released a “Global Roadmap” for countries to help guide them toward “zero hunger” (SDG2) while staying within the 1.5 degree Celsius target of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Addressing this challenge involves a range of solutions which are outlined in the report; from boosting soil health to increase productivity, educating consumers about food expiration dates and reducing consumption of foods with high carbon footprints such as dairy and beef.

What Can Sport Do To Play A Role In These Changes?

• Socialize the idea of eating less meat and dairy at sports events and in staff canteens by adding tasty plant-based options or having meat-free menus
• Use menus at sports events to educate fans on the carbon footprint of various menu items
• Use education programs and outreach to fans to help educate around food expiration dates to reduce waste
• Reduce food waste during the preparation of food for sports events and ensure any organic waste is used for energy or composted
• Platform athletes who are proponents of incorporating more plant based foods in their diet

These are not exhaustive ideas but encapsulate ways in which sport can take actions in line with government targets. Other themes at COP28 included nature, water, technology, youth, oceans, education and skills. I could write even more about the outcomes of these and how they can be applied to sport, but this is a good start.

The climate negotiations in Dubai may feel—physically and/or cognitively—a world away from sport to some. Somehow “apart” from the day-to-day grind and prioritization of working in professional and grassroots sport.

However, having the privilege of knowing so many incredible change makers in global sport, I am positive that sport will play a key role in achieving the targets in these crucial areas, as we transition to a cleaner, healthier and more just future.

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