Two Things Can Be True At Once

Two weeks on from Sport Positive Summit 2023, in collaboration with UN Climate Change and International Olympic Committee – IOC , some thoughts from me when it comes to where the sustainability in sport sector is at.

After every annual Summit I do interviews and inevitably the question comes up; do you think we are at a tipping point for sport and climate/sustainability? I think we see something 'tip' every year. In 2020 it was the rise of commitments from sporting organisations, in 2021 it was the rise of publicised sustainability strategies, last year it was mainstream media coverage and cut through, and this year it has been the change of discussion and dynamic on sponsorship in sport.

Other words that came up a lot this year are authenticity, transparency, action, unlocking scalability, urgency and collective action.

Lots of attendees have given their own brilliant and insightful reflections on what came out of the Summit this year and where we are at; you can read them all on the Sport Positive LinkedIn page and in articles from The Sustainability Report, Green Sports Blog, Global Sustainable Sport and more.

I agree with a lot of it, and I don't want to repeat these insights, so I wanted to share my broader thoughts. The phrase that keeps coming into my head as I reflect on where we are right now as a sector: two things can be true at once.

PROGRESS. People within many sports organisations are working incredibly hard, and progress is being made. But that progress is not enough for everyone; it's frequently not even enough for the very people tasked with undertaking the work, within their organisational infrastructure, boundaries and broader goals. We need to bring all sports organisations along with us, wherever they are at, but we must foreground urgency above all else.

Two things can be true at once: 1/ Progress is happening and we can celebrate the wins 2/ Progress isn’t happening fast enough so we can’t let ourselves believe these wins are enough

HURRY UP AND WAIT. We simply don't have time for sports organisations to be perfect, have reduced their impact 'enough' and have their houses in order, before we truly unleash the true power of sport’s platform to influence through engagement, investment, communications and campaigns at scale. However sports organisations know they need to be doing enough genuine work to have a credible voice, avoid accusations of hypocrisy or being called out by the mass media for greenwashing. If your organisation is doing anything, you should be talking about it publicly and bringing others along. If you are worried about being called out, it’s time to be more transparent and move more quickly.

Two things can be true at once: 1/ Fear of hypocrisy 2/ Risks from inaction

ITS GOING TO TAKE US ALL. We work to bring differing perspectives to the Summit; a wide range of sports rights holders (and from different departments within those organisations), athletes, brands, investors, NGOs, UN bodies, Government, academics, scientists, consultants and more. Just because we are all working towards the same goals doesn’t mean we think the same, agree on necessary actions or believe that progress will happen comfortably and in harmony. But we have to listen, understand, keep the discussion going and be open to evolving our thinking. We need both idealism and pragmatism, radical ideas, critical discussion, and to understand complexities but try and keep it simple. We need to maintain a dialogue with those who are in the position to drive change.

Two things can be true at once: 1/ We may not agree 2/ We must keep a dialogue open

Above all else, please take away one word from this year’s Summit with you: urgency. Whatever is within your power to do, do it now. Wherever you think the boundary is to what is possible, push it. Take action, take opportunities and take them now.