Sustainability in Sport 2023

How sustainable is your sports organisation? How sustainable are your sports events?

Assessing the sustainability of a sports organisation is extremely challenging in the current environment.

There is an increasing pressure to be seen to be doing the right thing and to be accountable and transparent but how do you develop your sustainable programmes and how do your report on your outcomes?

Global sport business education provider, InSport Education , has partnered with Global Sustainable Sport to produce an applied, real-world ?learning course to help and support all stakeholders in the development of their sustainability strategies.

The course is supported by a wide range of industry experts who will provide insights, guidance and practical examples on how they have developed successful sustainability programmes and strategies, and how they are driving sustainability at their organisations or through their activities.

The “Sustainable Pillars of Sport”

Global Sustainable Sport has developed a framework for assessing the sustainable activities of a sports organisation and the course will be framed around the seven “Sustainable Pillars of Sport”.

Sport currently lacks a framework that truly reflects the “Sustainable” value of sport.

Existing frameworks including the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework, various ISO Certifications and frameworks like GRI, and other ESG frameworks, do not capture the unique value that sport can deliver on getting people active, developing healthy minds and bodies and helping to fight against climate change and the impact we have had on our oceans and biodiversity.

Global Sustainable Sport s “Sustainable Pillars of Sport” will help sports organisations and events capture the true value of their sustainable activities and report them through the Global Sustainable Sport Assessment programme.

Day One

Dan Parr of InSport Education and Mike Laflin of Global Sustainable Sport will open up the course, which will be orgainsed across two half-days, to explain the concept behind the course and Mike Laflin will then explain more about the concept of the seven “Sustainable Pillars of Sport” .

Participation and getting people active are one of the key assets of sport and yet rarely, if ever, do sports organisation, or host cities, evaluate the value of their participation programmes. Sport constantly undervalues its true value, and the course will explore how sport can really demonstrate its ‘Sustainable’ value around participation.

Participation will be the opening “Pillar” on Day One and Chris Robb , CEO and Founder of Mass Participation World will lead the discussion on how government, cities, event organisers and owners need to think more about the social value that mass participation events bring to their host cities and nations.

The second panel on Day One will be led by Katie Cross , CEO and Founder of Pledgeball and Alexandra Rickham PLY Rickham, Head of Sustainability for World Sailing talking about Social, or “People”, outcomes that sport can deliver, engaging communities around sports events and activities and getting fans and athletes in thinking more about sustainability.

The final panel on Day One, the “Profile” panel will focus on how athletes can use their platforms to help promote sustainability and to affect change. Ellis Spiezia , of Ellysium Racing and Hugo Inglis OLY of High Impact Athletes will discuss the power of athlete activism and the challenges of speaking out and leading the call for a more sustainable sports industry.

Day Two

Partnerships, and bringing the global voice of sport together, is a key asset of sport.

Sport has the ability to bring communities together, to inspire people to achieve incredible things and to quote the much-used phrase from Nelson Mandela “The power to change the world”. Sports organisations cannot achieve this on their own and the sports industry needs to come together to use the “collective” voice of sport to affect real change and to push for a more sustainable future.

“Partnerships” will be the opening theme for Day Two and Patrick Haslett from Impact 3 Zero will present “Project Long Game”, an award-winning community engagement and sustainability project in #ireland .

The second panel on Day Two will focus on governance or “Power” and Jonny Gray , Senior Managing Director, Sport at Ankura , will lead the discussion on mitigating risks and what risks that sports organisation should be aware of in developing their sustainability strategies. He will be joined by Mhairi Maclennan from KYNISKA Technologies Advocacy looking at safeguarding and how sports organisations need to navigate this sensitive, high profile and complex area which can have huge impacts on sports governing bodies.

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The third session on Day Two will look at the “Planet” and how sports are developing their environmental programmes to mitigate against climate change and the impact sport is having on the planet. The “Planet” session will be led by Stephane Bazire , Head of Business Sustainability & Partnerships at Silverstone who will discuss what actions Silverstone are taking to mitigate its impacts and how the motor sports industry is striving to be more environmentally sustainable.

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The final panel on Day Two will focus on “Prosperity” and how sports organisation need to be developing commercially sustainable business models alongside being purposeful organisations. The “Prosperity” discussion will be led by Boris Davidovski , Project Manager Sustainability & Communications at Borussia Dortmund . Borussia Dortmund are one of the leading “Sustainable” football clubs in #germany and Boris will explore the balancing of its commercial programme with that of its sustainable activities.

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The ”Sustainability in Sport” educational course will be the launch event for a whole series of initiatives by Global Sustainable Sport in 2023 which will help sports organisation develop their sustainability programmes and help them capture the “True” value of their sustainable activities.

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To register for the “Sustainability in Sport” educational course click here

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To register for further information on Global Sustainable Sport and their “Sustainable Pillars of Sport” assessment programme click here