You Can Help To Support Climate Action Through Sport

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With the Super Bowl leading many US media headlines, climate activists are curious how much chat there will be this year about climate emissions reductions among football team owners, sponsors, players, and fans. That’s because an increasing number of people in universities, think tanks, NGOs, and citizen initiatives have started to transform physical activity and sport practices into eco-friendly and zero-carbon human activities. The goal is to use the platforms they have to defend against climate change through sport.

Sports fandom plays a significant role in society, bringing people together to celebrate their favorite teams and athletes — whether it’s this weekend’s Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, or the Olympics. The Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) sector is trying to help everyday people to imagine a better future and what to do to get there. Let’s look at some of the inroads that are being made toward net-zero sport.

Athletes making sustainable choices: Swedish elite skier Björn Sandström told Cool Down he is now approaching climate action within winter sports differently these days. He’d like to see sport address the effects of climate change and has some ideas.

• End fossil sponsorship immediately — just like sport did with tobacco advertising. “Oil is not okay,” he says, “and it must stay underground.”
• Stop promoting high-carbon consumption.
• Rent an electric vehicle and drive instead of fly. Sandström and his partner rented an electric car, drove to practice destinations over two months, and accrued 1 ton of CO2e instead of 6 tons of CO2e — and that included accommodation and food.
• Make the sponsors walk the talk instead of being only about exposure. “The help that the companies provide is usually primarily PR and beautiful texts about sustainability,” he notes, “instead of concrete measures.”

Like sports? You’ll love conservation: In Botswana, TUSK’s Coaching Conservation program uses football/soccer as a metaphor to teach young people about the importance of conservation and animal welfare. The idea behind the program is that respect and compassion for wildlife are qualities that must be learned at an early age, if future generations are to become effective custodians of the natural world. Strategies and techniques on the field are explained in terms of the roles and behaviors of wild animals in the field. So far, the program has reached nearly 18,000 children, and long-term studies have demonstrated a positive influence on attitudes, behavior, empathy, values, and self-worth.

Electric car racing gains speed: In 2025, we will see further electric vehicle (EV) development as part of the transition to a cleaner, greener economy. At the source of this innovation is the quest to continually enhance EV performance while also instilling public confidence in EV technology. The unique demands of competitive racing scenarios are acting as a catalyst for and sparking the development of advanced EV driving capacity.

Surfers ride the wave of climate mitigation: Surfers Against Sewage, a UK-based charity started in the 1990s, continues to advocate for the health and well-being of the planet’s oceans and water systems. They explain that, for people to thrive and live life to the fullest, the ocean must thrive, too, and it’s time to confront all that threatens it, including water quality degradation and plastic pollution. In describing their work, Surfers Against Sewage connect their mandate to a physical presence in water. “What has always remained though is our unique identity, shaped by the same forces from which we were borne. Our shared love for and contact with the ocean. We are part of the ocean.”

Net zero certified stadium: Climate Pledge Arena opened its doors to the public three years ago. The Arena is home to the Seattle Kraken (the NHL’s newest franchise), the 4-time WNBA champions Seattle Storm, and lots of popular live entertainment and music. But what’s more interesting than the reveal of another new public gathering space is that Climate Pledge Arena will be the first net zero-certified arena in the world.

Described as “part re-build, part new-build” by Interior Design magazine, the glass-and-aluminum structure is intended to become a new sustainability model for the sports and events industry. Climate Pledge Arena, located at Seattle Center, is a complete redevelopment of an historic landmark, originally built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The 44-million-pound landmark roof was held up by temporary steel columns while the new arena was constructed underneath, doubling the square footage. It is fully powered by renewable energy, and sustainability is embedded into every element of the building.

Solar on top of a stadium: A solar power plant installed on the roof of the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Nef Stadium is so remarkable that it has received a Guinness World Records™ title of the ”most powerful solar power output from a sports stadium” in terms of installed capacity and gone down in history. As reported by Energy Press, Enerjisa used GoodWe’s 120kW HT series inverters for this solar power plant with an installed capacity of 4.2MW on the roof. The stadium serves as the home ground of Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray.

Zero waste stadium efforts: Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the first stadium worldwide to be awarded with the Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) Platinum certification for its zero waste efforts. Administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), TRUE certification recognizes buildings and projects which have implemented the foundational programs and policies of sustainable waste management and reduction practices, which contribute to positive environmental, health, and economic outcomes. This certification underscores the stadium’s success toward implementing foundational programs and policies aimed at eventually diverting at least 90% of waste from landfill, incineration, and the environment.

Sport organizations can choose to communicate about climate change: Football Ecologie France has developed a “peer to peer” collaborative game called “The Climate Collage of Football” for football clubs. This 2 hour workshop that changes the way we talk about sport is available in 25 languages and allows users to identify the environmental consequences of football, links with climate change, and concrete mitigation strategies. Experts suggest that exercise and sport psychologists could increasingly contribute to the evaluation and refinement of these types of programs, bringing their expertise in psychology and behavioral sciences.

Annexing Green Bay parody: Sometimes it takes a tongue-in-cheek response to national events to spark systemic change. It’s interesting when political leaders sprinkle in a little sports to get the public’s notice. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker trolled US President Donald Trump’s claim that the Gulf of Mexico would now be called “the Gulf of America.” Standing behind a lectern and flanked by flags of the United States and Illinois, Pritzker solemnly declared he was about to make an important announcement.

“The world’s finest geographers, experts who study the Earth’s natural environment, have concluded a decades-long council and determined that a Great Lake deserves to be named after a great state. So today, I’m issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois. The proclamation has been forwarded to Google to ensure the world’s maps reflect this momentous change. In addition, the recent announcement that to protect the homeland, the United States will be purchasing Greenland, Illinois will now be annexing Green Bay to protect itself against enemies foreign and domestic. I’ve also instructed my team to work diligently to prepare for an important announcement next week regarding the Mississippi River. God bless America, and Bear Down [a reference to the Chicago Bears football team].”

Featured image: “Mexico–South Africa Match at Soccer City” by Celso Flores (CC BY 2.0 license).