In this episode of Sustainability Review, Matthew Campelli is joined by Franzisca Weder, Professor of International Organizational Communication and Sustainability Communication at Vienna University Business School.

Together, they explore three distinct approaches to sustainability communication: communicating of, about, and for sustainability — and why the last of these might be the key to driving real change. The conversation challenges conventional thinking, moving beyond reporting and awareness towards communication that actively mobilises people.

Franzisca also shares how organisations can uncover unexpected sustainability storytellers within their teams, and why creating the right internal conditions is essential for those voices to emerge.

Finally, the episode looks at a bigger shift: how today’s disruptions might offer organisations a chance to redefine what sustainability means — and for communicators to sharpen how they frame and contextualise it.

In this episode of Sustainability Review, we explore “embedded conflict” – a tension built into roles, KPIs and incentives that can quietly stall progress.

Anna Krotova, Sustainability Lead at Picnic and author of How to be a Chief Sustainability Officer, shares how she navigated this firsthand, balancing emissions targets against commercial pressures. The conversation unpacks how to reframe conflict, avoid unproductive stand-offs, and make progress without forcing compromise that leaves everyone dissatisfied.

If you’re working in sustainability – or any role where priorities collide – this is a practical look at how to move forward more effectively.

The Canadian sailor and cyclist is preparing for an expedition that will take her by boat from the UK to Norway, and then across the Norwegian fjords by bike, joined by a handful of other intrepid explorers.

She shares her belief that the most powerful sustainability stories are told through raw, visceral experiences that show athletes in direct contact with the elements. 

In this episode, Isabella discusses the tension between sustainability and performance in sport, the value of strong partnerships, her time leading the Canadian Women’s America’s Cup team, her role with Canada SailGP and what sailing can learn from cycling when it comes to building partnerships and supporting women’s sport.

Many see it as too expensive, misaligned with their values, or unable to deliver on goals like awareness and adoption. 

But one company is breaking the mould. Svante, a carbon capture startup from British Columbia, has teamed up with Speed Skating Canada on ‘Save the Ice’, a campaign that removes carbon every time someone shares their video. 

For Canada’s most decorated Olympic sport, climate change isn’t abstract, it’s existential. In this episode, we learn more from Svante and Speed Skating Canada about their partnership, and why more climate tech companies should think about getting involved in sport.

She shares how the group mobilised more than 150 athletes to support the 'Duty of Care' campaign, calling for a law that would require politicians to consider climate impacts on young people.

We also talk about the origins of the movement during the Black Summer bushfires, why athlete voices still matter, and how FrontRunners is now helping under-resourced sports organisations take action behind the scenes.

But this follow-up podcast conversation with US rower Christine Cavallo serves as a powerful reminder that influence comes in many forms. Even without financial investment, athletes who are knowledgeable and committed can play a crucial role in the climate transition.

Christine brings a unique perspective, having experienced sustainability through the lenses of elite sport, academia, public policy and now the private sector in her role at the UN Global Compact. 

She argues that business holds the key to meaningful progress on climate and environmental justice – and that sport could be a powerful testing ground for scaling new technologies, if it chooses to embrace that role. The episode is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking listen.

In this episode, we explore how sports organisations can engage with regenerative tourism, a model focused on restoring ecosystems, supporting local communities and improving resilience.

Our guest is Ana Agostinho, sustainability lead at Westbrook Racing, part of the E1 electric powerboat series. She discusses how sports events could align with regenerative development goals and help shape more sustainable travel experiences – through initiatives like rewilding, cultural exchange and stronger partnerships with host destinations.

The conversation delves into the transformative role of data, highlighting why democratising access to information is essential for understanding and mitigating the environmental risks faced by athletes, event hosts and the wider sports ecosystem.

Eve also discusses the mission and achievements of the Clean Water Sports Alliance, shedding light on its progress and future plans to address critical environmental challenges.

But what about sport for good organisations and grassroots sport clubs? 

There’s not much of a focus on them even though, in most cases, they are even more vulnerable. However, Football For Future and Common Goal have teamed up to develop the Fields of Change Handbook, an environmental sustainability resource for sport for good organisations.

In this episode, we speak Elliot Arthur-Worsop, founder of Football For Future, Jérémy Houssin, environmental lead at Common Goal, Sophie Junge Pedersen, Denmark and Inter Milan midfielder, and Greg Preston, the head of football for the Indochina Starfish Foundation in Cambodia, to find out more about the handbook, and how it can support learning and resilience in the sport for good community.

It was a question posed by Damian Foxall, sustainability manager of the 11th Hour Racing Team, during episode 96 of the podcast that we try to unpack.

Foxall reflects on a successful 2023, in which his team was crowned champions of The Ocean Race. At the end of the season, it also produced a sustainability report full of achievements and case studies.

In addition, Kristen Fulmer, head of sustainability at Oak View Group (operator of the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle), lifts the lid on the organisation’s GOAL sustainability platform and explains how she plans to bring sustainability to a new generation of sports analytics students.

COP28 is a key talking point in episode 95 of the podcast as we talk to SailGP’s Fiona Morgan about its Race for the Future takeover in Dubai. Russell Seymour of BASIS talks about the new Game Changer II report, which lays bare the extent to which climate change is playing havoc with British sport.

Cricket, which features heavily in Games Changers, is also a focus of the episode, with Kathy Gibbs of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) talking through its new Environmental Sustainability Plan.

But how can football clubs position themselves as the drivers of this transition – and crucially, how can they ensure that transition is just and beneficial for their local communities.

That’s what we try to unpack in this episode of the podcast alongside Sean McCabe (Bohemian Football Club), Róisín Greaney (Think-tank for Action on Social Change), Matheus Cavalcanti (European Football for Development Network) and Rafael Muela Pastor (Real Betis Foundation).

Can growth and sustainability coexist in sport? How can sport wean itself off of fossil fuel sponsorship? What does the sports industry collectively need to say when we reconvene again in 12 months time? We cover it all.

In this edition of the podcast, Murfree (sport ecologist and assistant professor at the University of Cincinati) and Claire Poole look ahead to the Sport Positive Summit, exploring how the industry can position itself best to promote climate action and justice through thoughtful discourse.

The episode focuses on the importance of diverse perspectives, risk management and using nuance language when it comes to sustainability claims.

And Poole, founder and chief executive of Sport Positive, lifts the lid on some of the summit’s key session and a hotly-anticipated debate to round things off.

In the company of Nicola Barr, the decarbonising sport lead at FrontRunners, and a current player for the Greater Western Sydney Giants, and Alice Ashpitel, head of sustainability at Mercedes F1, we explore the practicalities of investing in sustainable fuels, the shift from high-polluting sponsors and the influential role of athletes in this endeavour.

While Ramsak (head of sustainability for World Athletics) and Nguyen (head of sustainability for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia  New Zealand 2023) spoke about managing the environmental impact of two of the year’s biggest sporting events, Orr discussed the disruption sport had experienced as a result to extreme weather in recent months.

All three guests also explored the evolving role of the sustainability professional in sport and the changing media approach to climate action in sport.

Sustainable Sport Africa, established by Rachel Aron and Tristan Niesslein, aims to position sport as a medium to address some of these challenges, which, in turn, should make African sports properties more appealing to potential investors.

In this episode of the podcast, Aron and Niesslein discuss the launch of the organisation and some of its key objectives.

That’s according to Jenny Amann and Mark Doidge, doctoral researcher and senior research fellow respectively at the University of Brighton. Their latest piece of research, titled ‘Mobilising Football Fans on Climate Change’, explores how this diverse group of people, brought together by the love of the game or a team, can hold the key when it comes to positive behaviour change related to climate.

The key is communicating with them effectively. And that’s what we discuss in this edition of the podcast.

But beyond the clever branding – and the launch of the strategy during a really successful Green Football Weekend – One Pack, One Planet was built on solid foundations of robust impact assessments, clear communications with club staff and giving departments the agency to develop their own action plans to achieve targets in four main areas: carbon, waste, nature and culture.

In this episode of the podcast, Thom Rawson, the project lead, explains the work that went on behind the scenes.

That’s according to Mya Doelling, the global partnerships manager for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). And in this episode of the podcast, she explains how purposeful partnerships are gaining traction in sport, using the IOC’s Climate Action Awards partnership with Airbnb, Deloitte and P&G as cases in point.

Together with her colleague Julie Duffus, the IOC’s senior sustainability manager, Doelling reveals how more than two years of preparation – which included the mapping of the IOC’s sustainability objectives with those of its TOP partners – is starting to culminate with partnerships that work towards authentic and  mutual commitments.

How does nature conservation and motorsport – an unsustainable activity in Lorenzo’s mind – fit together?

Alongside Albertsen, Skov and his friend and biodiversity expert Matilde Montagna, Sacchetti tried to find out by developing a biodiversity pilot project as one of DASU’s tracks – a pilot project that could form the foundation for a wider biodiversity strategy for the organisation.

During this episode of the podcast, they all tell the story.

Using the words of the renowned Australian environmental philosopher and writer, Val Plumwood, Rebecca Olive reflects on the vulnerability she felt when swimming in the ocean, a few hundred metres away from the shore, with no one close enough to save her if something unexpected occurred.

During episode 84 of The Sustainability Report Podcast, the senior research fellow at RMIT University talks about her research, which investigates the relationship between sportspeople like swimmers and surfers with nature, and whether these feelings of connection and vulnerability provide a greater incentive to protect the natural environment.

In the second part of the podcast, we check in with Stefan Raimund, science lead at The Ocean Race, to find out more about its expanded science programme for the 2022/23 season.

But climate change is a human problem, with people’s health, jobs, security and recreation impacted.

Some people are affected more than others. In general terms, people who are poorer economically, who come from certain ethnic backgrounds and live in certain neighbourhoods or nations feel the negative consequence more keenly than richer counterparts living in more developed nations and regions.

That’s where climate justice comes into play.

In this episode of the podcast, Jessica Murfree, visiting professor at Texas A&M University and academic focusing on the intersection of sport, climate and justice, and Sean McCabe, the climate justice officer for Bohemian Football Club in Ireland, discuss how sport can shine a light on this inequality.

Episode #82 talking points:

– What climate injustice is and how people experience it

– How leagues, clubs and federations can help to bridge inequalities when it comes to the impact of climate change on human beings

– Why climate justice should be a key consideration for sports organisations putting together sustainability plans

In episode #81 of the podcast, we explore the ASAP (As Sustainable As Possible) project, in which three National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with relatively mature approaches to sustainability (Finnish, Danish, German) support three mentee NOCs who want to reach a similar level (Czech, Slovak, Hungarian), with comprehensive sustainability strategies.

Jana Janotova (Czech Olympic Committee) and Igor Kovac (Slovak Olympic Committee) reveal what they learned from their respective mentors, while Karoliina Ketola (Finnish Olympic Committee) details her role as a mentor.

Episode #81 talking points:

– How sports organisations of a similar size and structure can work together to address sustainability challenges

– What the six NOCs did to support each other with sustainability strategy creation and early implementation

– Why existing tools are an important starting point for strategy work – and why the “wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented”

In this episode of the podcast, we discover how the sport of floorball is making environmental responsibility a key part of its growth strategy, principally through one of its key events: the Men’s World Floorball Championships in Zürich later this year.

Daniel Kasser (Zürich 2022 organising committee), Kai Rassmus Landwehr (MyClimate) and Tero Kalsta (International Floorball Federation) talk us through the preparations to make the event climate neutral.

Episode #80 talking points:

– What the World Championships organising committee and MyClimate are doing to reduce carbon emissions by 56% compared with the 2018 event

– How the fans will play their part in this reduction plan through “fun” initiatives

– Why the International Floorball Federation believes its sustainability credentials can be leveraged to appeal to new fans and partners

These are just some of the endeavours being undertaken by world-class, Olympic-competing athletes who also care strongly about the planet. In an effort to get more athletes to get behind the environmental cause, the IOC has told these stories and paired them with practical advice in its latest guide, ‘How to be a sustainable champion’.

In this edition of the podcast, Julie Duffus, the IOC’s senior sustainability manager, talks us through it.

Episode #79 talking points:

– How athletes can speak up for the environment and be a friend to nature

– What current athlete sustainability champions are doing to support the cause

– Why the guide and athlete advocacy is important for the IOC’s overall sustainability plans

The problem is that carbon fibre is very difficult to repurpose when equipment is broken or no longer fit for purpose.

But as part of the Carbon Fibre Circular Alliance, Reading has helped to accelerate a method to extract material from unwanted products to be used again in new pieces of equipment. In this podcast, Reading and Carbon Fibre Circular Alliance colleagues Bill Severa and Lourens Blok explain what they’ve done and how they’re taking the project forward.

Episode #78 talking points:

– Sport’s role in accelerating the repurposing of carbon fibre from unwanted or broken equipment

– Progress made on the development of a tennis racket produced with 50% recycled carbon fibre

– How the technology used to extract and realign the carbon fibre can scale up

Two athletes, two experiences. But both intent on using their influence to make a positive environmental impact.

In this episode of the podcast, Dunfee and Burnotte detail their unique journeys that have helped them craft their voice.

Episode #77 talking points:

– How athletes can craft their voice, when to use it and how avoid “missteps”

– What Evan and Jules do to balance climate activism and elite sports performance

– Why and how sports organisations should support athletes wanting to be more vocal or involved

But a World Sailing Trust report in 2019 highlighted room for improvement across the whole sailing industry when it comes to inclusion for women and girls.

In this week’s episode, Anne-Cécile Turner (The Ocean Race sustainability director), Dee Caffari (World Sailing Trust chair) and Jonquil Hackenberg (The Magenta Project chair), explain how they’re working together to foster inclusion, with the ultimate objective of driving gender parity among The Ocean Race sailors by 2030.

Episode #76 talking points:

– What the World Sailing Trust review revealed about gender discrimination at sea

– How The Ocean Race is facilitating inclusion through mentoring, shadowing and rule alterations

– Why and how the Magenta Project will build on the research to gain new insights

At Global Sports Week in Paris, key actors from the world of motorsport, major events, suppliers, and representing Africa, Europe and the Middle East, explored the question: can major sports events be compatible with sustainable development?

The quality of discussion was so good (including the input of the Global Sports Week Young Sports Makers), that we decided to capture the best parts in this week’s podcast.

Episode #75 talking points:

– Cyril Abiteboul on why sport must be forced to innovate in areas that benefit society

– Fatma Al Nuaimi explains how the FIFA World Cup is supporting Qatar’s 2030 development plans

– Georgina Grenon and Nathalie Bellon-Szabo unveil the sustainable Food Vision for the Paris 2024 Athletes Village

– Ibrahima Wade on Dakar 2026’s sustainability and inclusion policies

That’s why students who spend time and effort producing research that goes some way to addressing this fundamental issue are so important. 

Karina Mukanovo, a PhD student at the University of Paris-Saclay, is one such individual, and on this week’s podcast she explores how major sports events could improve their sustainable impact. 

Episode #74 talking points:

– The role of government, and why it is crucial in facilitating sustainability legacies of sports events

– Where sustainable impact ends and greenwashing begins, and how events can avoid this

– Why hosting a sports event in two or more nations could increase the chances of a positive legacy

For this edition of the podcast, The Sustainability Report sits down with Galen Trail and Brian McCullough to explore their research which applies a traditional sports marketing model to sustainability campaigns and messaging.

How can sports organisations segment their fan audience and create sustainability messages that resonate and encourage them to adapt their behaviour? Find out in this episode.

Episode #73 talking points:

– How sports practitioners can apply marketing models to sustainability to engage fans

– What sports organisations need to do to segment their audience to craft the appropriate messaging

– Why professionals working in sports marketing should increase their knowledge in this space

But it’s what sits behind the crest that is really remarkable. Vermont Green FC, a fledgling football (soccer) team about to make its debut in the USL League 2, will attempt to redefine what it means to be a football club with purpose, shaping its whole ethos and operations around climate and environmental justice.

In this week’s podcast, The Sustainability Report sits down with Vermont Green’s two co-founders, Matthew Wolff and Keil Corey, to discover what it means to be a climate-justice focused sports property.

Episode #72 talking points:

– Why the founders decided to build a football club around environmental justice, community and distinctive design

– How the club is making climate and environmental education available for all stakeholders

– What Vermont Green is doing to walk the talk around net zero and circular merchandise

In this week’s podcasts, in the company of Rikke Rønholt Albertsen, the co-founder of the Global Goals World Cup and former elite athlete, we explore this gap between sustainability objectives and outputs and actual concrete action and outcomes.

Rønholt Albertsen also talks about the need for sport to align more closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how she is working with the Danish Olympic Committee to increase its focus on sustainability and inclusion.

Episode #71 talking points:

– The gap that exists between sustainability objectives and concrete action – and how to close it

– How and why sports should align closer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

– What the Danish Olympic Committee is doing to increase its relevance and influence on society

Attempting to bring them both together are two clubs at the opposite ends of Europe, İstanbul Başakşehir in Turkey and Real Betis in Spain, who are positioning themselves football’s representation of the ocean and Earth respectively.

In this podcast, we speak with marketing executives from both clubs, Elif Aslı Koç and Rocio Ruiz Berdejo, to find out what this partnership and a focus on environmental sustainability is a key priority.

Episode #70 talking points:

– How İstanbul Başakşehir, a relatively young club, is building its identity and brand around environmental protection

– What Real Betis is doing to bring its players into sustainability activations

– Why both clubs want to grow a European football network around the environment

There’s often very little opportunity to challenge for the big honours and so much competition, particularly in European football, that it can be difficult to stand out for prospective fans and partners.

In this week’s podcast, we sit down with Benedicte Halvorsen (FK Bodo/Glimt), Raphaële Moeremans (Royale Union Saint Gilloise) – both of whom are, incidentally, doing very well on the pitch – and Chris Staudt (FC Wiltz), who explain how and why they have made sustainability a strategic priority to bridge this gap.

Episode #69 talking points: 

– Why FK Bodo/Glimt it attempting to position itself at the centre of sport’s sustainability grassroots movement

– How FC Wiltz has knitted together a number of important strategic partnerships with environmental protection as the core objective

– What Royale Union Saint Gilloise is doing to engage fans (86% of whom believe the club should take more action to address environmental issues)

Probably a combination of both, but it’s the latter that can really capture the imagination and paints a picture.

During episode #68 of The Sustainability Report Podcast Julia Fry, Kester Wilkinson (both Extreme E) and Dr. Matthew Bell (EY) illustrate the impact of the first season of the electric off-road racing series with three amazing stories.

Fry recounts the time she was approached by a young girl who had been inspired to get into motorsport by Extreme E’s gender-equal format. Wilkinson explains how Extreme E’s sustainable transit requirements influenced other organisations to follow suit. And Bell recalls a conversation he had with an individual who was moved to transition into a new profession and use his skills to combat climate change after watching a race.

Episode #68 talking points:

– Why “deeply uncomfortable questions” posed by EY gave Extreme E a platform to push sustainability boundaries

– How Extreme E’s team “embraced inconvenience” to reduce the competition’s environmental impact

– What the racing series plans to do in season two to take its sustainability work a step further

But is growth for growth’s sake ethical on a planet that is facing ecological catastrophe? Should golf courses be developed in the desert? Is it right for indoor snowsport facilities to be built, with all the environmental implications that brings?

Those are a few questions that are debated during this edition of the podcast featuring Sport Ecology Group duo, Dr. Madeleine Orr (Loughborough University) and Dr. Walker J. Ross (Florida Southern College).

We also explore their latest piece of research, which investigates the climate implications for future editions of the world’s most high-profile sporting events: the Olympic Games and the Men’s FIFA World Cup.

Episode #67 talking points:

– How future editions of the Olympics and Men’s FIFA World Cup will be affected by climate change – and what organisers can do to mitigate impact

– Why sports federations and local organising committees need to work together to create adaptation plans to safeguard athletes, spectators and volunteers

– What sport needs to do to balance its desire for growth and need to reduce its environmental impacts

While it appears that Formula E has been setting the tone since coming on the scene just under a decade ago, the FIM has had an Environmental Policy in place for almost 30 years and F1 is starting to make inroads, with innovation and technical excellence as its basis for sustainability.

A few episodes ago, motorsport engineer and sustainability expert Cristiana Pace joined us to discuss her Sustainable Circuits Index – a rundown of the motorsport tracks with the best credentials in this space. For episode #66, Pace has joined us again to talk through her latest piece of research which explores the sustainability operations of globally-recognised motorsport championships.

Joining Pace on the show is Paolo Taticchi, a UCL professor of strategy and sustainability and prominent academic in this field, who helped to define and validate her methodology.

Episode #66 talking points:

– Why motorsport championships are a good benchmark of where the industry broadly is regarding sustainability

– Which motorsport championships scored well for social and environmental performance – and what the difference is between FIA and FIM events

– How the data was collected, analysed and presented

In each episode, climate scientist and associate professor at Edinburgh University, Sam Illingworth, recites poetry he’s written about a particular scientific topic.

Illingworth, who is the guest for episode #65 of The Sustainability Report Podcast, explains why poetry is the perfect medium to connect scientists and non-scientists as it breaks down the hierarchy of intellect, gives scientists the opportunity to express emotion and helps to develop a sense of shared vulnerability.

He adds that sport could be another good medium in which to create a safe and engaging space for dialogue around climate change.

Episode #65 talking points:

– Why poetry and games are perfect mediums to facilitate dialogue between scientists and non-scientists

– How sport can adopt similar sensibilities to engage people in climate science and climate change solutions

– What sports clubs could do to harness personal identity and collaborate with scientists

Last week, following a year of consultation and development, World Rugby, the sport’s global governing body, published its response in the form of a 2030 Environmental Plan.

In this edition of the podcast, the federation’s chief executive Alan Gilpin walks us through the plan, explaining World Rugby’s motivation for creating it and addressing its three key priorities: climate action, circular economy and the natural environment.

Gilpin touches on the “ambitious but realistic” goal of reducing World Rugby’s carbon impact by 50% across all three scopes without offsetting, and how the organisation will work with event organising committees and other stakeholders to achieve the plan’s objectives.

While many of us have the intention of adopting more sustainable habits and behaviours, the fact that some don’t fit seamlessly into our everyday lives means we stop short at taking the required action.

This week’s podcast guest, behavioural economist Christina Gravert, spends her time investigating what lies in the gap between intention and action, and how to potentially close it.

Hard measures, such as regulations and incentives, may drive people towards behaviour change. But Gravert’s research demonstrates that softer ‘nudges’ – where people are asked to make decisions in a slightly altered environment – may be just as effective, if not more, if executed well.

In this episode, Gravert explains how any organisation can use the technique to support policy, and help people make better decisions for the environment. She explores some of her research, and reflects on how nudging could be adopted in the sports industry, using a stadium setting as an example.

Episode #63 talking points:

– Why people don’t make optimal decisions, and how nudging can support them

– How nudging can be used to support sustainable behaviour change in various settings, including sport

– What organisations can do to develop a good nudging strategy

With its growing importance and interest, it’s only natural that the industry wants to do the same with sustainability. But without any real standard benchmarks, measurement and progress is tricky.

In this edition of the podcast, we speak with two guests who are trying to rectify this through the creation of indexes with robust and scalable criteria to discover how sustainable sport is, and where the opportunities for improvement lie.

Our first guest, Cristiana Pace, a motorsport engineer of more than 25 years and founder of strategic sustainability agency and pending B Corp Enovation, talks about the Sustainable Circuit Index she put together alongside Right Hub, which assessed major motorsport race tracks on their sustainability credentials.

Sport and sustainability professional Tim Trefzer joins us for the second half of the podcast to explain how and why he helped create the Sustainable Sport Index 2021 Benchmarking Report, exploring the state of play across US sports venues.

Pace and Trefzer discuss:

– How they designed their methodologies to gather and analyse sustainability data

– Why indexing and benchmarking is crucial for sport to improve its environmental and social performance

– What motorsport circuits and sports venues need to do to address sustainability regulations and stakeholder expectations

But, in terms of being at the forefront for a sustained number of years, very few can match the achievements or commitment of Lew Blaustein.

After launching Green Sports Blog almost a decade ago, and shaping it into a must-read publication for anyone interested in sport and the environment, Blaustein now is driving athlete activism and engagement through his recently-established nonprofit, EcoAthletes.

In this special edition of the podcast, ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, Blaustein and I forgo the usual podcast structure and instead kick back and chat about the changes we’ve seen the sustainability and sport movement over the last few years – especially post-Covid – and some of the key issues.

Among other things, we discuss:

• Sport’s role at COP26 – and how it should be taken more seriously by policy-makers
• The critical role of mainstream media outlets in normalising sport’s climate movement for fans
• What we would do if we were commissioner for a day

Competitive advantage, says Porter, can be derived from two main sources: doing things at lower cost or differentiation.

Sustainability has been touted as a form of differentiation – but if every organisation needs to get their environmental house in order to align with emerging policy and public opinion, how can organisations differentiate on these grounds?

In his own Harvard Business Review article from 2019, one of this week’s guests, Ioannis Ioannou, puts forward the argument that while sustainability can be competitive advantage for some, this will only extend to the organisations going beyond risk management and embedding sustainability in their organisational strategy, leading to new innovation in products and services that provide solutions for consumers and the planet.

SailGP is one of the handful of sports properties to have sustainability as a key pillar of its strategy and operations. Its mantra, ‘powered by nature’, reflects this. And even though its ambitious net zero carbon strategy (2025) and focus on sustainable development in host cities has won the attention of fans and partners like Tesla, its chief executive Sir Russell Coutts insists that this is not to carve out a competitive advantage – but to be in-step with other leading organisations.

In this podcast, Coutts and Fiona Morgan, SailGP’s director of purpose and impact, follow up on Ioannou’s observations by showcasing their approach to social and environmental leadership, which includes establishing an innovative approach to athlete engagement and competition in the shape of the Impact League.

Listen to this episode to discover:

– How organisations can adopt a values- and solutions-based approach to sustainability

– Why SailGP developed the Impact League alongside its core competition

– Whether sustainability leadership can truly create differentiation – or if it should be an aspiration for all

The letter was coordinated by Champions for Earth, a group of current and former sportspeople determined to make the athlete voice a key driver in the acceleration of the low-carbon transition.

Melissa Wilson, one of the guests in this episode, is part of the core Champions for Earth team, coordinating much of its effort to engage and educate athletes to understand and communicate about climate change and other environmental issues.

Joining Wilson is Morten Thorsby, a professional footballer for U.C. Sampdoria in Italy and the Norwegian national team. Thorsby is on the cusp of launching We Play Green – an organisation that encourages football players and other sportspeople to engage in climate action.

During this episode, Wilson and Thorsby document their journeys, discuss their respective organisations, and explain how athletes can talk authentically about climate and the environment.

When it comes to the plant-based diet and its impact on athlete performance, perhaps nothing has been quite so impactful as The Game Changers – a revealing Netflix documentary showcasing the connection between enhanced physical performance and the eradication of animal-based products.

It appears that the growing plant-based revolution is an area of untapped potential for the sports industry in a couple of instances, not to mention its positive impact on the environment.

In this week’s podcast, we talk with James Wilks, who was behind the documentary, and Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance.

The Green Sports Alliance and Wilks’ Game Changers Institute – a recently-established vehicle to generate research about and promote plant-based living – have partnered up, and Wilks and McClendon explain.

Indeed, sport has often highlighted the nation’s plight to the rest of the world, with high-profile incidents occurring during the Australian Open with regards to players being badly affected by the soaring temperatures and smoke from the bushfires.

But it’s Australia’s thriving recreational sport ecosystem that is bearing the brunt of the problems. Venues that bring people together within communities have been damaged or even destroyed totally by extreme weather.

Earlier this year, the state of Victoria engaged the Sports Environment Alliance (SEA) to collaborate on a piece of work designed to provide guidance to venue managers and volunteers at community sports facilities on how they can safeguard these sacred places from the worst of climate change.

In this edition of the podcast, the SEA’s Dr. Sheila Nguyen and Kirsty Reidy of Sport and Recreation Victoria talk us through the guidance.

Sustainability-related data may not be at the top of the priority list for most sports properties. But a look under the hood may demonstrate that those who continue to think that way could be missing a trick – and leaving a lot of money on the table.

In this edition of the podcast, our guests, Kristen Fulmer (Recipric), Nick Cronin (Zoomp) and Chris Pyke (Arc Skoru), explain what sustainability data matters, and how it can help sports organisations achieve other core targets around fan engagement, brand partnerships and operational efficiency.

Episode #56 talking points:

– Why sustainability data can help sports entities achieve other objectives

– How sports organisations can identify the right data to collect

– What they can do with that data to grow fan affinity and brand relationships

The cultural impact of the clubs and players is immense. You only need to examine the case of young Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford – whose campaign for free school meals for children coming from challenging economic backgrounds changed government policy – to understand the significance of the league and those who take part in that.

That’s why it’s encouraging to see many of the 20 teams start to take climate action and address sustainability in a meaningful way.

During this episode, we sit down with Sport Positive founder Claire Poole – the creator of the Premier League Sustainability Table – to discuss her findings, as well as representatives from two of the best-ranked clubs in the table: Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.

Tony Stevens, the head of public relations for the former, explains how Spurs surged to the top of the table by making sustainability core to the club’s business, while Tim Greenwell, the chief legal and risk officer for Southampton, talks about the club’s new sustainability strategy, The Halo Effect.

If you had to think of a few words to describe motorsport, the above three would probably be close to mind. But, in recent time, competitions such as Formula E and now Extreme E have sought to change that. Climate action and gender equality are now the watchwords. Even F1 has launched its own carbon neutrality roadmap.

A handful of teams within those competitions are attempting to push the envelope even further. Veloce Racing and Envision Virgin Racing are among the first two motorsport teams to adopt the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework. In this episode, we speak to the leaders of both organisations: Daniel Bailey and Sylvain Filippi.

During this podcast, Bailey and Filippi discuss motorsport’s changing sensibilities and how they’re harnessing their brands to make a positive environmental and societal impact while staying competitive on the track.

Episode #54 talking points:

– How Formula E and Extreme E (and the teams within them) are moving motorsport towards purpose as well as entertainment

– What Veloce Racing is doing to build a culture around technical excellence, environmentalism and gender equality

– Why Envision Virgin Racing is positioning itself as a climate change movement more than a sports team

– How both teams plan to engage new fans and partners

Of course, once the worst of the pandemic is over major sporting events will, by and large, revert to their traditional form. People are yearning to see their heroes compete and enjoy the spectacle with fellow revellers.

On the business side of sport, many of those behind the scenes will be itching to get back to the conference circuit to meet new people, generate new business, and make lasting connections.

But during our first podcast of 2021, three thought leaders from the sports events sector – Lucien Boyer (Global Sports Week), Lucie Lapierre (EGG Events) and Paul Moore (Atos) – explain what we’ve learnt over the course of the last 12 months to help us optimise the experience in the future.

Podcast guests:

• Lucien Boyer, co-founder, Global Sports Week
• Lucie Lapierre, sports project manager, EGG Events
• Paul Moore, head of innovation, media market, Atos

Key talking points:

• How the sports event industry has pivoted its business model in light of the Covid-19 pandemic
• Why sustainability will become a big revenue driver for sports properties
• AI, and how it is being accelerated to boost fan engagement and operational efficiency
• The growing importance of employee wellbeing in the sports events industry

However, a significant proportion of the population will be feeling pessimistic about the consequence of the pandemic on their job security and industry in general.

That’s why we’ve tried extra hard to infuse the last podcast of 2020 with plenty of optimism and guidance, courtesy of Licia Rester and Kirk Souder, the authors of The Soul Purpose Method.

During this episode, Rester and Souder discuss their partnership with 17 Sport to create the Soul Purpose Sport Accelerator, designed to connect sports leaders and professionals with an intrinsic sense of purpose. They also explain:

• The three pillars of The Soul Purpose Method – intention, liberation and co-creation
• How sports professionals can unlock their “inner purpose”
• Why sport is the perfect industry to bring these principles to the masses

During this episode, Global Sports Week Young Sports Maker Muller, reflects on his current position, as a policy development officer for anti-doping at the French Sports Ministry, and explains:

• Why education is crucial to combat the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport
• How sports organisations should engage more with environmental issues
• What current trends he expects to see become mainstream in sport

Zhang is also the third of four Global Sports Week Young Sports Makers to share her experiences with the podcast over the last few weeks.

During this episode, she charts her journey from studying psychology and political science at UCLA to discovering sports journalism, then carving out a career in communications. Zhang explains:

• How young sports professionals can express their views confidently with more experienced colleagues
• Why sport is a perfect vehicle for accelerating social and gender equity
• What her strategy is to boost the popularity of handball in the US

Fritz is the second Global Sports Week Young Sports Maker of four to join us on the podcast, and this notion of exploring culture and learning about sustainable development is a key theme throughout the conversation.

Becoming an IOC Young Change Maker at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games – and an IOC Young Leader thereafter – gave her a clear understanding of what sport can do, and what she wants to achieve in the industry.

During this episode, Fritz talks about her experiences and explains:

• Her social business concept focused on sustainable development and basketball
• Why it’s important to engage young athletes in educational programmes
• How sports partners can help to facilitate education and culture

Kimberly Fernandez, the social entrepreneur from Mumbai, India, is our first guest in this mini-series. 

Fernandez has been immersed in sport since childhood, and when the time came to embark on a career she wanted to find a role that combined her passions of sport and social justice and inclusion.

During this episode, Fernandez charts her unconventional route into the sports industry, and explains how and why she launched a start-up, Zars Sports, which aims to make sport more accessible for young people and provide coaching and sports administration opportunities for women. She discusses:

• How she established a start-up based on sport and social inclusion
• Why providing opportunities for children and women is the company’s core mission
• What she hopes to achieve as a Global Sports Week Young Sports Maker

However, when it comes to sustainability and governance, TSG Hoffenheim is among the pacesetters in European football – perhaps even sport in general.

Last year, before the coronavirus pandemic began and subsequent lockdowns stopped fans from attending matches, the club launched a simple but innovative climate ticket, in which spectators could add €1 onto their ticket price to buy a tree for a reforestation project in Uganda.

The club has also built its sponsorship offer around social and environmental consciousness, and has established a sustainable clothing brand by investing in African businesses.

Stefan Wagner, the sustainability and sports marketing expert, is behind much of this work. In this episode, he talks about his collaboration with the Bundesliga club and reflects on his wider project, Sports For Future, which aims to put sport right at the heart of climate action.

During the podcast, Wagner explains:

• How he supported TSG Hoffenheim with integrated sustainability into its core business
• Why sport is a key industry to accelerate mass decarbonisation
• What his new project – the German government- and FC Bayern Munich-backed Sports 4 Trees – is aiming to achieve

In this week's podcast, Dan Reading, World Sailing’s head of sustainability and the man behind the strategy, charts the federation’s progress and explains how the plan was developed as well as how it is being executed.

Consulting with stakeholders, setting concrete objectives, searching for innovation, and working with partners has been the story of the organisation’s success to date, according to Reading. During the episode he explains:

• How innovation related to electric support boats and alternatives to single-use plastic is accelerating sustainability within the €100bn marine industry
• Why partners, suppliers and athletes are crucial to World Sailing achieving its sustainability vision
• What sports organisations can do to make sure their operations and events are environmentally responsible

It’s testament to the organisation’s leadership that, despite its limitated resources, social and environmental responsibility is very much a priority.

In this week’s edition of the podcast, we talk with the federation’s chief executive, Michal Buchel, who charts the combat sport’s relationship with sustainability, and explains:

• Why the FIAS started to focus on sustainability in 2014
• How it is collaborating with partners, such as oil and gas company Rosneft, to accelerate sustainable change
• What the objectives of its recently-published 10-year sustainability strategy are

The cartoon, in which each of the global problems is represented by a tidal wave, each one larger in size and looming over the Earth, will be quite widely-recognised by now. 

According to the United Nations, the “ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever”, posing a significant threat to humans and all we find dear. Including sport.

Sport has an intrinsic relationship with nature. We play many sports on grass. We cycle and ski in the mountains. We swim and sail in lakes, rivers and seas. Recognising this, the IOC and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) teamed up to develop a number of guides to help the sports industry play its part in biodiversity protection.

This week, we sit down with Giulia Carbone, deputy director of the IUCN, to discuss those guides and explore:

• How sports organisations can plan events and venues to cultivate a net biodiversity gain
• Why leagues, clubs and federations should create a natural environment strategy
• What the consequences are for sport if nature collapses further

On this week’s podcast, we sit down with the person who encouraged the 2018 Super Bowl-winning team to take its sustainability credentials to the next level – Lindsay Arell of Honeycomb Strategies in Denver, Colorado.

During the episode, Arell charts her sustainability career, from greening the 2008 Democratic Convention ahead of the election of Barack Obama to US president, to helping the Eagles and other sports properties incorporate her ECO – engagement and communication, community, and operations – methodology that shifts the focus to holistic sustainability.

Arell explains:

• Why sports organisations need to start looking beyond the environmental aspects of sustainability
• How integrating employees from diverse departments can help foster staff engagement and buy-in
• What the ISO 20121 sustainable event management system is – and how it works

But there’s a real concern that many may start to equate single-use products with human health as a result of Covid-19, ripping apart a lot of the good work done pre-pandemic around the phasing out of single-use plastic products like beverage cups.

This week’s guest, Meegan Jones, has launched “pre-emptive strike” and published a set of guidelines and recommendations proving that reusable products are as safe as single-use products, if venue operators have the correct protocols in place.

During the episode, Jones also discusses:

• How the event industry has changed over the last decade with respect to its sustainability credentials
• Why sporting events will need to become more environmentally responsible under their “social licence to operate”
• What event professionals can do, practically, to make sure their events are a low impact as possible

Biathlon is one of those sports. Indeed Europe’s Alpine region is the global epicentre of the sport.

But, instead of turning a blind eye and accepting its fate, the sport’s governing body – the International Biathlon Union – has decided to do everything in its power to make sure it will be part of the solution to climate change and futureproof the pastime. 

In this week’s podcast, Riikka Rakic, the snowsport and sustainability professional and IBU senior project manager, talks us through the federation’s newly-unveiled 10-year sustainability strategy, and explains:

• What international sports federations, particularly snowsports, need to do to make climate action a priority
• How she helped the International Biathlon Union develop a long-term sustainability vision
• Why fossil fuel-free events need to be the next big objective for sports organisations

Instead of the usual interview format, this episode features the recording from a panel at this month’s Sport Positive Summit in which Julie Duffus (Olympic Movement sustainability senior manager for the IOC), Omar Mitchell (the NHL’s VP of sustainable infrastructure and growth initiatives), and Jonathan Smith (founder and executive director of the GEO Foundation) discuss a topic many in sport are grappling with: data measurement and reporting.

During the show, Duffus, Mitchell and Smith go into detail on the what, why and how of data measurement and reporting in sport, including:

• What data their respective organisations are measuring and reporting
• How they are collecting data and presenting it to stakeholders
• Why it’s important for forward-thinking sports organisations to collect sustainability data and be transparent about it

Throw a global pandemic into the mix, and the challenge becomes a mountain to climb.

That’s why the sport and sustainability movement – and sports industry in general – is lucky to have Claire Poole, who battled against the obstacles 2020 threw in her way to host a successful first edition of the Sport Positive Summit earlier this month.

The summit was created to be a convener for the signatories to the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework, and a learning platform for those sports organisations starting to dip their toes into the world of sustainability.

During the episode, Poole talks about her journey putting the summit together and explains:

• Why sport’s collective response to climate change is more important than ever
• How the sport and sustainability movement has evolved over the past few years
• What content and topics were explored at the first summit

But even though he excelled as an athlete across multiple disciplines, his retirement from professional sport has brought him to what he believes is his true calling: engineering. Or, more specifically, engineering with a sharp focus on sustainability.

However, during this episode of The Sustainability Report Podcast, Smith talks about one of the ‘extracurricular’ activities that have allowed him to remain in sport – the role of an IOC Young Leader.

As part of his induction, Smith was tasked with conceiving and delivering a project that meshed the worlds of sport and social enterprise and, after seeing so much waste pile up at a grassroots event he attended in his home nation of Canada, he decided that he could take his passion of environmental stewardship into sport.

In this episode, Smith explains:

• Why sustainability has always been a passion for him, throughout his athletic career
• What role he thinks sport can play in reducing human apathy around climate change
• How he gamified sustainability processes to make it easier for small sports event hosts to adopt

Just some of the topics that this week’s podcast guest, Professor Andy Miah, counts within his sphere of expertise and interests. 

Specifically for this episode, we’ll be focusing on innovation in the sports industry – primarily sustainable innovation – and what news tech and ways of thinking are best placed to help the sector generate engagement, become more financially sustainable, and less of a burden on the planet’s resources.

Miah discusses the future of the Olympic Games, and how the current coronavirus pandemic and concerns around climate change may impact the way the Games is traditionally hosted. He also explains how eSports could help with that transition.

Tune in to this episode to find out:

• Why the pandemic is the perfect time for sports organisations to innovate
• How eSports can make the traditional sports industry more financially and environmentally sustainable
• What sports events and entities can do to become drivers of sustainable innovation

Amu is already the first person to compete for the landlocked, war-torn nation internationally in the sport and, in doing so, has overcome a unique set of challenges. It’s no surprise, then, that Amu is also a thought leader and coach in design thinking – a concept that enables individuals and organisations to approach complex (or ‘wicked’) problems with a different thought process to the traditional analytical or linear method of problem-solving.

To overcome wicked problems the emphasis needs to be on empathy and creativity. Empathy because the problem-solver has to get into the minds of the people they are solving the problem for. And creativity because the answer is unlikely to be fathomable using the traditional tools.

During this episode, Amu explains exactly what design thinking is (and what it’s not), and how the sports industry and other sectors can leverage this method to tackle some of the wicked problems they are facing. He describes in detail:

• What wicked problems are, and how they differ from basic problems
• Why design thinking is the best method to approach these types of challenges
• How individuals and organisations can shift their thinking, from linear and analytical to empathetic and design-oriented

So it’s a nice change of pace to hear a story about someone who has recently started a new venture that is thriving. Particularly when that new venture brings together sustainability and sport.

Vanessa Nord has done exactly that, and in a short space of time has brought sustainability to the forefront of the mind of organisations like FC Bayern Munich and the German Boxing Association.

She has also created a networking group of some of the German sports industry’s most forward-thinking minds, called Project C, to discuss and find solutions to some of the sector’s most prominent issues.

During the episode, Vanessa explains:

• Why the time was right to launch a sport and sustainability start-up
• How her work caught the attention of sports brands like FC Bayern Munich
• What her sustainable sport event guide is – and how she put it together

Whenever the subject of a major sporting tournament – past, present or future – is brought up, the subject of legacy has to be explored.

Traditionally, that legacy has tended to focus on economic impact of hosting a tournament and sport participation rates (if they’ve increased as a direct result). And while Jon Dutton, the chief executive of the upcoming Rugby League World Cup, would love for the 2021 tournament in England to have a positive impact on both, they’re not the be-all and end-all when it comes to legacy.

Physical and mental health. Environmental responsibility. Civic pride. Innovation. Dutton is making sure all of these and more are on the priority list. But in order to take these issues into account, the status quo of tournament organising cannot remain intact. 

That’s why Dutton and his team are doing things differently. They’ve garnered extensive insight about what fans want and how they can make a genuinely positive impact on the North of England (where the majority of the competition is taking place).

In this episode, Dutton talks us through the sustainability charter that has been developed for the tournament and the innovation programme designed to upskill local youngsters. He explains:

• Why the Rugby League World Cup 2021 will be the biggest-ever edition of the tournament on every metric
• How social impact, sustainability and innovation plays a crucial role in that vision
• What data and insight informed the organising committee’s strategy

Air quality, daylight, colour-schemes and healthy food options are important factors for workplaces to consider. There’s no shortage of data to demonstrate that a healthy working environment is conducive to productivity and performance.

So why doesn’t sport take these factors into account as much?

This week, Kristen Fulmer, the founder of Recipric and a commercial real estate sustainability expert, puts forward answers to that question, and explains why healthy venues should be an emerging priority – particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the episode, Fulmer discusses:

• How poor indoor conditions have the potential to drastically impact athlete performance 
• What team and venue owners have to do to make sure their facility takes athlete and spectator health into account
• Why measures to make venues safe in the face of Covid could potentially have a positive environmental impact

But although leaving their teammates, fans and coaches can be the most overwhelming and scary point of their lives, Danielle Berman is sure that transitioning sportspeople can thrive as they take the first steps into their new lives.

Berman is the founder of Tackle What’s Next, a platform and community that helps athletes navigate life away from the field and have successful and fulfilling careers.

During the episode, she explains the challenges and opportunities facing transitioning sportspeople and:

• What clubs, leagues and federations can do to better support them
• Why education is crucial as they embark on their next steps
• How athlete transition fits into the wider duty of care conversation

Sport’s business model, he says, is complacent and lazy, and has been exposed badly by the coronavirus pandemic.

The industry has no choice but to build back better and move purpose from the fringes (such as foundations and CSR departments) to the centre of the organisation. During this episode, Duffy explains: 

• Why sports will have to “do good to do well” in the post-Covid environment
• How sport’s organisations can authentically approach purpose
• What the role of leadership, athletes and employees are in that shift

The world – and the US in particular – is a different place and, in many ways, the remit of the Green Sports Alliance has grown as a result.

While its original raison d’être revolved around the greening of teams and leagues it’s associated with (the organisation has more than 300 members), the coronavirus pandemic and the racial and social injustice coming to light in the US has presented other challenges for the American sports industry.

And although environmental responsibility remains one of its key pillars, the Alliance has established its ‘Ready to play’ initiative, which has been designed to help its members put health and safety of fans and athletes first amid Covid, and is becoming more vocal about social justice.

This week, we talk with Roger McClendon, the Green Sports Alliance’s executive director. During the episode, he discusses what he terms as the “three pandemics” of coronavirus, climate change and social injustice, and talks about how sport can have a positive impact on all three. He explains:

• How the Alliance is helping its members get prepared for life after Covid
• Why sport is well placed to educate around social and racial injustice
• What Green Sports Alliance members are doing to protect the environment

But that’s exactly what Jaime Nack – this week’s guest – did. Not only that, but her fledgling consultancy, Three Squares Inc, specialised in something called ‘sustainability’ – a concept that was not even close to going mainstream yet.

The year 2008 was also a year of hope. The US elected its first-ever African American president in November. And as Barack Obama was being nominated by his political party a few months beforehand, during August’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Nack was getting her business off the ground by ‘greening’ the major political event.

Nack has been the sustainability director for every subsequent convention and has seen Three Squares Inc go from strength to strength, working with brands, events and venues such as Honda, the Los Angeles Marathon and Exposition Park – a venue earmarked for the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

During this episode, she discusses her journey and reveals why strategy and conviction are crucial to achieving bold sustainability objectives. Nack explains:

• Why she makes it a priority to work across a number of industries – including sport – to increase her positive impact
• How and why it’s important for organisations to give employees responsibility and autonomy when it comes to sustainability
• How to turn a strong sustainability strategy into a positive legacy

A significant proportion of companies on the stock market publish non-financial reports every year and, with many of these organisations involved in sport in some way (either suppliers or commercial partners), it’s becoming inevitable that sports entities will have to follow suit sooner rather than later.

But there’s an art and a science to good strategy. Strategy is not a one-size-fits-all, and sustainability goals that one sports organisation may pursue may not be applicable or feasible for another.

In this week’s podcast, sport and sustainability strategist Susie Tomson explains why a well-thought-out strategy is crucial for sports teams and events to generate a genuinely positive impact and helps them measure their progress.

During the episode, Tomson discusses:

• The characteristics of a good sustainability strategy
• Why it’s important for sport to be bold in its pursuit of sustainability
• How transparency can help a sports organisation achieve its goals

But that could all be about to change. Since being acquired by Liberty Global outright in 2017, the popular motoracing format has undergone something of a transformation, at least on the business side. Now, reducing its carbon emissions and becoming a bastion of sustainability within the sports industry is one of its aims.

To be exact, Formula 1 has the explicit objective of becoming net zero carbon by 2030 which, with its extensive travelling around the globe and racing of cars with combustion engine motors, is no mean feat.

In this week’s podcast, the organisation’s director of strategy and business development, Yath Gangakumaran, details its roadmap to get there. Not only that, but he discusses a wider sustainability blueprint that includes a focus on youth education, and diversity and inclusion.

During the episode Gangakumaran explains:

• How Formula 1 is working with partners to develop low-carbon solutions, such as more sustainable fuels
• Why the organisation is establishing a STEM education programme to stimulate diversity and inclusion
• Where Formula 1 can leverage its technical knowledge and specialisms to reduce carbon in other sectors

Poor air quality is responsible for the deaths of seven million people per year, according to the World Health Organization, with four million of those deaths attributed to outdoor air pollution. Athletes who train outside – particularly in big polluted cities – breathing in a larger amount of air than sedentary people could be putting themselves at risk.

World Athletics, the international sports federation, has recognised this, and put air quality at the heart of a wide-ranging sustainability strategy that it unveiled earlier this year.

It builds on work already started, with the implementation of air quality monitors within several certified tracks, and a pilot project launched during the 2019 World Relays in Yokohama.

This week our guest is Paolo Emilio Adami, World Athletics’ health and science department medical manager, who is at the heart of this air quality project.

During the episode, Adami explains:

• Why air quality is such an important issue for athletics, and sport in general
• What has been discovered during initial research projects
• How World Athletics will correlate air quality and athlete performance during future events

But when Extreme E (the off-road electric car racing series and sister of Formula E) revealed its Scientific Committee to investigate the impact climate change was having on the race locations, the intersection of science and sport took on a whole other meaning.

Alongside landmark projects in the Amazon Rainforest, Greenland, Senegal and Saudi Arabia being devised by the Scientific Committee, the actual race organisers have been working to make sure Extreme E’s operations are as sustainable as possible, including the decision to ditch air freight and transporting equipment around the world via the ocean.

Julia Pallé, the senior sustainability consultant of Extreme E and Formula E, is the driving force behind these plans.

As this week’s guest, she discusses the key differences between Extreme E and Formula E, and why the Scientific Committee and its projects are crucial for the legacy and fan engagement elements of the competition.

During the episode, Pallé explains:

• How to achieve sustainability goals through sport and science
• Why sport needs to move beyond its core purpose of entertaining to continue thriving
• What Extreme E’s plans are to engage the global population in climate action

That’s probably the stand-out quote from this week’s guest, Jesse Lovejoy, who as the director of the San Francisco 49ers EDU programme designs and oversees a large-scale STEAM (science, technology, education, art and maths) education programme that engages thousands of children in the Bay Arena every year.

STEAM education, he says, not only empowers young people but it helps them learn complex concepts through the prism of subjects that interest them or impact their everyday lives.

Sport is one of the best ways to get that message across. During an EDU field trip, students can learn about technology through the evolving innovation and equipment needed for professional American football, or take in a science lesson focused on the sustainability aspects of Levi's Stadium, the state-of-the-art home of the 49ers.

During this episode, Lovejoy explains:

• Why STEAM education is crucial for skilling up the future workforce
• How sport can make STEAM education accessible for underserved children
• What the San Francisco 49ers EDU programme entails

After spending more than two decades as a competitive sailor, Damian Foxall is all-too-aware of the damage being caused to the ocean by plastics and climate change.

Now after transitioning to become the sustainability manager of the 11th Hour Racing Team, which will compete in the next Ocean Race (2021/22), Foxall is doing everything in his power to make sure the marine industry becomes part of the solution rather than the problem.

Aptly, the theme of last week’s World Ocean Day was “innovation for a sustainable ocean”. 

In this episode, Foxall talks about working with partners and boatbuilders to seek out materials and methods that will not only help the team achieve a good finish in the race, but will accelerate sustainability in The Ocean Race and beyond.

Foxall explains:

• Why the win-at-all-cost mentality is being replaced by a more holistic approach
• How sports teams can combine performance with sustainability
• What the main pillars of the 11th Hour Racing Team’s sustainability policy are

In this week’s episode, the president and chief executive of the International Sponsor Council makes his case for a sustainability professional being at the heart of each sponsorship team from the very inception of a project.

That way, the sponsor can make sure it does a good job of aligning its brand values and business ethics with a sports property.

There are three ways brands can approach sponsorship opportunities, he explains: (1) If it aligns perfectly, sponsor it, (2) If there’s a gap in values, work together to fix it, and (3) If values are polar opposite, move on and don’t risk your brand reputation.

It’s within the second approach that the most positive impact can be achieved, says Cecil. Brands, he adds, must tackle the important issues – gender pay inequality, carbon footprint, plastic waste, social justice, and athlete health – and find, in a partner, the right entity to solve those problems.

Sponsorship is no longer just about exposure to consumers. It’s about doing good for those consumers.

During the episode, Cecil explains:

• Why sustainability executives should be at the heart of sponsorship decisions
• How sports entities can leverage the experience of sponsors to do social and environmental good
• Why sponsors should be involved in sustainability research

But this week’s guest, Kevin Bartram, did just that when, venturing out on his own in the late-90s, he decided that sport sponsorship should be about more than just money and exposure. There was a real chance, he saw, for brands and sports properties to do good while achieving their own objectives.

During this episode, Bartram discusses how sponsorship has changed in the subsequent decades, using a partnership that he brokered between the San Francisco Giants and PG&E to demonstrate what can be done when you bring together two organisations with similar values who are ready to innovate in the name of progress.

Over the course of the conversation, Bartram explains:

• Why social and environmental purpose is set to go mainstream in sport sponsorship
• How sports properties can identify the right partners
• What needs to be done to cultivate a partnership that benefits both parties and achieve wider objectives

Nobody wants their brand to be accused of anything to do with -washing. But it’s not just about what an organisation does itself – it’s also about the activities of the companies and individuals that organisation is associated with. 

Money, of course, is what primarily drives sponsorship, but increasingly sponsored properties (such as sports teams, leagues and federations) are beginning to understand that being financially lucrative cannot be the sole criteria of commercial partnerships. Values have to be aligned in some ways, or other stakeholders – such as fans, media and high-profile members of the community – may call it out.

T. Bettina Cornwell, this week’s guest, is one of the world's foremost experts on sport sponsorship and has devoted her career to investigating what makes a commercial partnership authentic.

During this episode, Cornwell defines what authentic sponsorship is and explains how sports organisations can align with appropriate partners, through:

• Creating their own mission statement and company values
• Judging sponsorship opportunities on criteria based on fundamentals and relevance
• Consistently pursuing shared values with commercial partners

She also uses a handful of best practice examples to illustrate her key points.

There are five principles, he says, that sponsors (and sports properties) will have to adopt to create successful campaigns: intentionality about purpose, authenticity, sustainability, the right metrics, and collaboration.

During this podcast, Balkam discusses his framework for 3-Win Sponsorship and explains:

• Why sports fans and consumers are engaging more with purposeful brands
• How a successful 3-Win Sponsorship campaign is constructed
• What’s next for sport sponsorship

He also touches on a number of case studies – from Super Bowl 50, to T-Mobile and Anheuser-Busch – to illustrate examples of good practice.

From half marathons and marathons to Iron Man contests, the popularity of mass participation events has surged over the past few years although, in the current environment, it’s difficult to predict when it will be safe to host another one.

Nevertheless, while the increasing number of runners has generated a positive economic impact for the Welsh city of Cardiff, there have been negative repercussions on the environmental side.

Dr Andrea Collins, professor at Cardiff University, has dedicated some of her research to the event over the past few years to assess that impact.

In terms of the economy, the Cardiff Half Marathon was responsible for £2.3m spent in Wales (£1.9m of which was spent in Cardiff) – but on the environmental side, it was also responsible for 346 tonnes of carbon emissions.

However, because of the research Collins conducted the year before, that figure was 32% smaller than the carbon impact generated in 2017. In this podcast, Collins explains how her research helped the race organiser, Run 4 Wales, reduce its environmental impact by:

• Encouraging runners to ditch the car and travel to the race via public transport
• Cultivating partnerships with bike rental and car share firms
• Reducing parking fees for shareable methods of transport (coach, minibus etc)

She also explains how the evolution of the research will investigate the impact of spectators as well as runners, to paint a full picture of the Cardiff Half Marathon’s impact.

“Let God handle the environment.”

“I appreciate the (team’s) environmental initiatives, but I think (if you go) too far on environmental issues, things start to get political.”

These are just some of the responses provided by highly-identified fans of a well-known US sports franchise when asked about their view of the team’s environmental initiatives.

The study, conducted by Tim Kellison and Beth Cianfrone of Georgia State University, found that – unsurprisingly – fans who identified as non-environmentalists were, generally, sceptical at best and hostile at worst when it came to the team being overtly environmental in its operations and messaging.

Evidence is mounting up that being sustainable is not only good for the environment, but is also good for business. It’s now expected that high-profile businesses are environmentally and socially responsible.

But when a significant section of your loyal and high-spending consumer base (highly-identified fans) feel alienated by such messaging, how can you proceed with important environmental initiatives while causing minimum friction?

Kellison is this week’s guest, and during the episode he discusses:

• How different fans respond to their team’s environmental operations and messaging
• Why sustainability needs to be reframed for different audiences
• What teams need to do to make environmental projects more palatable for sceptical fans

Research undertaken by Sport Ecology Group co-director Madeleine Orr paints an uncomfortable picture for both sports. But the fact is that baseball and skiing are not alone – practically every sport (and, by extension, every sports organisation) is being impacted, and will continue to be impacted negatively by the increasing number of heatwaves, storms and floods caused by climate change.

We’ve established that sport is vulnerable – that is not in question. So in this episode, Orr discusses one of her latest pieces of research in which she developed the Climate Vulnerability of Sports Organisations Framework (CVSO).

The CVSO Framework looks at two criteria: 1. To what extent a sports organisation is impacted by climate change, and 2. The sport organisation’s capacity to deal with those threats. 

In essence, sports organisations should be able to use this framework to discover just how prepared they are to cope with upheaval or disaster related to climate change.

In this episode, Orr explains:

• Why climate change is negatively impacting opportunities and business operations in the sports industry
• How sports organisations can assess the threats they face
• What they need to do to get prepared – with a focus on budget contingencies, staff engagement, and risk management strategies

She also frames vulnerability as a positive rather than a negative, and says it gives sports organisations the opportunity to become more efficient, resilient businesses.

But a piece of research conducted by Seattle University professors, Brian McCullough and Galen Trail, has found that differences between sports fans’ and non sports fans’ approach to the environment is “non existent”.

Surprising, right? 

And for those trying to use sport as a tool to engage the wider population in environmental responsibility, those findings appear, at first glance, to be a kick in the teeth.

However, the second part of that study found that if sports teams could create environmental programmes that addressed local challenges (that were perceived as a ‘good fit’) and took the time to communicate those projects in an effective way, sustainability can be a really powerful way to resonate with fans.

That’s not all: the more identified the fan is with the sports team, the more likely they will change their behaviour in a positive way to mirror the team.

McCullough, the Seattle University associate professor (soon to be transitioning to Texas A&M) and co-director of the Sport Ecology Group, is the guest on this week’s podcast – the first of four episodes exploring some of the latest cutting edge research related to sport and sustainability.

In this episode, McCullough explains:

• How sports teams can create environmental programmes with a logical fit
• What sports teams can do to leverage fan identification to accelerate positive environmental impact
• Why the right type of messaging is important to the success of engaging fans in sustainability
• How teams can build connections with non-fans

He also talks about some of the teams doing a good job in the above areas.

Since then, Joie Leigh’s career in sustainability has gone from strength to strength. She has successfully transitioned from elite sport to life as a sustainability professional with strategic firm Carbon Intelligence, with a stint implementing sustainability operations at the Netball World Cup in 2019 in between.

During this episode, Leigh discusses her journey from elite hockey player – in which she was part of the successful Team GB women’s field hockey team that won gold at Rio 2016 – to developing sustainability strategies in a number of sectors.

She also talks about jumping in at the deep end and taking on the responsibility for the sustainability operations at the 2018 Women’s Field Hockey World Cup and the 2019 Netball World Cup, both hosted in her home nation of England.

Finally, Leigh explains how the athlete mindset can be adopted to take on sustainability challenges, and how the skills she learnt as a sportsperson helped her transition from the field to the office.

“Although you’re in an office, and the surroundings are very different, you find that the same things are important in terms of working as a team to enable businesses and sectors to become more environmentally aware. Having a team and goal is still prevalent.” 

Katie Rood, fresh from signing for Lewes Community Football Club (the only club in the world to allocate the same resources to male and female football), was one of the signatories.

Rood has consistently used her online (and offline) presence to educate and raise awareness about climate change in an easy-going and personable fashion. But don’t let that calm exterior fool you – she is fiercely passionate about all aspects of environmental conservation – from climate protection to animal welfare and rights.

During this episode, Rood describes her upbringing in New Zealand, and how its landscape of fabulous nature juxtaposed next to areas of “baron” farmland made her think twice about her homeland’s widely-recognised status as an untouched region of beauty.

She also discusses how she uses – and intends to use – her growing platform to engage as many people as possible, and how her vegan diet (adopted to protect animals) has helped her along her professional journey.

“Before I went vegan I was constantly injured,” Rood explains. “I didn’t get through a whole season and now it’s been five years and the longest I’ve probably been out is three weeks with a hamstring strain.

“I don’t think I could be anywhere near the level I’m at today without the lifestyle shift – 100%.”

Surfing’s intimate relationship with the ocean and environment is clear. So it’s no surprise that its premier competition, the World Surf League, is winning plaudits for its impactful and innovative sustainability initiatives.

Through its nonprofit arm, WSL Pure (which has its own podcast), the World Surf League has committed to carbon neutrality, eliminating all single-use plastics from its events, and partnering with communities to conserve the coastal areas in which its athletes compete.

Behind this drive is the organisation’s SVP of ocean responsibility, Reece Pacheco, whom we first came into contact with in December 2018, when he represented the World Surf League at COP24 during the launch of the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework.

During this episode, Pacheco talks about his long and winding journey, from being an environmental filmmaker, lacrosse player and tech entrepreneur on America’s North Atlantic coast, to heading up the sustainability operations for the World Surf League in California.

He goes into depth about the World Surf League’s environmental commitment, and discusses how the organisation has engaged brands like Corona and Ikea, as well as star athletes, to amplify its sustainability projects.

“What’s the story that we want to tell as a business, what do we want to be a part of? We want to be a part of change, we stand for a positive story,” Pacheco says. “Our mission as an organisation is to make the world a better place through the transformational power of surfing, and a big part of that is making sure we do our part for the environment.”

More than that, it was a chance to discover how major sporting institutions like the International Olympic Committee and a major events like the Paris 2024 Olympic Games could work with commercial or strategic partners to find solutions to the environmental challenges we are all facing.

As the senior sustainability manager for the IOC, Julie Duffus is seeing first hand how climate change is severely impacting the sports associated with the Games, and how international sports federations and National Olympic Committees are adapting to meet the challenges.

Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, the global technology and sustainability director for Dow Olympic & Sport Solutions, has been working with the IOC on its carbon mitigation programme and on the implementation of sustainable technologies at the Games.

During this podcast, Duffus and Piccolrovazzi discuss the growing partnership between the IOC and Dow, what they have achieved together thus far, and how they plan to face future challenges. 

As a Premium Partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics – and the largest energy company in France – EDF will have a big part to play if the Games is to fulfill its ambitious aim of halving the carbon emissions generated by previous modern Summer Olympics, and achieve climate neutrality.

The company’s chief sustainability officer, Carine de Boissezon, explains EDF’s acceleration towards renewable energy, and demonstrates an extensive sports partnership portfolio, in which it is helping sports like kayaking, swimming and football transition away from fossil fuels.

Throughout his career working on the operational side of sports management, Jenkins has made it his mission to make the stadiums he has been responsible for as sustainable as possible, and leverage that innovation to engage with fans and other important stakeholders.

After spending time at Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field and Safeco Field of the Seattle Mariners, Jenkins now oversees operations at the newly-build Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – one of the most sustainable stadiums in the world with the highest number of LEED points for a building of its type.

The Sustainability Report sits down with Jenkins the day after Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the biggest event in the US sporting calendar. It was a game that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the year before, and Jenkins talks about the high-profile showpiece as a great opportunity to engage the public in the topic of social and environmental responsibility.

During the episode, he discusses the work that went into creating a LEED Platinum stadium, the changing attitudes of fans and sponsors and how they are presenting the sports industry with new opportunities and challeneges, and the priorities of the Green Sports Alliance – an organisation that he chairs.

“Everything about the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was done to redefine the stadium experience,” he says. “Whether it’s the food and beverage programme, the security process or going cashless at concessions. The architecture is stunning, the technology in the building is the best in the world.

“Everything we’ve tried to do is redefine what it means to the fans and bring it up another notch. And our focus on sustainability was no different.”

Almost a decade ago, Vince was asked to invest in a cash-strapped, poorly-performing football club in the south-west of England. After reluctantly dipping his toe in, Vince decided to become its chairman and went about transforming Forest Green Rovers from a perennial struggler to one of the most recognisable sports brands in the world.

At the heart of that brand is sustainability. A vegan menu, renewable energy, organic pitch and electric car charging points are some of the pieces that fostered the club’s unique identity. It recently became the first carbon-neutral sports team in the world – and was named football’s most sustainable club by FIFA.

During this episode, Vince discusses his journey with Forest Green Rovers, and how success off the pitch has been mirrored by improving results on the pitch.

He also talks about Forest Green Rovers becoming a founding member of the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework – and how he sees sport becoming a climate-leading industry.

“We do think environmental sustainability and on-pitch success is symbiotic,” says Vince. “They support each other. The media attention we get, for example, helps us grow the crowd, helps us get sponsors, and I think it helps us attract players as well. As for the football side of things, when we’re successful on the pitch that brings credibility to our eco message.”

Thirteen years on, the social entrepreneur and economist is attempting to use sport to stimulate the social business model through the Yunus Sports Hub alongside its co-founder and director Yoan Nogiuer.

During this episode, Professor Yunus and Nogiuer explain the concept of social business, and how it relates to sport. 

They lift the lid on a couple of the Yunus Sports Hub projects: a sustainable procurement partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in which the organisation will help social businesses win part of the Games’ €7bn budget through tenders, and the Athlete 365 Business Accelerator – a platform for athletes to acquire the tools and training they need to start their own business after transitioning out of professional sport.

Professor Yunus and Nogiuer also discuss the Yunus Sports Hub’s overarching goal of “three zeros”: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions.

“The sports world has limitless power,” says Professor Yunus. “People in sport should be asking themselves ‘how am I going to use this power? What kind of purpose do I want to use it for?’ Let’s use it for creating a world of three zeros, where there will be no poverty, no unemployment and no net carbon emissions. We have to address these issues in a concrete way using the power we have.”

It’s a subject that became very close to her heart after her home country of Dominica (she moved to Canada when she was eight) was decimated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

During this episode, LeBlanc discusses the role sport can play in addressing climate change, and reveals details about a sustainability task force being established by CONCACAF – the North and Central American football federation – to tackle the challenge using its influence and resources.

But most of all, the former Canadian international goalkeeper, who won more than 100 caps and represented her country at five FIFA World Cups, explains her role as head of women’s football for the federation and the opportunities and challenges she’s navigating to grow the game in a culturally diverse region.

LeBlanc talks about CONCACAF’s women’s football strategy and enthuses about a “game-changing” 2019 FIFA World Cup – a tournament that saw players like Brazil’s Marta and Megan Rapinoe of the US become household names by making waves off the field and performing with distinction on it.

She also talks about attempting to channel the momentum generated by the landmark tournament to cement women’s football as a key part of sporting culture in North and Central America.

“I think for us the priority is trying to change the perception of young girls playing soccer,” LeBlanc explains. “In some of our regions it’s still believed that young girls can’t play. It’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity. And I think what this Women’s World Cup has done is really put it at the forefront because a lot of men who thought women couldn’t play football had to shut up. Men started watching and started to enjoy it.”

Although the design competition is still in its bidding phase, it’s fair to say that a number of people in the sports industry and connected to the city of Milan were blown away by what was being put forward. Apart from being stunning, ambitious and very expensive (an estimated €1.2bn), the vision appears to be at the very cutting edge of sustainable design.

Alessandro Zoppini, Lee’s colleague in Milan, said the stadium would be a “zero emissions” facility, with solar panels, rainwater collection and natural ventilation.

But no one with any knowledge of sports architecture would expect anything less from Populous, which has built its reputation on ambitious design for iconic projects. The studio was behind the masterplan for both the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympics, which transformed derelict parts of each city into hubs of activity and biodiversity.

In this episode, Lee discusses the growing importance of sustainability in sports architecture and the studio’s partnership with National Geographic to envisage the Stadium of the Future, which showcases a number of high-tech sustainable innovations. 

Populous’ managing director will also lift the lid on his work to make the recently-constructed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a bastion of social sustainability and civic pride.

“Tottenham as an area has been chronically underinvested in for decades,” he explains. “It’s been the scene of two London riots and 70% of the local inhabitants are on some kind of social welfare. To design a project that was very much about integration into the community, high-quality public realm and a building that is outward looking at sits on the high road – it’s the de facto town hall of Tottenham now and that’s the way we wanted to design it.

“As a civic building, it’s as much about Tottenham as a community as it is about Tottenham as a football club.”

A few weeks later, Mary Harvey was unveiled as the first chief executive of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, walking into an organisation that was at the heart of an extraordinary story that was being played out on the world stage – despite that fact that is was a few months old.

It was a baptism of fire for Harvey, who was a World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist with the USA Women’s Team in the 90s. But her work in mobilising a movement – which included FIFA and the players’ union, lead courageously by former Australia captain Craig Foster – saw the safe release of al-Araibi back to Australia (where he had refugee status) in February 2019.

During this episode of The Sustainability Report Podcast, Harvey will talk about the experience, which occurred during the first few weeks of her tenure, and explain why the creation of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights is crucial for the future of the sporting events industry.

The Green Sports Alliance board member will also discuss her role in bringing the 2026 World Cup to the US, Mexico and Canada after playing a significant part in the development of the bid’s human rights and sustainability strategy.

That’s not to mention the dozens of medals (mostly gold) she picked up running in cross country and stadium events during a stellar two-decade career. Radcliffe’s achievements are all the more astonishing once you factor in that she has exercise-induced asthma – a condition she has lived with since she was 14-years-old.

Her occupation and her condition made her keenly aware of the danger posed by increasing levels of air pollution. Almost eight million people per year die as a result of being exposed to poor air quality, with outdoor – or ambient – air pollution responsible for more than half of those fatalities.

Athletes, because of the amount of time they train outside and the depth of their breathing, are disproportionately affected. That’s why the IAAF (now known as World Athletics) has started to install air quality monitor devices in certified tracks around the world to find out the extent to which athlete health and performance is being impacted by poor air – and what athletes can do to mitigate those negative effects.

Radcliffe, already a UN Environment ambassador, was the natural choice to be the face of the project alongside Haile Gebrselassie.

In this episode, Radcliffe explains the IAAF’s motivation for tackling a huge issue like air quality, and talks about her own experiences managing her asthma to compete in – and win – competitions taking place in locations with poor air quality.

She also echoes the International Federation’s president, Seb Coe, in calling for cities bidding for IAAF events to demonstrate their commitment to clean air.

“I think that for too long the air quality wasn’t considered when judging where the World Championships were placed and which cities won the bid,” she says. “It should have been because when you’re taking your elite athletes and asking them to perform to the maximum of their abilities, then you need to make sure you provide them with clean air to do so. For me, it should be one of the first considerations.”

And, as the Common Goal IT team quickly discovered, the affable German is a pretty persuasive guy.

More significantly, Klopp – who led his team to victory in the UEFA Champions League last season – announced his commitment to the Common Goal cause, pledging to donate 1% of his salary to sustainable development projects in the Common Goal stable.

He referred to himself as a “member of the Common Goal family” – a family that has grown to more than 100 players and coaches since Juan Mata, the Manchester United and Spain midfielder, became its first to much fanfare in August 2017.

The past two years have been a whirlwind for Jürgen Griesbeck, the founder of the movement, and a man who has been working for 15 years to harness football’s power in the name of social development. His goal: to connect football’s growing commercial prosperity with its ability to reach disadvantaged people and contribute to major causes.

And what better way to do that than engage the superstars of the game and get them involved.

In this week’s episode, Griesbeck talks about the foundation and evolution of the Common Goal movement, and why he believes the initiative has resonated with players like Mata, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Giorgio Chiellini – as well as the media and fans.

He will also talk about his ambition to engage the whole football ecosystem – and how having a purpose can contribute to positive performances on the pitch.

“We have given ourselves an ambition, as early as 2030, to have the whole football industry embedding Common Goal within their business model, which would, if your look at today’s numbers, be (1% of) €50bn per year. That would be a significant amount that could be reinvested in the name of football,” Griesbeck explains.

The eXXpedition crew will experience 30 voyages (equating to 38,000 nautical miles) over a two-year period attempting to find a solution to the declining health of the Earth’s waters, that are being impacted massively by the ubiquity of the material in our everyday lives. It’s estimated that eight million tonnes of plastic is being dumped in the ocean every year, polluting the water and posing a significant threat to marine life.

During this episode, Emily will discuss her decade-long campaign to raise awareness of the issue and her quest to encourage every one of us to reevaluate our relationship with plastic.

Crucially, she will talk about how the sports industry – a major purchaser and provider of single-use plastic – can change its behaviour and offer more sustainable products related to athlete hydration and food and beverage packaging for fans.

Emily has worked with World Sailing, The Ocean Race and Sky Ocean Rescue – which has collaborated with several Premier League football clubs to provide reusable cups for fans during games – to move the needle in sport. But her message is crystal clear: an awful lot more needs to be done by all stakeholders.

“You have governing bodies in each of these different sports and if they can come along and change the rules a bit to incentivise people to do things sustainably, then that means you can be competitive and move the bar on sustainability at the same time,” she says.

“It’s really important to get buy-in from all parties – we need the governance there, but we also need industry coming to the table, and the competitors and individuals passionate about the issue as well.”

Now he’s using his rising profile to get winter sport, and the wider Olympic Movement, to think more seriously about climate change – an issue posing a huge threat to many outdoor activities.

In this podcast Mazdzer discusses growing up in northern New York, where the winters are becoming shorter and warmer, and how even the slightest change in weather affects the performance of those competing in elite winter sports.

He also talks about becoming a climate activist during a period when climate change has become one of the most polarising topics in his home nation – and why the power of the athlete voice needs to be stronger than ever.

“I think the reason people listen to athletes is because they have a trust with athletes,” he says. “It’s funny, because here in the US we don’t really believe politicians, we don’t believe scientists – even though 98% of scientists believe in global climate change. But for some reason, athletes have a pure enough voice that people want to listen.”