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This guide is a continually growing list of practical ideas for event organisers to take on.

This guide includes a continually growing list of practical ideas to be taken on operators, instructors, guides and recreational rafters.

In January 2021, the international Rafting Federation launched a series of practical guides to help rafters across the globe undertake a more sustainable approach to rafting.

The first guide is a “living” document which will be evaluated and revised on a regular basis, in response to changes in technology and the understanding of the significance of environmental sustainability in the sphere of rafting.

Content include:

A. Our commitment to Sustainability
B. Sustainability in all Rafting
C. Sustainability in Recreational Rafting, Racing and Guiding
D. Sustainability in Rafting Events
E. As an Athlete - what can I do?
F. Notes
G. Resources

The IRF’s aim is to ensure the sport of rafting is sustainable. To achieve this goal, each event should monitor and take appropriate actions to limit the impact on the environment.
Events have an impact on the environment through:

• direct resources (electricity, water, food, etc);
• indirect (consumption of energy and creation of Co2 related to transport to the events, etc);
• the waste created immediately and on the longer term (dishes, equipment’s, paper, etc

All these elements compose the ecological footprint of an event. Environmental considerations have to be taken into account before, during, and after the events.

Before the event: Most of the ecological footprint reduction can be completed through good planning from the very beginning as that is when you set in stone the overall framework of the event.

During the event: During the event, the organizers need to make sure that the strategies agreed with the venues’ managers and other stakeholders are properly implemented. They will also need to assist attendees and participants in their own individual efforts to contribute to the event’s ecological footprint reduction.

After the event: Organizers will communicate the results to relevant people (venue’s managers, participants, etc).

It is important to take advantage of the efforts put into these event to spread the message that organizing greener events is possible.

The International Rafting Federation (IRF) delivered the first certified carbon neutral world sports event with their Costa Rica 2011 World Rafting Championships. Following is the success story - a model for future events.

Click here to watch the video describing event's sustainability (In Spanish, with English subtitles)