Businesses that get involved in sport make for better employers, better revenue earners and better corporate citizens.
It used to be that the business of sport was limited in many minds to sponsorship and names on shirts or banners.
That has changed immeasurably in the two years that Sport for Business has been working to build deeper and stronger links between the two sectors.
“We have more members that are interested in how sport can energise their workplace as want to see their name in lights alongside trophies and medal winners,” according to Sport for Business Founder Rob Hartnett.
CSR
“Corporate Social Responsibility is a very real concept for business which understands that how it is perceived within a community has a direct bearing on all the traditional measures by which it is judged – sales, profit, and share price.”
“Mondelez, the parent of Cadbury signed up with Paralympics Ireland earlier in the summer because the relationship gives their staff an opportunity to make a difference.”
“It’s not a soft, fuzzy sense of wellbeing. They can measure in terms of productivity, inspiration and delivery, and they are one of many that are looking for ways to become more a part of their communities.”
Network
Sport for Business has an impressive roster of client members that pay an annual subscription to be part of its network of sporting and business leaders.
Major banks, Financial services companies, FMCG market leaders and big employers like Aer Lingus, Diageo and Liberty Insurance are on board. They sit comfortably alongside the GAA, the RBS Six Nations, Horse Racing Ireland, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the FAI and over 20 National Governing Bodies of Sport in Ireland
They receive a unique Daily News Digest covering the commercial world of sport in Ireland and further afield. There are also an impressive list of events where sport, business and those of influence within Irish society can meet against a common background of sport.
In October there will be a Conference on the Business of Youth Sport; In November a series of four interactive events around Digital Sport; and in January Sport for Business will team up once more with BT to present the Business of Sports Science as part of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS.
Along the way they will also host smaller Round Table gatherings on subjects from Alcohol and Sport to Workplace Fitness and Sports Tourism.
Privileged
“We are privileged to work with people who have a passion for sport and a desire to have business gain from doing good at every level from grassroots to the highest peak of international competition,” added Hartnett.
“Our role is to help smart people come together and make a difference through collaborating in ways that they may not have previously considered.”
“That is increasingly against a background of CSR, digital innovation and finding ways for business to connect with sport in ways that go beyond the writing of a cheque.”
“It’s an exciting area to work in and one where Irish business and sport have enormous potential to grow stronger together.”
