Report: Sustainability Plays Important Role in Sports Industry

Sports organizations can no longer afford to ignore issues surrounding climate change and sustainability, according to a report produced by Relative Insight and Future Plus.

The report “Sports Fans on sustainability: What do they say and what does this mean for organizations?” was released on Monday. Alex Smith, co-founder of The Sustainability Group, which released the study, will be one of the speakers at the TEAMS Europe panel “Sustainability Now: How Your Organization Can Be More Responsible” on Thursday at the ExCeL in London.

“Not only is climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality impacting society at large, it is also directly impacting sporting events,” the report said in its introduction. “Authorities have already made adjustments to events to mitigate these impacts – and will continue to do so as the issues become more acute. … Sporting companies are also guilty of contributing to climate change. Though it’s difficult to measure the magnitude of this impact, a report by the Rapid Transition Alliance has estimated that the sector contributes the same level of emissions as a medium-sized country.”

The report included multiple instances of where sports events have been modified because of extreme temperatures and weather conditions including the U.S. Open allowing players to take a heat break because of soaring temperatures in the late New York City summer and the ongoing study by the International Olympic Committee about the sustainability of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with the possibility of a future host rotation of only a few cities whose climate will sustain snow sports.

Authors added the conversation about sports sustainability is changing: “Increased knowledge about environmental issues, the availability of information, athlete sustainability campaigns and evolving generational values with younger people increasingly aware and vocal on the importance of sustainability are just some of the reasons for this.”

Two main trends are cited in the report. The first is the nature of sustainability themes within online sports discussion, which increased between 2018 and 2019, decreased in numbers until 2022 and have risen sharply in the past year. The second trend is a division between groups of fans who believe sustainability should be part of the conversation and those who believe the topic is not worth addressing in the sports space.

“The rise of social media has seen sports stars given an unfiltered voice, with some weighing in on issues beyond sport. It’s common for these individuals to be told to “stick to sport” by other people online,” the report said.

Two organizations cited by the report in putting sustainability at the forefront of their work were Pledgeball and Extreme E.

Pledgeball is an initiative that encourages fans to support their favorite teams by making lifestyle pledges ranging from cycling to the stadium on match days to going vegan two days per week. Pledges are then tallied up and the total amount of carbon dioxide equivalent saved by each group of fans determines their standing in the league.

Extreme E is an auto racing series that raises awareness about the climate crisis as races take place in remote and vulnerable locations, showcasing the consequences of climate change firsthand. Competing vehicles use hydrogen fuel cell systems, repurposing second life batteries, and encouraging fans to support races remotely.

“Organizations need to demonstrate that they are implementing policies which have a real impact,” the report concluded. “… However, sports leaders must do this in a way which is authentic to the sport to avoid negative backlash from those interested solely in sport itself rather than the way it operates and its impact on the wider world.”