SUSTAINABILITY IN SPORT AWARD
Birmingham County Football Association
On June 8, 2021, Birmingham County FA launched its ‘Save Today, Play Tomorrow’ programme, its over-arching strategy for the next four years to create and support lower-carbon football in the West Midlands.
Save Today, Play Tomorrow is a series of planned initiatives, strategic partnerships and infrastructure investment that fall under four key themes – health and wellbeing, positive education, climate action and reconnecting football with nature
The programme is to engender grassroots football clubs across the regions to take action now to ensure the beautiful game significantly reduces its environmental impact, whilst helping to educate those involved in football at all levels to make informed decisions that will shape how much future generations will be able to enjoy the game
Extreme E
Extreme E is the first sport built out of concern for the climate crisis. The series’ goal is to use electric racing to highlight remote environments under threat of climate change issues, and to encourage us all to take positive action to protect our planet’s future.
Norwich City Football Club – Kotkamills
Norwich City Football Club have worked alongside our Sustainability Partner, Kotkamills to make changes throughout the Club to ensure we are able to operate in a more environmentally responsible manner and educate our fans to do so as well.
Practically, this has led to swapping out tens of thousands of items that previously contained plastic to plastic-free alternatives that use the finest materials from Finland.
As a business it has led us to write sustainable practices into contracts and pledges have been made by individuals and departments throughout the Club to adopt more responsible business practises. Externally, the Club formed Sustainability in Sport Summit held with Kotkamills and the British Embassy in Finland to open discussions on the matter and talk through the responsibilities we have and challenges we face on the topic.
Beyond this, for our fans it has led to the creation of a sustainability website for adults and juniors and is a place to showcase all of the other work that the Club has done to become more sustainable and to give ideas on how they can make changes to their everyday lives in a similar manner.
The Ocean Race
Nature is at the heart of The Ocean Race. Through our Racing with Purpose sustainability programme we are using the power of our sport to drive change for the planet. Focusing on reducing race-related greenhouse gas emissions, alongside a programme of activity designed to create a positive impact, the sustainability highlights of the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe this summer include:
Creating a climate positive event (we drew down more carbon than was produced)
Working closely with teams to reduce their impact and to join the UN Sports for Climate Action initiative.
Our science programme, in which teams captured data about microplastics and climate change indicators as they raced, in an innovative collaboration between sailors and ocean research organisations.
Hosting The Ocean Race Summit Europe, in which speakers, including the President of the European Commission, shone a spotlight on major threats to the ocean and highlighted inspiring examples of nature-based solutions.
Releasing our Champions for the Sea learning programme in four more languages and creating new resources that introduce children to the important role that the ocean plays in our climate.
Establishing new Partnerships with Purpose to drive impact and change, including TIME and Ulysse Nardin.
