Sustainability and Geopolitics
The World Economic Forum has been taking place in Davos over the past week and it is interesting to look back on an opinion piece published on the Forum website in advance of world leaders coming together.
Sport is ever more central in the world of geopolitics at so many levels. Interesting to look at the ways in which it is seen as an enabler of change and behaviour.
Can sport empower us to be more sustainable?
Helping Grassroots Sport Make a Difference
Independent Australian agency the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) has released a guide to help grassroots sport clubs prepare for the impact of climate change.
With local clubs and associations having limited resources to help them adapt to a changing climate, the EDO’s Making sport safe in a changing climate: A guide for grassroots sport guidance also highlights how, in recent years, extreme weather events have caused major interruptions and had serious health consequences at both elite and grassroots levels of sport, particularly in the summer months.
The EDO advise that “if you’re a player, a parent, guardian or coach, the guide can help you understand climate risks to sport and how we can all make sure summer sport is here to stay and safe to play.”
The guidance highlights the following:
- English Test Cricket Captain Joe Root being hospitalised with heat exhaustion after an Ashes Test match in Sydney in 2018. The air temperature at the time was 42° and a heat-tracker in the middle of the ground showed a reading of 57.6°.
- A Big Bash League cricket match in Canberra being suspended in 2019 when smoke from the Black Summer bushfires blew over the field.
- More than nine players withdrew from the 2014 Australian Open after four days of 40° plus heat. More than 1,000 spectators and several ball-kids were treated for heat exhaustion.
- In 2022, devastating floods in Lismore, NSW, damaged the local AFL oval making it unsuitable for play.
- In northwest Brisbane, a football club’s synthetic playing field were washed away by severe flooding in 2022. A shipping container full of the club’s equipment also floated away on the floodwaters.
- In 2007, three-quarters of metro and rural AFL leagues in Victoria had their playing seasons delayed or shortened due to ground closures caused by drought.
The EDO is an Australian non-governmental organisation (NGO) that encourages, funds and provides lawyers and legal support for litigation, law reform and community engagement on climate change and environmental issues.
Sustainable Football
Wolverhampton Wanderers football club in the English premier League has published its second annual sustainability report and updates on its main club website about the initiatives it is undertaking to become a net zero football club by 2040.
Worth taking a look if this area of clubs taking on their reporting obligations is of interest.
In partnership with SSE Airtricity, Sport for Business has created a Sustainability Leadership Group. The group will discuss areas of mutual interest and potential collaboration over the next three years.
Find out more and get involved.
The Sport for Business Membership comprises nearly 300 organisations, including all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies.
