The impact that governing bodies, clubs, athletes and fans have on the environment should not be understated. With the enormous platform and reach that sport enjoys, there’s a huge opportunity for sports organisations to affect change and push for greener practices.
But how far is the sector prioritising sustainability? Public opinion suggests that the sector has plenty of money to adopt sustainable habits quickly – but is this really the case? What are the obstacles preventing change? What sort of partnerships or sponsorships should governing bodies and clubs be aware of? And can clubs really influence their fans to make better choices in their own lives?
To answer these questions, we sat down with experts from across the industry in a roundtable discussion. They considered:
- What sustainability means to them, and why it matters
- If they believed sustainability is high enough on the sports sector’s agenda
- What the challenges are for sports organisations looking to become more sustainable
- How attitudes towards sustainability might be changed
- How the sector can become more sustainable.
We’ve summarised their thoughts into a report. You can get their advice on where to start with your sustainability journey, and read examples of how other organisations across the industry are lowering their environmental impact:
Read our new report to learn about sustainability in sports.
“We've got an audience which is so emotionally involved, either as a participant or as a fan… We can use that opportunity to tell people that something they love is going to be impacted by some quite profound changes that are coming. If we can communicate that intelligently through this medium of sport, it's probably one of the most powerful communication tools there is.”
- Russell Seymour, Chair of British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS)
