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Rising water levels, air pollution and the destruction of biodiversity on land might be at the top of our minds when it comes to climate change, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Under our oceans, the destruction of the world’s coral reef is something worthy of urgent attention.
Beyond providing natural beauty, coral reefs are of extreme importance to on-land and underwater life. They offer our coastlines a natural protection from damaging wave action and tropical storms, and assist in carbon and nitrogen fixing, a fundamental piece in the fight against climate action.
Moreover, as much as 25% of our marine life depend on them as they provide habitat, shelter and nutrients. An estimated 4,000 fish species rely on them at some point in their existence.
World Sailing's 2020 Hempel World Cup Series Miami was identified by World Sailing as the perfect opportunity to bring education and action together in alignment with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and the WS Sustainability Agenda 2030.
In partnership with their title sponsor, Hempel A/S, and the Rescue a Reef programme at the University of Miami (UM), the event managed to collect 250kg of marine litter, and create awareness among hundreds of athletes and volunteers.

BENEFITS
• 250kg of marine litter was removed from a local mangrove ecosystem and 150 corals were out planted.
• Close to 150 athletes and local sailors were engaged in education and action against the impact of climate change.
• The project received positive feedback from the sailors, created a positive impact in the local community and provided sponsors with a new powerful platform to engage with the sailing community.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have investigating improvement opportunities in the area of branding and signage.

Among the various sustainability topics associated with event delivery, reducing the environmental impact of branding and signage solutions has proved a challenging task do date. Few commercially available solutions meet the needs of event organisers in terms of quality, ecology and cost. Besides, ecological claims are rarely supported by credible data based on product lifecycle evaluations, and few products are certified according to recognised ecolabels.

Branding and signage materials are not only a very visible aspect of events; they are often the number one source of single-use plastic, a large part of which is still being landifilled or incinerated.

In this context, the IOC and UEFA commissioned Anthesis, and independant consultancy specialising in environmental impact assessment.

This guideline covers over 40 materials, both commonly used materials as well as more innovative ones, and is a first attempt at improving the knowledge base on this topic.

In January 2020, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Sustainability Strategy was published, with five commitments, 22 strategic objectives and over 70 initiatives. The strategy was developed jointly by FIFA, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. This unique tripartite collaboration means that the strategy considers all of the tournament organisers' activities, including those of the host country, and builds on the experience and standards of previous FIFA World Cups.

The strategy was developed in three steps: (1) A thorough analysis of the current context and existing strategies and requirements, then (2) the identification of strategic priorities through a materiality assessment and a human rights salience analysis, with both results eventually combined through an innovative process, and finally (3) the definition of concrete objectives and actions. Throughout this process, FIFA and the organisers engaged with internal and external stakeholders to shape an ambitious, meaningful and robust strategy.

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