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World Triathlon, part of UNEP and IOC Clean Seas since 2018 and signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action framework, has now taken a step further by creating guidelines aimed at its Local Organising Committees (LOCs). The goal is to provide guidance on best sustainable practices to be taken into consideration during the planning, and staging, of an event.
World Triathlon encourages organisers of all sizes to start with an assessment of their carbon footprint to establish a baseline and identify areas that might need to be prioritised. Regardless of their level of experience, organisers can then access a step by step guide to develop their own sustainability plans through a comprehensive approach across fifteen categories.
The proposed strategic areas cover a broad range of topics such as governance, staffing, mobility, waste and water management and biodiversity, among others. Each of them has then been linked to specific action points that event organisers can set in motion includingeighteen must have items, thirty-three recommended actions and seven aspirational elements.

The new guidelines also serve as a framework to their newly launched World Triathlon Sustainability certification system for 2021. Through the development of a sustainability plan and later execution, LOCs can achieve three levels of recognition which they will have to validate on a yearly basis.

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The postponed 2020 Finals of the Billie Jean King Cup will see women share the largest annual fund in women’s team sports equalling the amount awarded in the men’s competition.

However, whilst the pay-gap in elite tennis is closed in terms of prize money and tennis performs well in terms of global participation with 47% female participants, significant off court challenges remain: 20% of coaches and 22% of certified officials are women, and female representation on ITF’s board sits at only 18%.

A 2020 ITF leadership survey highlighted the importance of female role models as one of the most important factors influencing women as they develop their careers. With the goal of increasing the number of women on and off the court, including those in decision making and leadership roles, ITF established the Gender Equality in Tennis Committee (originally called the Women in Sport Committee) in 2017 chaired by USTA president and ITF Vice President Katrina Adams. The following year, with the support of the Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD), the Advantage All programme was launched including enhanced funding for workshops, education and professional development for up and coming female leaders, including coaches and officials.

BENEFITS
• Having a gender equality strategy establishes clear objectives and targets for an organisation and its stakeholders to advance gender equality.
• The development of female leadership facilitates sustainable change in closing the gender gap and achieving equal representation.
• Ensuring equal opportunity in sport maximises commercial opportunities.

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The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) launched an online carbon calculation tool for their own federation as well as for their stakeholders, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and following the implementation of the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme.
The ‘FIA carbon calculation tool’, provided by Global Climate Initiatives, has been specifically adapted to the motorsport industry and will allow any of the accredited stakeholders to calculate their carbon footprint. After the calculation, FIA can step in and support the users in designing a reduction plan to take concrete actions to reduce their emissions.
The tool will serve as a supportive option to the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme and is planning to, in its first year, assist approximately 40 Three-Star level Accreditation stakeholders gain insights on their footprint and plan for carbon neutrality.

Benefits:
By obtaining insights on the environmental performance of their stakeholders, FIA can cater to them in order to:
• Prrovide them with support in understanding their carbon footprint and becoming climate neutral.
• Maximise the impact of the programmes by defining priority areas where more attention and education is needed in order to reduce emissions.
• Establish benchmarks and goals for motorsports.

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In April 2020, World Athletics launched its Sustainability Strategy for 2020-2030. The ten-year strategy is set to provide a framework to the organisation, its Member Federations and its event organisers on how to produce tangible, meaningful and measurable results on environmental, social and economic sustainability. The main objective is to protect the local communities within which the millions of athletes, both competitive and recreational, participate in the sport with the vision of becoming “the leading International Sports Federation in delivering best in class sustainable events”.

The World Athletics strategy has been designed in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the IOC Sustainability Strategy and identifies three spheres of responsibility: World Athletics as an organisation (including its Member Federations), the events owned by World Athletics, and those which hold a World Athletics’ Permit or are licensed events.

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As an international organisation, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) takes its responsibility to protect, cherish and limit its impact on the environment seriously. FIFA aims to lead by example and inspire greater awareness and best practices in sustainability standards with regard to FIFA World Cups™ and FIFA as an organisation.
Since 2010, FIFA has been measuring, reducing and mitigating its impact on climate change as well as engaging with its stakeholders to promote awareness on climate change.

OBJECTIVES
Since 2010, FIFA has engaged in carbon management to improve the sustainability of its operations and events by:

• Estimating the carbon emissions of
  FIFA competitions.
• Implementing reduction measures,
• Offsetting its controlled and
  unavoidable emissions.
• Engaging with stakeholders to help
  raise awareness on climate change.

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Click here to download FIFA Background Paper

World Sailing (WS) has created a 'Special Event Sustainability Charter', a comprehensive list of sustainability requirements for the largest sailing events in the world that World Sailing sanctions. WS is a participant of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and a partner of the IOC and UN Environment on campaigns related to Ocean Health including the Clean Seas initiative fighting plastic pollution in our oceans.
The Special Event Charter was launched in 2019 with the support of their Special Event. Sail GP, which, together with The Ocean Race and World Match Racing Tour are among the first signatories. While all special events can sign up voluntarily at any stage, all 'Special Events' will eventually be contractually obliged to sign when their contracts are due for renewal.

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World Rowing has set new sustainability goals for 2020-2024 with an updated and comprehensive approach to sustainability.
After a pledge to protect world heritage sites designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),a partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to protect fresh water around the world, and joining the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, the federation is going beyond the environmental focus to include social aspects within their sustainability targets.
As defined by World Rowing, the intention is to shift from a “preserve & protect” focus to “enhance” and pursue a positive impact on the ecosystems and communities in which they operate.

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Over the last 20 years, France has been the host to 55 international competitions, climbing to the podium of the top three countries for hosting major world sporting events. Building on the national expertise, the French Ministry of Sports, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) France, and close to 80 organisers of sporting events signed a charter of 15 eco-responsible commitments to achieve the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy goals.
As part of their commitment to create tools to help stakeholders carry out the transition into sustainability in sports, the French O National Olympic and Sports committee (CNOSF), with support of the IOC, has launched a dedicated platform to share best practices on sustainable development. The platform for “environmental excellence through sport” or RSO (Social Responsibility of Sports Organisations) is a call for all stakeholders in the sports movement to structure and promote their approach to sustainability.

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On the 2020 World Ocean Day, World Sailing presented a wide-reaching sustainability education programme in line with the federation’s Sustainability Agenda 2030 goal to broaden the knowledge of all sailors on sustainability issues which relate to their sport. This includes recognising the elements that can affect the sport and those which, in some cases, the sport can positively contribute to.
The Sustainable Education Programme was developed by the federation together with The Ocean Race and in partnership with the World Sailing Trust and 11th Hour Racing,
capitalising on the success of their own programme in the 2017-2018 edition of the race.
This new programme is tailored to age groups 6-8yrs, 8-10yrs and 10-12yrs to be delivered at a grass roots level in order to create awareness among the younger sailor groups and inform better choices.

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The world governing body for cycling became the first sports federation to receive the EDGE Certification Seal for gender equality on 23 October 2019.
After conducting a detailed internal assessment and undergoing an independent third-party verification process where the organization stands in terms of gender balance across a variety of metrics, the UCI obtained Edge Assess, the first of three-tiered levels.
The UCI is currently working toward the second level of certification, EDGE Move.
The next steps of the process include defining and implementing internal policies concerning:

• Work flexibility
• Promotion of diversity and integration
• Pay equity
• Prevention of all form of harassment in the workplace

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