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Heat stress from the environment can be detrimental to athletes’ health and performance.

No research, however, has explored how elite athletes conceptualize and experience heatwaves and climate change. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this study examined elite athletes’ perceptions, experiences, and responses to extreme heat in relation to climate change and explored the use of their platforms for climate activism.

Fourteen elite athletes from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Sweden, and Canada, who represented 10 different sports including race walking, netball, and cricket were recruited using snowball sampling. Data were collected using semistructured interviews.

Thematic analysis revealed four broad themes. The first theme reflected uncertainty surrounding the causes of heatwaves and the impact of heat on athlete health and performance. The second theme reflected care and concern for sport and society, including concern for the well-being of athletes and spectators, the impact of heat on facilities and participation at the grassroots level, and how the nature of sport may change in the future.

The third theme referred to the implications of heatwave experience on athlete health and performance, and how experience affected individual and organizational preparedness. The fourth theme referred to enablers and barriers to successful climate change communication.

This study contributes to the sport ecology literature by introducing the subjective heat experiences of elite athletes. Educating athletes and event organizers about the impacts of heat on sport participation is imperative to increase awareness and, it is hoped, to limit illness for those training and competing.

Click here to read the full study

We have today launched a new five-year sustainability strategy, setting out our plan to make a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which we serve.

The new strategy, titled ‘Playing for the Future’, will drive forward our environmental ambitions until 2028, and will ensure that we continue to be a role model in shaping a positive football future for all.

The strategy has been created through extensive consultation with a wide range of football stakeholders and environmental experts, and focuses on three core areas:

1. SHOOT FOR NET ZERO – fight climate change and reduce emissions

• Achieve net zero status by 2040
• Invest over £35m to deliver the 2040 ambition
• Work towards reducing CO2e emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline, reducing electricity consumption by 30% by 2028 from a 2019 baseline, and reducing gas consumption by 20% by 2028 from a 2019 baseline

2. SAVE OUR RESOURCES – optimise resource consumption

• Reduce resource consumption across Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, and embed more sustainable practices across the organisation
• Minimise impact of waste through procurement choices, avoiding waste, identifying reuse opportunities and maximising recyclability
• Reduce water consumption by 30% by 2028 from a 2019 baseline
• Protect biodiversity across all FA venues – animals, wildlife, plants, micro-organisms

3. MAKE AN IMPACT – deliver and govern change across football

• As the governing body of English football, The FA is in a unique position to drive wider environmental and societal change across clubs, leagues, and with partners
• The FA will create the operational framework to embed this strategy across the whole organisation, including its facilities, and increase awareness and environmental sustainability practices across football, whilst governing and supporting wider change
• The strategy will also ensure FA partners are aligned and committed to the sustainability ambitions

The launch of this new sustainability strategy builds on the extensive work across Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park to drive operational sustainability efforts, particularly around waste, food and energy. The strategy will be reviewed every two years and further updates will be provided in due course.

Mark Bullingham, The FA’s Chief Executive, said: "The climate crisis presents one of the most significant challenges of our lifetime, and we are determined to play our part in inspiring positive and meaningful change. Through our new five-year commitment, we want to make tangible progress through our own sustainability initiatives, while raising awareness, and bringing the wider football community with us on this journey.

"We look forward to working with the leagues, clubs, County FAs and our partners to harness the unique power of football so that together we can have a beneficial impact on the planet and a positive influence for future generations."

Ruaidhri Dunn, The FA’s Head of Procurement and Sustainability, said: "We are delighted to launch our new five-year Playing for the Future sustainability strategy during Net Zero Week, which sets out our clear direction of travel to drive positive change for the environment.

"We are very proud of our achievements in recent years to become more environmentally friendly, including Wembley Stadium being awarded the highest standard of sustainability by the ISO, however we want to make further progress. Our new strategy focuses on a number of key areas including reducing emissions, optimising resource consumption, plus governing and supporting wider change across football – and we look forward to driving forward with the next phase of our sustainability efforts."

Useful resource : FA Sustainability Strategy 2028

The IBU today published its second annual sustainability report, tracking progress toward its vision of becoming leader in promoting sustainability in sport by 2026 and becoming climate neutral by 2030.

The report, found here, measures progress against a total of 57 targets for 2030 across the IBU’s five sustainability focus areas: climate, sport, and venue & event, people and communication & awareness.

With climate a key focus, the report summarises the IBU’s overall carbon footprint for the season 2021/2022, including all IBU event series and all IBU organisers reporting the results of their own CO2 measurements for the first time using a tool shared by the IBU.

The report highlights that 2022 was a year of partnership and collaboration as the IBU worked with various stakeholders to find solutions to common sustainability challenges. Examples include:

• Viessmann becoming IBU’s Climate Partner and joining the 2nd Biathlon Climate Challenge that led to the planting of 50’000 trees. Viessmann also collaborated with the IBU on detailed venue energy efficiency analysis and a survey of energy consumption of technical power providing recommendations.

• IBU becoming a founding member of an alliance supporting a prototype project to reuse carbon fibres. Coordinated by the World Sailing Trust, the alliance’s contributing members include World Sailing, the IBU, and Wilson Sporting Goods, supported by the IOC, International Tennis Federation and UCI as well as several equipment manufacturers such as IBU’s partner OneWay.

• IBU joining the GAMES project (Green Approaches in Management for Enhancing Sports)– an EU Erasmus+ funded initiative where the IBU is working with World Athletics, the International and Swedish Floorball Federations to explore practices to mitigate climate change and promote decarbonisation, with a focus on events. The 2.5-year project is coordinated by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa, Italy.

• IBU joining forces with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) to stage an inaugural Gender Equity Forum with 90 participants from 36 national federations.

IBU President Olle Dahlin said:

“In 2022, the IBU focused on implementing its sustainability strategy through collaborations. This key theme of our sustainability report demonstrates that if we are to achieve our goals, we must all work together and play our part. Moreover, by working with like-minded partners from science, business and sports, projects are more likely to be implemented and advanced, initiatives become more impactful through increased reach, and effects multiply beyond what one organisation could achieve on its own. There is more we need to do, but we are confident that as we continue to build awareness and engagement, we will achieve our ambitious sustainability targets.”

After approving the report, the IBU Executive Board further appointed the IBU Sustainability Commission to ensure that sustainability is fully integrated within the IBU’s governance structure. The Commission comprises members from seven National Federations, who will advise the IBU Executive Board on the development and implementation of the IBU’s Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030. It is also responsible for proposing strategies, policies, rules and recommendations that empower the IBU and its National Federations to implement sustainability best practices and actions in alignment with the IBU’s strategic commitments and goals.

The landmark report signifies the growing momentum around McLaren's sustainability strategy

McLaren Racing today announced the publication of its 2021 Sustainability Report, the first of its kind from a global motorsport franchise.

McLaren is the first team in a Formula 1, IndyCar, Extreme E or esports race series to release an annual sustainability report, setting a new standard in motorsport for transparency and accountability over critical sustainability issues.

The report, which has been developed with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), aims to provide transparent, robust and comprehensive reporting on McLaren’s economic, environmental and social impacts in 2021. Building on the team’s 2021 sustainability strategy, it focuses on four key pillars: Net Zero; Circular Economy; Diversity, Equality & Inclusion; and Health and Wellbeing. Each pillar aligns with relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and incorporates topics such as waste, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, innovation, logistics, STEM education and workplace diversity.

The landmark report signifies the growing momentum around McLaren’s sustainability strategy, and follows a series of commitments, which so far in 2022 include the appointment of Kim Wilson as the team’s first Director of Sustainability, entry to the 2022/2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, three-star Environmental Accreditation from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for the ninth year running and signing up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

In 2021 McLaren took important steps towards its environmental goals of building a circular economy, halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2040, in line with the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Framework target.

In the year that saw the team announce its entry into Extreme E along with its first-ever female driver Emma Gilmour and first female race engineer, Leena Gade*, McLaren also launched the fully electric McLaren MX Extreme E car at the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At COP26, McLaren announced its commitment to both the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, which includes measuring, reducing and reporting on GHG emissions, and to the UN Race to Zero campaign for a healthy and resilient zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.

Mindset is a key theme throughout the report, with McLaren working to promote a net-zero mindset across its entire organisation, empowering people to look for opportunities to reduce waste and incorporate sustainable practices into both day-to-day activities and breakthrough innovations.

In McLaren’s F1 race operations, this sustainability-as-second-nature approach has resulted in significant carbon savings through new infrastructure projects as well as the elimination of single-use plastic trackside, in line with F1’s key target. McLaren welcomes discussions across the sport on ways to promote this mindset amongst fans and influence positive fan behaviours regarding transport and waste on race weekends.

As well as presenting data, case studies, targets and roadmaps for each of McLaren’s four pillars of sustainability, the report presents the team’s emissions figures using 2019 as its baseline reporting year, against which future progress will be measured. Figures for 2020 and 2021 are lower than the baseline but are not regarded as performance indicators due to the impact of covid-19 on the race calendar. McLaren expects its 2022 figures to provide a fairer indication of progress, while taking into account its recent expansion into new sustainability-driven championships.

The 2021 Sustainability Report gives equal focus to McLaren’s social responsibilities as it does its environmental ones. 2021 saw the launch of McLaren Racing Engage, a pioneering strategic alliance with the Women’s Engineering Society, EqualEngineers, The Smallpeice Trust and Creative Access that unlocks STEM pathways and breaks down barriers to motorsport and engineering careers for under-represented groups. In addition to spearheading F1’s We Race As One campaign over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, McLaren rolled out several recruiting initiatives to support its ambitions to reach, recruit and nurture talent wherever it lies. Sharing its 2021 hiring data, the team reports that 43% of new hires were female and 12% of all recruits in 2021 were from ethnic minority backgrounds – early signs that new measures have been effective in setting McLaren on-course to building a stronger and more diverse workforce.

The report emphasises the importance of partnerships and data as two areas that will be central to McLaren’s sustainability ambitions. Strong partnerships were vital to the team’s achievements in 2021, and McLaren advocates for a new age of values-based partnerships, where organisations carve the principles of sustainability into new agreements and commit to providing mutual support in their sustainability practices.

McLaren is also working to ensure that data is as much a part of its sustainability roadmaps as it is its on-track performance and will continue to find opportunities to improve waste and emissions data from across its full value chain. Only through accurate and transparent data can sports teams fully evaluate, address and be accountable for their economic, environmental and social impacts.

This first annual Sustainability Report is the product of a period of reflection and analysis and is an important milestone in McLaren’s sustainability journey.

Click here to download the report

The Sustainable Sport Index was initiated from conversations among venue operators, teams, and industry experts to better understand the environmental and social best practices and challenges in sports.
The conclusion was that there was no existing database for the industry to truly understand and compare the impact that it has on the planet and society. This challenge is highlighted by the various distinctions within venue types and sizes, leagues, events, and regions. With this understanding, we set out to gather actual data from teams and venues in order to aggregate and analyze for trends, leaders, and opportunities for improvement.
The resulting effort is this first of its kind report for the sport industry. Collaborating with countless industry professionals and academics concluded with a comprehensive survey to gather data in areas including energy, water, waste, carbon emissions, cleaning, staff engagement, policies, food and beverage, transportation, communications, and wellness and accessibility. It is our hope that this becomes the first of many annual Sustainable Sport Indexes providing long-term value to the industry while highlighting existing team and venue best practices and opportunities for improvement.

Click here to download SSI Benchmarking report or to order 2022 SSI Benchmarking Report

Over its 70 year history, F1 has pioneered numerous technologies and
innovations that have positively contributed to society and helped to
combat carbon emissions.
From ground-breaking aerodynamics to improved brake designs, the
progress led by F1 teams has benefitted millions of cars on the road today.
Few people know that the current hybrid power unit is the most efficient in
the world, delivering more power using less fuel, and hence CO2, than any other road car.
We believe that F1 can continue to be a pioneer for the auto industry,
working with the energy and automotive sectors to deliver the world’s first
net-zero carbon power unit, driving down carbon emissions across the
globe.
In launching F1s first-ever sustainability strategy, with an ambitious target
to be a net zero carbon sport by 2030, we recognise the critical role that all
organisations must play in tackling this global issue.
Leveraging the immense talent, passion and drive for innovation held by all
members of the F1 community, we hope to make a significant positive
impact on the environment and communities in which we operate.

Chase Carey
CIO of Formula 1

Click here to download the Sustainability strategy

In 2021 sustainability became increasingly important as a topic. As the world's leaders gathered for global conventions on biodiversity and climate change, they discussed important milestones for decarbonization and the protection of the environment.
Despite these efforts, greenhouse gas emissions and the pace of biodiversity loss continue to increase.
Many of PUMA employees, customers, consumers and business partners are eager to be part of the solution and ask for more sustainable product initiatives and ways to decouple consumption from emissions.
To respond to such concerns, PUMA executed their "10FOR25 sustainability strategy", which is linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Highlights of this strategy include ensuring fair working conditions in all factories that produce PUMA goods, powering all PUMA entities globally with renewable energy, switching all major materials to more sustainable alternatives as well as building up our a more sustainable product offering.
PUMA social compliance program remains the bedrock of their sustainability efforts and has been accredited by the Fair Labor Association since 2007. PUMA purchases 99% of their cotton and leather as well as 80% of their polyester from accredited or certified sources, such as BCI, bluesign or the Leather Working Group.
To tackle the biodiversity loss, PUMA introduced a biodiversity and forest protection policy and partnered with the NGO Canopy to ensure our sourcing of man-made cellulosic materials (such as viscose) as well as paper and carboard does not contribute to deforestation.
PUMA expanded the usage of recycled polyester to 43%, in line with their target to have 75% recycled polyester in their apparel and accessories by 2025. PUMA are also on track to remove plastic shopping bags from their stores in 2023 at the latest.
PUMA ended the year with their first ever virtual stakeholder dialog meeting, discussing the important topics of Circularity and Climate Action where much remains to be done by PUMA and the entire apparel and footwear industry, to move from the current linear production model to more circular business models and to further reduce CO2 emissions from our supply chain.

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has published its first Sustainability Report, presenting key sustainability accomplishments in 2021 and the federation’s carbon footprint for the competition season 2020/2021. The comprehensive report also details the status of the IBU’s efforts to realise the targets set out in the Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030, approved in September 2020.

For biathlon as a snow sport, climate action is critically important, however it is not the only sustainability concern. The IBU has also set ambitious goals in growing grassroots participation, especially amongst the youth, and enhancing diversity and gender equality.

In 2021, the IBU’s key sustainability achievements per strategic Focus Area include:

• Climate: Measuring emissions inventory for both the IBU as an Organisation and its main event series in the 2020/2021 season. Following an internal footprint calculation in 2020 and the implementation of initial reduction measures, this was the first time that the IBU events were included in the measurement. Notably, the IBU events followed a special schedule and were staged without spectators due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the IOC DOW Carbon Action Award, the IBU’s reported emissions for 2021 were offset by Dow through projects that comply with the standards approved by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).
• Venue & Event: Incorporating sustainability as a key selection criterion for the hosts of the IBU World Championships. Candidates bidding for the 2024 and 2025 Championships were required to outline their sustainability philosophy and plans for reducing the climate impact as part of their event concepts.
• Sport: Banning wax products containing C8 fluorocarbons/ PFOA at all IBU events, in line with EU and EC regulations. The ban required written pledges to be signed by the national federations (NFs) and their service partners and was controlled by spot checks at events.
• Sport: Launching the IBU Snow Network for the experts in charge of snow at the IBU events and conducting the first survey to collect data on snow production, storage, transport, grooming, treatment, and the overall sustainability of snow management.
• People: Approving the IBU’s Gender Equality strategy 2021-2026 with three focus areas governance, sport, and portrayal. The strategy includes several objectives to be reached by 2026.
• People: Introducing new areas within the IBU National Federation Development Support programme providing targeted funding for sustainability, gender equality and athlete recruitment projects.
• Communication & Awareness: Staging the first Biathlon Climate Challenge where almost 8,000 fans joined one of ten different teams - all led by biathlon stars – and collected 100,000 treesthat were planted in Madagascar as they turned their physical activity into an opportunity to give back to the environment.
• Communication & Awareness: Introducing the IBU Athlete Ambassador programme with 15 ambassadors from 12 countries to help raise awareness, educate, and support the aims of the sport in sustainability, gender equality and integrity matters.

IBU’s President Olle Dahlin said:

"The IBU aims to be a leader in the sport industry when it comes to sustainability. This inaugural Sustainability Report demonstrates that transparency and openness are key to us as we work to meet our commitments of being climate neutral by 2030 and net zero by 2040.”

He added:

“We are still in the early phases of implementing our long-term strategy and growing awareness among our stakeholders about how we can become better custodians of the planet. As we mature in our approach to sustainability, we will also further improve our measurement and data collection and provide even better analysis and reports on our progress.”

The IBU is committed to creating concrete, positive future legacies. It continues to use the sport’s global platform to inspire its stakeholders and people around the world to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. During 2022 and beyond, its efforts will focus on continued progress on impact reduction especially through IBU events. Special emphasis will be put on making the sport energy-efficient and implementing sustainable mobility options as travel and transport to, from and within events remain a key challenge for all sports.

Click here to access the full Sustainability Report 2021

Only by prioritizing sustainability along with performance, can the marine industry take urgent action to fight climate change. What these actions could look like are explored in the Design & Build report our team has published following the construction of the new race boat Mālama.

Following the official launch in September 2021 of Mālama, the latest high-performance IMOCA race boat, 11th Hour Racing Team has published a comprehensive design and build report in both English and French.

Sharing detailed insights into the boat’s construction, material components, supply chain, and environmental impact, the report aims to drive positive action within the marine industry and provide a roadmap for aligning with international frameworks for positive climate action, including the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework on Climate Change) and the Paris Agreement.

Damian Foxall, Sustainability Manager at 11th Hour Racing Team, explains how the Team has used the boat build as an example of how sustainable innovation could be implemented across the wider industry: “Over the past ten years, there has been amazing progress in on-water performance in our class, but this has come at a high price. Since 2010, the footprint of an IMOCA has increased by nearly two-thirds from 340 to 550 tons in greenhouse gas emissions. This is an overall trend we see in pretty much any industry, driven by performance we have accelerated too fast in the wrong direction, and are only just waking up to reality.”

Referencing the Paris Agreement as a global target for energy savings, Foxall continues: “The need to reduce our emissions in the marine industry is urgent – 50% by 2030, and that’s just eight years away. We are far away from that right now.”

In order to get back on track and reduce emissions, it is crucial to understand where exactly the emissions are coming from. This is often easier said than done, as Amy Munro, Sustainability Officer at 11th Hour Racing Team, explained: “Building a race boat is a complex process involving a huge number of stakeholders and components. You need to break it down in detail to fully understand what are the major impacts. This is why we have meticulously measured the impact of every step in the design and build process of our new boat and conducted a life cycle analysis (LCA) that helps to uncover underlying issues. This way we were able to address the issues during the build and find opportunities and solutions to make the shift.”

Click here to download the full report

This report details a series of notable ‘firsts’ in sustainability achieved and implemented during the year by Formula E and its wider ecosystem of teams, partners and stakeholders, reflecting the Championship’s mission of accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles through elite sport.

Highlights from the report include:

• The new Gen3 racing car was unveiled by Formula E and the FIA, setting the benchmark for sustainable, high performance racing cars.  When it enters competition in Season 9, the Gen3 will be the world’s most efficient racing car with 40% of the energy in a race coming from regeneration, and will be certified net-zero carbon.
• Formula E became the first sport in the world to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the Business Ambition Pledge for 1.5°C commitment. Formula E will further reduce its emissions by 45% by 2030.
• A pioneering programme to ensure damaged chassis parts collected since Season 1 are given a second life was introduced.
• Formula E achieved ISO 20121 re-certification in August and remains the only motorsport series to achieve ISO 20121 since original certification in 2016. 
• The Heineken® Greener Bar was launched in July at the 2021 Heineken® London E-Prix, delivering the first sustainable bar concept aimed at reducing waste, water, emissions, and energy usage at events. 
• Formula E was awarded the top three-star rating in the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme for a third successive time, the first Championship to achieve the standard.
• Starting in Season 7, tyre allocation was reduced by 25% for a single race competition and up to 50% at double-header competitions. Compared to the Season 5 calendar, this results in saving of up to 720 tyres and a 29% reduction in emissions. 
• Formula E became the first global sports organisation to partner with UNICEF on climate change. The partnership will empower three million children around the world to become agents of change against climate crisis over the next three years.
• Formula E renewed its NZC status by offsetting all unavoidable emissions from its Season 7 footprint into a renewable energy project based in Mexico with social benefit for local communities. 
• At COP26, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was one of the most active elite sports to participate in the global conference:
  – Representatives from across the Championship ecosystem including the FIA; investor Liberty Global; partner Julius Baer; and teams Mahindra Racing and ROKiT Venturi Racing led a series of sustainability debates
  – Title partner ABB launched the ABB Formula E Climate Initiatives
  – Formula E supported the Department for International Trade to launch the Clean Growth programme
  – Envision Racing launched their new car livery evoking the colours of the globe

Click here to access the full report