Sporting events are amongst the largest in the world as far as people involved is concerned. Millions of people watch, and spectate, at sports events across the world. These range from global tournaments and world cup fixtures through to multi-sport games. Such events are hugely influential in encouraging spectators to develop a wider interest in sports as well as creating long-term athletic legacies and helping with cultural exchange. Today many sporting events have substantial quantities of energy and water use, plus high levels of both waste generation and carbon emissions. As public awareness of environmental problems grows, sustainability is increasingly an issue for the host nation and organizers of international sports events. The global world of sports events aims to be more environmentally friendly by coordinating the actions of governing bodies, sports organisations and events managers.

Definition of Sustainability in Sport

Sustainability in sport refers to methods that will maintain sports events as a whole for many years to come by minimizing their negative environmental, economic and social impacts. It encompasses reducing and preventing wastage as well as conserving resources and energy, alongside minimizing carbon emissions and creating awareness of environmental issues. While it may have been seen as a peripheral issue for a number of years, the issue of managing sport events sustainably is now a global priority for sports event planners; fans and spectators of sporting events will have their own individual impact on the global effect of a sports event.

Reduction of the Carbon Footprint

The significant environmental impacts of sports events are a result of large numbers of carbon emissions. This is a direct result of traveling in planes (athletes and spectators), the energy consumption of stadiums and traveling involved, and the attendance of millions of fans and supporters traveling in many cases, far around the world and thus many people will also use private transport to visit these facilities. In order to try and minimize these impacts, sports events are trying their best to introduce carbon reduction schemes by using solar energy and other forms of renewable energy, and increasing the use of public transport networks, encouraging people to use public transportation more than private vehicles, encouraging them to carpool instead and even offering ways in which to offset emissions.

Sustainable Sports Facilities and Stadiums

Sports venues are now being designed with sustainability in mind. Features included such as energy-saving lighting, solar power technology, rainwater harvesting systems and building certified efficient technology in new sports facilities. Along with the adoption of sustainable building design and construction practices, a range of methods of managing waste has also been implemented into the development and use of modern sports venues. Supporters of events are not only helping with the environmental cause, but also with reducing operating costs, by managing and using the stadiums responsibly.

Minimizing Waste and Recycling Initiatives

The sheer amount of waste generated by major sports events can be enormous from disposable drinks bottles through to food packaging and even marketing materials from sponsors. Event managers are looking to raise the standard of waste management at events, through introducing waste management programs and using waste preventing alternatives such as virtual tickets, documents and disposable cup schemes. There are a number of sports events attempting to achieve ‘zero waste’ by making huge efforts to recycle or compost anything remaining.

Managing Water Consumption

Water is one of the resources that is strained by large numbers of fans and supporters arriving at the sporting events. Technologies like efficient faucets and water saving plumbing techniques are installed in many places and are used to help with keeping water consumption down. Rainfall collecting systems can also be used to irrigate the fields of play in order to keep its consumption levels low. Many of the water saving methods are implemented by keeping the irrigation of fields and waste streams at a lower usage level.

Promoting Sustainable Transportation

This can have a significant impact on a country’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, and can contribute heavily to local congestion problems. Because of this, event managers try and use public transportation and electrically powered vehicles in an effort to manage this resource efficiently, as well as setting up many car sharing facilities and having lots of safe cycling parks at sports venues, so encouraging people to cycle rather than drive.

Heightening Environmental Awareness

Event planners aim to use international sports events as a forum for educate spectators and athletes about sustainability and environmental issues, through environmental campaigns aimed at showing fans and athletes how to contribute to efforts of saving the environment and raising general awareness levels of how people can have more awareness regarding these issues, sports events are also beginning to have the support of sporting stars who are now willing to add their names to sustainability campaigns; it is therefore, hoped that, as more celebrities come out in support of it, more individuals will feel motivated to improve sports’ overall environmental impact.

Environmental and Social Benefits of Sustainability

The economic and social advantages associated with sustainable sports events are tremendous; this includes local procurement and job creation as well as the opportunity for economic growth and the enhancement of local communities, which can bring together many people. Along with environmental and social benefits such as reduced pollutants, activity levels are also higher due to people potentially traveling to and from events using either public transportation, walking or cycling. However there are issues that face the implementation of sustainability in sport events. These include that there is great amounts of planning that must be undertaken for large international events and managing budgets, along with coordinating large amounts of people involved and keeping commercial aims in balance. However, it is believed that with spectator awareness growing, sports events will continue to run on a more environmentally and socially sustainable basis, providing for the benefit of people around the world.

Conclusion

Sustainability is now an extremely important aspect of the running of modern sports events. Team, players and athletes around the world have began to take responsibility and have begun to introduce waste recycling and water-saving initiatives that can make sports events and athletes more environmentally friendly for everyone around the world and the world of sports.