We can have a broad understanding or hypothesis about how messages and pieces of content will land with certain individuals or groups, but even people of similar intelligence, from similar cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, can have wildly different perceptions about the same thing.

A few months ago, I did a little experiment with a couple of pieces of data. I wanted to see if there was a correlation between a nation’s wealth and citizen satisfaction with their government’s approach to climate action.

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I mapped GDP against an Edelman Global Trust Barometer 2025 data point that asked people from different countries how they thought their homeland was doing on climate change.

Apart from a few outliers, higher GDP per capita generally meant lower satisfaction.

Respondents from the UK have among the lower satisfaction with their country’s approach to climate action, even if the Climate Change Performance Index ranks it second.

Perception doesn’t always match reality. Which is why, from a communications standpoint, it’s important to work on perception as well as reality.

In the latest edition of Sustainability Review podcast, Andreas Mündel, SVP of Strategy and Operations at DHL Group, explains how the logistics giant tries to shape that perception through sophisticated messaging that simplifies while remaining credible.

That includes positioning its more sustainable product range (GoGreen Plus) as a practical approach to Scope 3 emissions reduction for its customers, as well as shaping the narrative in nuanced ways to accommodate the different levels of knowledge and expertise in its customer base.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

Thanks for reading (and listening).

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In basic terms, we’re more likely to do something if we’ve done it before or if everybody else around us does it – and, when we’re prompted to do something genuinely new, it goes against one of those two defaults. That’s why behaviour is so hard to shift.

We are a herd species. So how do we go about moving the herd towards more sustainable behaviours?

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In the latest edition of Sustainability Review podcast, Marjorie Pittet, the VP Sustainable Operations at hotel giant Accor, says that “experience” has a huge role to play. Or, more precisely, the experience economy of which her company is a part.

Pittet’s view is that because hospitality is built around feeling, service and memory, sustainability can be turned into something guests and employees actively experience and shape rather than passively observe.

Sustainability, she says, can be a visible, tangible and emotionally engaging part of the hotel experience itself: the food, the room, the staff interaction. This could be a “zero-waste cocktail” or a beach walk giving guests the chance to help protect turtle habitats.

And guests who have a good experience are more likely to adopt those habits.

You can listen to the full episode below.

Webinar: Learn about sport’s first free-to-use biodiversity tool

Talking of experience, how many of you have had the chance to use the new BENCHES biodiversity assessment tool that this newsletter showcased a few weeks ago?

It is sport’s first free-to-use biodiversity tool, and, if you want to learn more about it, I’ll be hosting a webinar next week that explores:

• How the tool was built

• How sports organisations are using it already

• And, most importantly, how you can use it

You can join us by registering here.

Thanks for reading.

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Over a similar period, company earnings calls went from being hotbeds of discussion about clean energy technology, carbon and climate change in 2021 to almost nothing a few years later.

We don’t need to get too deep into the “why” in this particular newsletter (although political scrutiny, fear of greenwashing and the incompatibility of growth and sustainability are probably a couple of reasons).

But, it’s a worrying trend.

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If, like me, you find yourself wandering around conference venues, attending meetings and reading the latest industry musings, you’re probably hearing that “companies are still doing the work of decarbonising and becoming more efficient – they’re just not talking about it”.

Indeed, in the UN Global Compact’s latest CEO study, 88% of 2,000 chief executives argued that the business case for sustainability is stronger today than it was five years ago, at the height of SDG-mania, and 99% said their companies are maintaining or expanding their sustainability commitments.

Even if that sample of CEOs is true to their word, and that’s a big ‘if’ (how many are going to say sustainability is not important, even if they privately feel that way?), the silence is deafening.

The stream of announcements and commitments has turned into a drip, drip, drip of occasional messaging.

That’s a problem. Because nothing fuels inertia quite like silence.

And nothing fuels inaction like inertia.

The other day I read an article that claimed ‘greenhushing’ is the new greenwashing. I chuckled, but the central point was hard to argue with – both greenhushing and greenwashing are harmful to the progress we need to make to decarbonise society in a systematic and human-centric way.

My take on this is that sustainability and communications professionals working for big brands and enterprises are caught in a pincer movement – between greenhusing (continuing the work but reducing visibility) and greenwashing (making progress look more transformative than it is) – because there is no real standard for communicating sustainability progress well.

So, in response, we have developed a piece of work to unpack this and attempt to push forward. It’s called ‘How to avoid the greenwashing/greenhushing trap using evidence-based narratives’, and you can download it for free below.

How To Avoid The Greenwashing/Greenhushing Trap

8.97MB ∙ PDF file

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An exploration of how organisations can navigate the tension between greenwashing and greenhushing, and communicate sustainability in a way that is clear, credible and grounded in evidence.

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The paper will tell you more, but, in essence, it puts forward the argument that exaggeration and retreat is a false binary. And somewhere in the middle is a sound method to communicating sustainability – through contextual communication and evidence-based narratives.

We outline this concept and a few techniques sustainability and communications professionals can adopt to craft sustainability messaging that is defensible and adds value.

I’d love to know what you think. Let me know by getting in touch: matthew@touchline.com.

Thanks for reading.

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The jargon, vague statements, misleading headlines and pre-AI-slop weren’t getting us anywhere anyway, so let’s find new and interesting ways to reach different audiences.

If we’re going to get criticised anyway, we might as well get criticised for something that is good quality.

But hardly anyone is getting the memo.

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Earlier this week, I saw a big European engineering firm publish its sustainability report on LinkedIn with the following copy:

“Sustainability isn’t just a tagline. It is fully integrated into our growth strategy as a key performance driver, and deeply rooted in our service offering and projects, for the benefit of our clients, communities and territories.”

So I had a look under the hood. In 2025, this company emitted 35,286 tonnes of carbon. An 18% increase on 2024. Business travel-related emissions surged by 51% year-on-year.

The statement doesn’t reflect the reality. The company may have a growth strategy… but sustainability sure isn’t “fully integrated” into it.

But before we blame the individual company, we have to look at wider trends.

‘The State of Sustainability Reporting in 2025’, published by ClimateHub last year, analysed how the largest 100 companies reported on their ESG progress. It studied language across every report and came to this pretty underwhelming conclusion:

“Instead of being reliable documents that accurately report on sustainability progress (good and bad), sustainability reports appear to be more an exercise in PR than anything: exaggerate the good and simply ignore the bad.”

Woola, a packaging company from Estonia, decided to take the total opposite approach by refraining from publishing a sustainability report at all, instead giving everyone access to a Google sheet with six years of sustainability data uploaded.

Is it a novel approach? Yes.

Does it demonstrate transparency? Absolutely!

But does it give us some meaning beyond the numbers? Not quite.

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And this speaks to one of the key talking points in the latest edition of the Sustainability Review podcast (see below).

Communicating “about” sustainability is passive and retrospective. And although Woola’s approach doesn’t really give us the contextual meaning we need to fully understand its spreadsheet numbers (unless you’re a sustainability data expert), at least this takes us a step closer a new realm:

Communicating “for” sustainability.

If we’re able to analyse sustainability data in real time, could this help us make improvements, adjustments and entire pivots more quickly than if we publish about our progress once a year?

Potentially.

Frazisca Weder, Professor of Organisational and Sustainability Communication at Vienna Business School, says that if we want to quickly advance sustainability work, we need to start using communication methods that serve the purpose of accelerating progress.

Woola’s spreadsheet might be imperfect, but if it supports the quick and informed adoption of less carbon and resource intensive processes, then it has served an important purpose.

During the episode, Franzisca also explains that the present moment is not only ripe for organisations to redefine how they communicate sustainability, but also how they define sustainability in general.

You can listen to the full podcast below.

A purpose-built biodiversity tool for sport

I usually try to refrain from publicising too much on Earth Day, not because it’s soooooo cliché, but because there’s usually too much happening and a lot of good work gets buried under a mountain of announcements.

Anyway, I much prefer the cliché that every day should be Earth Day.

But yesterday I made an exception because it was a good time to share something I’m quite excited about: the BENCHES project, an EU-funded initiative that I’m privileged to be part of, has now launched the first no-cost, purpose-built biodiversity assessment tool for the sports industry.

You can access the tool from here.

In previous newsletters, I’ve explored the business risks related to biodiversity collapse and nature loss (you can read about that in more detail here) – and assessment is the first step towards reducing negative impacts.

I hope you’re able to use and benefit from it.

Thanks for reading.

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Inevitably, the item they were both desperate to have is torn to smithereens, leaving no one happy with the final result.

It’s a scene that could be used as a metaphor for organisational conflict, where two professionals or departments working for the same company need to achieve contradictory goals.

A sustainability professional is often one of the two object-graspers, and the result is typically the same outcome as it is in the cartoon – with plans and goals not necessarily broken so emphatically, but dissatisfaction either way.

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I’ll give you an example, although this is focused more on regional and national politics than organisational:

Around the turn of the decade, the Norwegian city of Trondheim adopted a then national policy for “zero-growth” car traffic as part of its 2025 climate neutrality plan. However, shortly afterwards, national authorities pushed forward with expanding a highway into the city, which expected to increase car use and emissions.

You see where I’m going with this…

This project directly undermined the climate targets and put people who were on the same side in general terms (i.e. focused on the prosperity and security of Norway) at odds with each other.

And the worst part was an imperfect result. Climate targets remain with increased complexity in achieving them. A new road but with traffic limits imposed.

This is what we call embedded conflict.

Even if the overall goal is to improve the health and standing of an organisation, a city or a nation, people asked to carry out that work will, at times, be in direct opposition to each other.

In our first episode of the newly rebranded Sustainability Review podcast (thanks to those who noticed ;-)) explores embedded conflict, and what sustainability professionals can do when locking horns with well-meaning (or not so) but uncooperative colleagues.

Our guest, Anna Krotova, Sustainability Lead at tech-driven online supermarket Picnic, unpacks a situation she experienced herself: having to negotiate with a colleague whose key KPI was meat sales while her performance was judged on emissions reductions.

Conflict totally baked into their roles and objectives.

But, as we hear in the episode, Anna (who also wrote the book ‘How to be a Chief Sustainability Officer’) has a few techniques to unpick this embedded conflict and work more collaboratively without everyone feeling dissatisfied.

• Number 1: Don’t take it personally. Reframe it as two (or more) professionals operating within different constraints and incentives.

• Number 2: Approach conversations without moralising. Rory Sutherland has an interesting take here as well.

• And Number 3: Adopt a mindset of strategic patience. Not everything gets resolved in one conversation, with many things reliant on the right timing.

“Sometimes there is no immediate synergy between what you’re trying to achieve and what the other team is doing. It’s about strategic patience – sometimes you have to step away and come back to the conversation later.” – Anna Krotova

You can listen to the whole podcast below.

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Communicating about (and for) sustainability

To those of you who have followed us through our various iterations – Sustainability Report, Sustainability Huddle – we hope that you like and find value in the aims and goals of Sustainability Review, and the content we will bring you.

More industry agnostic than focused purely on professional sport, Sustainability Review aims to tackle one of the most pressing challenges we face: how we communicate effectively about (and for) sustainability to accelerate our collective goals and targets.

Let me know what you think and if there’s anything you’d like us to cover: matthew@touchline.com

And if you found value from this edition, please go ahead and hit that ‘like’ button and share with friends and colleagues (particularly if you have an embedded conflict!).

Thanks for reading.

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Yes, surfing, cycling and triathlon can bring viewers closer to the elements during the Summer Games. But there’s something uniquely powerful about watching a ski jumper soar through crisp alpine air, framed by snow-covered pine trees and glacier-capped mountains. The setting is integral.

Nature, for many of us, is not just a stage for sport – it’s part of the spectacle, the performance and the memory.

Biodiversity and sport webinar

Through my work across sailing, biathlon, canoe, athletics and many other sports, I’ve been lucky enough to experience sport in places that quite literally take your breath away. And those moments stay with you long after the event finishes.

But while sport depends deeply on nature, we rarely articulate that dependency in economic or strategic terms.

In previous newsletters, I’ve written about my work with the BENCHES project – an EU-funded initiative encouraging sports organisations to think more holistically about their relationship with the natural environment.

A key part of that work has been exploring the ecosystem services framework: a concept traditionally used to assess the value that forests, rivers and wetlands provide to society.

Last year, we hosted a webinar asking a simple but important question: what if we applied that same lens to sport? Instead of focusing solely on sport’s impact on nature, what if we also examined what nature provides to sport?

Clean air for endurance performance. Stable winter climates for snow sport viability. Healthy rivers for rowing and canoe. Biodiverse landscapes that enhance spectator experience and broadcast value.

Natural capital is fundamental infrastructure for sport.

A report published by the World Economic Forum last month suggested that nature loss could result in sport losing up to 14% ($517bn) of its annual revenue by 2030. That’s a core business risk.

Next week, we’re hosting a follow-up session focused specifically on biodiversity knowledge and awareness in sport.

The session builds on research led by Giulia Alessandri of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, the BENCHES project’s technical partner, examining how sport organisations understand, and act on, biodiversity challenges.

Take part in the webinar here

Giulia will share key insights from her work and will be joined by Bob Ramsak, head of sustainability at World Athletics, and Anna Merlini, project coordinator at the Italian Canoe Kayak Federation.

Together, we’ll explore:

• What biodiversity means in a sport-specific context

• New research insights into biodiversity awareness across sport

• The main drivers and barriers to biodiversity action

• How biodiversity is currently addressed by sport organisations, events and facilities

• And how sport can play a stronger role in protecting nature while raising awareness among fans and communities

If, as I believe, nature is part of sport’s value proposition, then biodiversity needs to move closer to the centre of strategy.

You can register for the webinar below. We’d love to have you with us.

Register here

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please like, subscribe and share with a friend or colleague.

See you next time.

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Major sporting events have historically presented a plethora of sustainability challenges, from high fan travel emissions, congestion and noise pollution, to energy- and water-intensive operations or even destruction of natural habitats.

Last year, the NFL partnered with local organisations to repurpose and reuse items, and redistribute food waste to local food banks alongside stepping up recycling and waste management schemes.

But how will this year’s Super Bowl fare in comparison, especially in the context of the US’s recent sustainability rollbacks and formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for the second time?

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Setting the stage

This year’s championship presents a significant advantage, being held at Levi’s Stadium, which was the first US professional sports stadium to achieve LEED gold certification 12 years ago.

The building uses recycled and reclaimed materials throughout. Most notably, reclaimed wood from a former aircraft hangar can be found across the premium suites. It is well connected by public transport options and cycling routes, and generates its own renewable energy through various on-site solar installations. Visitors are able to view live energy measurements and other sustainability metrics via a live display outside the stadium.

In its operations, Levi’s Stadium prioritises water efficiency, focuses on farm-to-table, locally sourced food offerings, and achieves high levels of composting and recycling. It may also stand to benefit longer-term from additional waste sorting protocols and interactive AI-powered recycling systems being piloted on Sunday.

The venue’s sustainability focus is no surprise, given its location at the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area where “Plan Bay Area” aims to conserve the region’s natural resources, reduce its environmental impact, and create an affordable and safe multimodal transportation system that will connect diverse communities in its counties.

Meanwhile, San José, its nearest neighbouring city, was named the USA’s greenest city in 2025. San José has been leading on climate change in the US for years whilst San Francisco, the eponymous city of the 49ers, has its own reputation of a strong sustainability culture backed up by a comprehensive Climate Action Plan.

Fans of both finalists should be no strangers to sustainable venues: Massachusetts, home of the Patriots, was ranked one of the most ‘environmentally friendly’ and energy efficient states in 2024, whilst the Seahawks’ home city, Seattle, has consistently ranked one of the most sustainable cities in the US.

Gillette Stadium, the Patriots’ home, takes its commitment to sustainability seriously, covering the broad range of climate protection, transport, materials and waste management, and community and workforce engagement. Like Levi’s Stadium, it has achieved LEED Gold and also has ISO 20121 certification as of 2024.

In comparison, Lumen Field, the Seahawks’ ground, has two core pillars, “Drive to Zero” and “Go the Extra Yard”. These pillars focus on zero waste and creating lasting social and environmental impact, respectively. Although not LEED certified, Lumen Field is not without certifications, instead achieving True Gold certification for its zero-waste efforts.

Creating a legacy after Sunday

In collaboration with the Bay Area Host Committee, the NFL is calling on fans to make more sustainable choices on the day through its “NFL Green Sustainability” programme. These choices are being made easier with sustainability staff posted in the stadium and surrounding areas to assist fans using the additional 200 recycling bins and new waste sorting protocols. This will help to minimise contamination and increase the recycling rate.

Super Bowl LX will also spread its impact wider than the stadium to the local community, creating a “green legacy” in the Bay Area. Legacy is central to the planning of any major sporting event nowadays, aiming to leave behind structures and positive impacts that remain after the event concludes. It can inspire behaviour change, but also support wider development goals in the local area. Following the match, more than 30 organisations in the Bay Area will benefit from over $800,000 worth of repurposed Super Bowl items varying from food to building materials, in turn, uplifting the community, schools, and charities with quality resources.

‘The emissions issue’

Although there are many initiatives and programmes to feel positive about with regard to this Sunday’s match, it’s impossible to ignore the large, unaddressed shadow looming over the Super Bowl: the emissions issue.

Three years ago in Arizona, a record of 931 private jets departed after the match, and in 2024, local airports reported a combined total of around 1,300 private and business jet flights leaving afterwards. Last year, over 500 more jets landed at the airport than on an average weekend. This is not unfamiliar for major sports events – like many others, the Super Bowl attracts a large number and wide range of A-listers to its audience each year, and will do so again this weekend.

We are likely to see this same problem at this summer’s FIFA Men’s World Cup. Taking place across three countries (Canada, Mexico and the US) and featuring more nations than ever before, it is projected to be the most polluting World Cup ever.

Whilst mass behaviour change is a crucial part of climate change adaptation and mitigation, the fact that some private jets can emit as many greenhouse gases in an hour as an average person does in a year may make other fans’ behavioural changes feel somewhat futile and insignificant.

Super Bowl LX will not be a low-impact event, and its strongest influence may exist in its power to spark conversations and spotlight controversial issues. Though emissions problems persist, this year’s event highlights clear progress in sustainable stadium design, waste reduction and wider community legacy programmes.

However, can we be truly optimistic about the progress in event and venue sustainability, or will the dark cloud of excessive emissions linger over Super Bowl LX and other major sporting events?

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Stockdale observed that the prisoners who suffered most were the blind optimists – the ones who said, “We’ll be out by Christmas.” When Christmas came and went, their hearts broke.

His own survival depended on a mindset that combined two things: absolute faith that he would ultimately prevail, and the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of his reality.

This paradox feels increasingly relevant when it comes to how we communicate about the climate crisis and our organisations strategies to prevent it worsening. It’s not enough to be hopeful. But nor can we afford to be paralysed by despair.

It’s a delicate balance and not one-size-fits-all. Different people have different concerns, priorities and starting points.

That’s why clear, strategic and human-centred communication is essential. And that’s where the CASES Framework comes in.

CASES stands for:

• Connection

• Authenticity

• Specificity

• Empowerment

• Strategic
  

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Here’s how it works.

C is for Connection

Start by making it matter. Why should your audience care? What’s the hook?

Connection isn’t about dumbing things down, it’s about finding resonance. That could mean telling stories with a human face, linking sustainability to issues people already care about (health, cost of living, family) or using metaphors and visuals to bring abstract concepts to life.

Ask yourself: what’s in it for your audience? For journalists, that might mean giving them a new angle or data point. For internal teams, it might mean helping them hit departmental targets or solve a practical challenge.

A is for Authenticity

Be honest about where you are – and where you’re not.

Sustainability isn’t a tick-box exercise. Audiences are sceptical of vague commitments and grandstanding. Real progress usually comes with setbacks and lessons learned, and those are worth sharing.

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A great example: the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Sustainability Report. It included an entire section of reflections from the sustainability team, openly acknowledging areas that could have been improved – from supplier engagement to cross-departmental coordination. It was practical, specific and, most importantly, honest.

S is for Specificity

Sustainability comms often fall into the trap of overused clichés: “our commitment,” “green future,” “net zero journey.” These mean everything and nothing.

To cut through, be precise. What exactly are you doing? Why? And what does it mean for the people you’re talking to?

People care about things like their time, their money, their families and their communities. If you want sustainability to land, speak their language, not yours.

E is for Empowerment

Climate change is overwhelming. And when people feel powerless, they tend to switch off.

The antidote is agency. Give people something they can do, whether that’s a specific action, a way to get involved or even just a new perspective. Internally, this might be through working groups or green teams. Externally, it might be about showing how small changes add up and where their input genuinely matters.

But empowerment also means support. No one wants to be judged into action. This is about invitation, not obligation.

S is for Strategic

Finally, be strategic. Know who you’re talking to. And why.

Different audiences need different messages, and treating everyone the same is a fast track to irrelevance. Segment your audiences. Understand their concerns and motivations. Tailor your messages accordingly.

Just as stakeholder mapping is key to any sustainability strategy, it’s equally essential for comms. Get clear on who you’re trying to reach, what you want them to think or do and how best to reach them.

How effective is your sustainability communication, really?

Take our quick assessment – the Effective Sustainability Communication Scorecard – to find out where you stand and where there’s room to grow.

Get your score

Once you’ve got your score, drop a comment and let us know how you got on.

🟠 Brought to you by Touchline Earth – helping sport turn impact into value, storytelling and engagement 🟠

Note: This newsletter is a variation of an article I wrote for The Sustainability Report in April 2023. You can read that here.

It is also the aspect many feel they have the least control over. At every conference I attend, the same issues are raised: how do we persuade our fans to choose more sustainable travel options, and how do we measure their emissions properly?

The good news is that there is a growing market for solutions. This week’s news is a testament to that, with clubs partnering with local transport service providers and carpooling platforms to make sustainable travel more accessible and cheaper for their fans.

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With increasing choice of sustainable transport solutions, how can clubs make sure they are choosing the “best ones”, and fully reap the rewards from them?

Making sustainable travel the easy option in the Swiss Football League

If you were fortunate enough to attend the Women’s Euros this Summer, you’ll know that Swiss football fans are no stranger to sustainable transport options. Throughout the competition, match tickets included a free return journey on public transport from any Swiss locality to the stadium.

Yesterday, the Swiss Football League (SFL) launched a new platform for carpooling in collaboration with StadiumGO, and official mobility partner, Toyota, to help fans ride together to home and away games.

Instead of relying on public transport, it offers fans who may typically drive to support their team with a low-friction behaviour change by building on habits that already exist (roughly 55% of fans typically drive to matches). It’s also incentivised, with the SFL and Toyota offering rewards for the most active users of the carpooling platform during its first few months. Of course, this risks some fans swapping less-emitting modes of transport for carpooling in pursuit of match tickets and merch, but it may also result in carpooling becoming a more normalised mode of transport outside of football as more fans take part.

This platform could reduce the travel emissions per-fan, and ease traffic on matchdays, whilst also lowering travel costs for fans and making the overall journey more social. Wins all around for the clubs in the top two tiers in Switzerland, their fans and the environment.

Wales: Free buses that keep attendance costs low

Wales is one of the first countries in the world to have sustainability written in its government legislation, and it seems Welsh sports teams are taking note of this.

For the third year running, rugby union side Dragons RFC and Newport Bus are partnering to reward season ticket holders by offering free bus travel on home matchdays. Following positive feedback from fans, the extension of this scheme for another year makes public transport the cheaper and simpler choice.

With each additional season ticket holder that takes up this offer, the environmental and financial costs of supporting the team decrease, whilst the club can feel good that they are supporting their most loyal fans with sustainable transport options and cutting their scope 3 emissions.

This is evidence of the success that listening to your fans can have, and it’s no surprise that more and more clubs are using their fans to drive the projects they invest in.

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Three silver-tier EFL clubs, three different approaches

The EFL’s Green Clubs scheme challenges football clubs across England and Wales to show tangible climate action, with Charlton Athletic, Wycombe Wanderers and Huddersfield Town all being awarded the silver status this past week.

Upon closer inspection of each club’s sustainability work, I found that they all approach the issue of fan travel in different ways. But this highlights that there isn’t one “right” answer to solving fan travel emissions.

Charlton Athletic’s Sustainable Travel Policy sets out a formal approach that includes fans within it. The club commits to promoting sustainable travel options to fans through collaborations and partnerships, and to providing advice on safe bike and walking routes to and from historic home ground, ‘The Valley’.

Wycombe Wanderers are meeting fans where they are, providing shuttles to and from key hubs, such as the train station and neighbouring towns, in partnership with local operator Carousel. They understand why fans may be put off by the hour-long walk, through industrial estates, from the train station to Adams Park. The convenient shuttle routes make it easier and quicker for fans to make journeys using public transport.

Huddersfield Town promote walking and cycling with sustainability partners EPKIS. And, last season, they trialled a special bus serving fans living in areas with limited direct routes and higher travel costs. They treat sustainable transport as both an environmental and a social issue, widening access while cutting emissions per trip.

Each of these will have its own impact on emissions, but with varying benefits and drawbacks for fans and clubs alike.

For example, just 40 fans (roughly 1 bus-load) opting to travel on the WW3 from Thame to Adams Park instead of driving could save up to a third of a tonne of CO2e emissions – equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 0.2 average households. Meanwhile, the same number of Charlton fans deciding to walk 1 mile of their journey rather than drive, could save comparatively less overall at ~0.02 tonnes of CO2e. But with zero emissions, health benefits and minimal additional transport infrastructure compared to a bus service.

The hardest part: Measurement

Making accurate measurements of fan travel emissions is challenging and most clubs still lack granular data on how fans travel. Surveys come with their own weaknesses and getting fans to fill them out accurately with sufficient detail to be useful is rarely achieved.

But many of these sustainable travel initiatives could help with building a more accurate picture of fan travel patterns:

· Usage numbers collected from the StadiumGO platform could offer insight to how many fans are choosing to carpool, and from where. It could also suggest how many fans choose to use this app outside of SFL fixtures.

· By partnering with local bus operators, clubs can collect shuttle service ticket sales data to explore which stops and routes are most popular, and when.

· And, as Dragons RFC demonstrate, simply asking for feedback from your fans can go a long way in understanding how they want to travel.

The takeaway

This week’s news has highlighted a variety of different approaches to achieve a common goal: making it easier for fans to choose more sustainable modes of transport and thus lowering the associated emissions.

If you want to shrink the fan-travel footprint, understand what they really need for sustainable transport options to become their go-to choice; whether that’s conveniently located shuttle stops, a centralised platform to connect fans going in the same direction, free transport for season ticket holders, or simply well-signposted walking routes.

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But fast forward a century, and the 2030 edition could be remembered for something quite different. Not just who hosts, but how they do it.

Both India and Nigeria have formally submitted bids to host the Games. India’s proposed host city is Ahmedabad, backed by a government-approved plan to create a major sports enclave. Nigeria’s bid is centred around Abuja, marking a potentially historic first: no African country has ever hosted the Commonwealth Games (Durban was supposed to host in 2022 but was stripped of the right in 2017).

But there’s something else that both cities share – rising climate risk.

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In Ahmedabad, that risk comes from all directions. The city has already experienced the brutal effects of India’s intensifying heatwaves, and by 2030, researchers warn that much of the country will face even more severe extremes. Add to that the pressure on water infrastructure, urban development and growing energy demand, and you have a Games that will be played under real environmental strain.

Abuja, though further inland and often cooler than Nigeria’s northern cities, faces its own set of challenges. The country as a whole is battling drought, desertification and flooding, often in the same year. In Abuja itself, heatwaves are becoming more frequent, while changing rainfall patterns create unpredictable pressure on infrastructure, which is a potential flashpoint during a major sporting event.

So what do these risks mean for the Games?

For India, the Ahmedabad bid feels like a statement of intent. It’s not just about hosting a sports competition, it’s part of a long-term play to bring the 2036 Olympics to India.

At the heart of the plan is the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, a vast infrastructure project pitched as a modern, sustainable mega-venue. To back that up, the Indian government has commissioned a full impact assessment through the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. The language is promising, with references to environmental sustainability, gender equity and carbon assessments.

But as always, the key will be in the execution.

Nigeria’s bid hasn’t gone into as much public detail, at least not yet. But there’s huge symbolic weight behind Abuja’s proposal. The chance to host the Commonwealth Games on African soil for the first time comes with a powerful opportunity to demonstrate what inclusive, climate-smart development can look like in the region.

Nigeria has national climate targets, including a commitment to net zero by 2060 (10 years later than the Paris Agreement goal) and plans to reduce emissions by up to 47% with international support.

The question now is whether a major event like the Commonwealth Games can help accelerate those goals and whether Abuja can serve as a model for what climate-conscious urban sport infrastructure looks like in the African context.

We’ve been here before, of course. Delhi 2010 still looms large over India’s event legacy, remembered more for its controversies than its community impact. But Birmingham 2022 offered a more optimistic blueprint: a lean, locally grounded Games model that invested in community infrastructure, skills training and long-term economic benefit (contributing £1.2 billion to the UK economy and £79.5 million in social value).

If Ahmedabad can pair its infrastructure ambitions with a focus on resilience, and if Abuja can turn symbolism into climate-smart strategy, then the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games could become more than just a milestone. It could be a moment that redefines how the Global South hosts major events and how climate resilience can be built into every corner of the sporting world.

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The 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were in full swing. And while the athletes were powering through the water, another kind of momentum was building just off the banks, where the DECK project held its final conference.

DECK (the Developing Environmental and Circular Knowledge project) is all about helping canoeing and kayaking bodies become sustainability leaders. Built on the idea that sport can inspire environmental awareness (and sometimes damage nature if we're not careful), DECK aimed to boost environmental practices across national federations in Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Greece.

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I co-chaired the panel with Tiberio Daddi from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, and there was a tangible sense in the room (and by "room" I mean sun-soaked lakeside tent) that this project has struck on something meaningful.

The DECK Sustainability Rating Tool – the project’s flagship output – is the kind of thing we need more of in sport. It’s practical, accessible and grounded in serious methodology, using Life Cycle Assessment to help sports organisations map out their sustainability performance. For the smaller federations involved, including national canoeing bodies, it's not just helpful, it has the potential to be game-changing.

But here's the bit that came up time and again throughout the day: none of this happens without funding.

DECK was powered by Erasmus+ support, and there was broad agreement that projects like this just wouldn't be possible without that injection of time, travel and people.

The upside? Sustainability in sport is hot right now. Erasmus+ applications for environmental and climate projects are high, and the interest shows no signs of slowing down. The energy is there. The appetite is there. And the DECK project shows what can be done when those things come together with a bit of financial backing.

I’ve been lucky to be involved in a couple of Erasmus+ projects myself. The GAMES project, focused on decarbonisation in sport, delivered a strong best practices database. And now, the BENCHES project is exploring how sport can better engage with biodiversity, with a new assessment tool currently in development.

These projects create real value. They spark ideas, build networks and produce tools that can actually move the needle. But there’s a challenge lurking in the background: what happens after the project finishes?

Most Erasmus+ initiatives run for two or three years. After that, the risk is that the tools gather dust, the learnings stall and the momentum fizzles out. If we want sport to lead on sustainability – not just follow – we have to think about legacy. Who picks up the baton? Who maintains the tools, updates them, and helps embed them into the everyday practices of sport?

We need to go beyond project timelines and start thinking long-term. The ideas and tools developed through DECK, GAMES, BENCHES and others are just the beginning. What happens next is just as important.

There’s clearly demand for collaboration in this space. The DECK project has shown how federations can come together to tackle shared sustainability challenges. Now, the next step is making sure the work continues – not just for the sake of the projects, but for the future of sport itself.

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That’s the thread running through both LA28’s newly published Impact and Sustainability Plan and ParalympicsGB’s first-ever environmental sustainability strategy.

At their best, both are asking how to make sport’s climate agenda serve people too often left out of the conversation, whether because of geography, income or disability.

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The effects of climate are not felt equally

For LA28, the challenge is vast in scale. This is a Games that lands in a city already shaped by extremes – searing heat, deep inequality and most recently, devastating wildfires.

Those fires (burning across the Pacific Palisades and Altadena in early 2025) did more than damage homes and displace thousands. They reinforced what LA28’s planners now state plainly: climate risks do not fall evenly. Their plan recognises the Games must help drive “resilience” at a community level, and they have launched a Community Resilience Fund to invest directly in grassroots projects, from shade structures and tree planting to wildfire buffers and ocean health.

But the real test of resilience isn’t infrastructure, it’s equity.

LA28 says it wants to expand access to a “healthy environment,” with special focus on low-income communities. There’s acknowledgement that these neighbourhoods, often most exposed to traffic pollution, heat risk and limited green space, cannot be an afterthought in a sustainable Games.

And yet, many of these same communities are also vulnerable to the knock-on effects of mega-events: redevelopment pressure, rising rents and shifts in land use that can edge residents out.

The commitments are there – reuse over rebuild, clean power, no new permanent venues – but they’ll need constant scrutiny to ensure they don’t tip into the familiar pattern of delivering environmental wins for some, while others are moved further from the benefits.

This is where environmental justice matters. Not just in the philosophical sense, but as a practical design principle. LA28’s partnership with UCLA as the Athletes’ Village, for instance, offers a case study in sustainable reuse, with clean energy, zero-waste goals and embedded public transit. But it also raises questions about how accessible and inclusive the Games will be beyond the venues themselves. It’s about who feels safe, welcomed, and considered in a city shaped by both climate stress and economic tension.

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Learning from lived experience

ParalympicsGB, operating in a different context, is also beginning to draw that connection more clearly.

Its new environmental plan is not long, but it is intentional. ParalympicsGB understands that disabled people face some of the most acute risks from climate change – from inaccessible evacuation routes during extreme weather events, to mobility challenges in urban heat islands, to healthcare disruption during crises.

Its strategy leans into the idea that sport has to model better standards, not just for emissions, but for inclusion. That means accessible low-carbon travel, inclusive infrastructure and working with athletes to shape what climate leadership should look like for a Paralympic body.

ParalympicsGB’s document also makes clear that this is the start of a longer journey. It points to athlete engagement as essential, not just in message delivery, but in shaping policy.

That’s significant because when it comes to environmental justice, lived experience isn’t anecdotal; it’s evidence.

Sport must acknowledge and reassess its role

And this is where the work of scholars like Dr. Jessica Murfree has been especially instructive. Her research puts environmental justice squarely within the frame of sport governance, pushing organisations to acknowledge not only that extreme weather disrupts play, but that it does so unevenly.

She’s also examined how organisations communicate about climate events, showing that framing matters, especially when it comes to who is positioned as vulnerable and who is empowered to respond.

Murfree argues that sport is not just a victim of climate change but a participant in the systems that perpetuate inequity. Her lens reminds us that climate strategies in sport must be adaptive, intersectional and critically self-aware.

ParalympicsGB’s plan – by naming disability in its climate context – is a step in that direction. And LA28, by funding community-led resilience in historically underserved areas, has an opportunity to go further than just mitigation; it could model what just transition looks like at scale.

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A just legacy for all

So what happens when you put these two organisations side by side: one preparing to host the world, the other preparing to compete on that stage? You get a glimpse of what climate responsibility in sport could become: collaborative, inclusive, locally rooted.

LA28’s Resilient by Nature initiative, if done well, could set new standards for what community-facing climate investment looks like. ParalympicsGB, by embedding accessibility into its sustainability vision, could help push the broader movement towards something more ambitious and more just.

Both plans rely on future execution, not just rhetoric. But the foundations matter.

Because if sport wants to speak credibly about legacy, then legacy has to mean more than infrastructure. It has to mean justice – environmental and otherwise – for the people most likely to feel the consequences when climate impacts hit. These Games will come and go. What they leave behind (who gets to breathe easier, live cooler, move freer) is what will matter most.

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When sports partnerships tackle stigma, empower players, and help the planet, they’re worth talking about.

The other week, you might have spotted the ‘ground-breaking’ news that West Ham United Women have teamed up with period apparel brand Modibodi. Or perhaps you’ve seen Manchester City Women’s captain, and Lioness, Alex Greenwood fronting the club’s partnership with snuggs, another brand making reusable period wear.

These are two firsts for women’s football. Modibodi is set to become the first period-proof underwear brand to appear on-kit, becoming “Official Back of Shorts and Period-Proof Underwear Partner” for West Ham. Meanwhile, snuggs have become Manchester City’s first “Official Period Underwear Partner” and the first such partnership in women’s football.

As a result, fans can now purchase branded period underwear in several styles through official club channels and the respective period underwear brands' channels. However, there is a deeper purpose to these partnerships.

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Why do these partnerships matter?

Menstruation is a natural and healthy process that over half of the global population will experience during their lifetime, roughly once a month for 40 years. Yet, a stigma around menstruation persists.

In recent years, numerous inspirational athletes and unapologetic campaigns have taken significant steps towards tackling this stigma. However, periods are still a barrier for many young athletes.

Research shows that 6 in 10 girls worry about leaks during sport, and around 23% of young women are too embarrassed to participate when on their period. This fear alone can be enough to stop young women from playing sport. And, shockingly, 64% of girls will have quit sports by the time they finish puberty.

In response, West Ham and Modibodi’s aim is to build confidence, encourage open conversations, and keep more girls active, especially given that almost half of young women avoid sport when on their period.

West Ham were one of the first clubs to make the move away from white shorts, and “take great pride in leading the challenging discussions on a variety of issues that affect female athletes of all ages”. Likewise, the brand says the aim is simple: to make sure no girl feels sidelined by her cycle, sending a clear message that a period should not hold anyone back from being active.

At Manchester City, the focus is on the same outcome: giving women and girls the freedom to play sport without anxiety about their periods.

The period underwear itself can contribute to reducing period anxiety. Conventional period products can be uncomfortable or provoke self-consciousness during exercise. Meanwhile, in both the Modibodi x West Ham and snuggs x Manchester City ranges, each style is designed for comfort, discretion and security under all kinds of sportswear, helping prevent leaks without digging in during activity.

For the first time, fans and players can buy sport-specific period wear directly from their club – a move that signals real progress in normalising its use in sport and in talking openly about menstruation.

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A win for sustainability

There’s also an important environmental angle to these partnerships.

Single-use period products are the most widely used globally. In the US alone, approximately 20 billion single-use menstrual products are discarded annually (some 240,000 tons). It’s estimated that these products are 90% plastic, and if sent to landfill, could take between 500 and 800 years to break down. Alternatively, if flushed down the toilet, they can cause plumbing blockages and leak microplastics into water sources.

A 2022 life cycle assessment study found that reusable menstrual products have a significantly lower environmental impact than single-use ones, with period underwear placing a close second behind menstrual cups.

This is not surprising, considering that period underwear is designed to be worn and washed repeatedly – with the right care it can last for years. It is reusable, and just one pair of period underwear can prevent 200 single-use products from going to landfill.

Typically, they use responsibly sourced natural or recycled fibres that meet high standards and avoid toxic or harmful substances – a win for the planet and women’s health! Consequently, they also have a smaller carbon footprint than single-use products, kept low by their energy-efficient care: many styles can be washed in cold water and dried naturally.

Merchandise that has sustainability as a core feature is still rare in professional sport, so these collaborations mark an important step forward. They offer an athlete-friendly, environmentally responsible alternative that promotes the message that sustainability and performance can co-exist.

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How to boost their purpose

It would be brilliant to see this most recent partnership between West Ham and Modibodi grow into an even deeper collaboration, with purpose built into every layer.

For example, Manchester City’s link-up with snuggs already includes an education programme for academy players and a donation of products to them.

And think back to last season when Arsenal Women collaborated with Persil on "Every stain should be part of the game", directly challenging period taboos using the power of visible role models. Arsenal and England captain Leah Williamson fronted the campaign, sharing that she won the European Championships while on her period. It was a simple truth, something rarely shared publicly, but it left a powerful message for many women and girls.

Something as straightforward as a donation to local women’s charities with every pair of period underwear purchased could strengthen this partnership’s impact and help it resonate with fans more deeply. Or, perhaps they could learn from the RFU’s initiative that has supported 500 clubs across England with toilet upgrades, free sanitary products and new bins in an effort to break taboo whilst raising sanitary provisions for women in rugby.

Nonetheless, these high-profile, highly visible partnerships should be celebrated. They are helping to bring the topic of periods out into the mainstream in sport whilst promoting more sustainable and less-wasteful period products. And, at their core, they are supporting the development of the women’s game.

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The good news? This week’s headlines suggest that clubs are starting to close that gap.

Not only are they working to cut their own emissions, but they’re also rethinking what the matchday experience looks like – making it easier for fans to get involved in more sustainable choices.

That demand is only growing louder. Supporters want their clubs to take responsibility, but there’s also a huge opportunity here: to shape how fans travel, what they eat and even how they deal with waste. In other words, sustainability isn’t just about operations behind the scenes – it’s becoming part of the fan journey itself.

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Lean and deliberate: All-electric stadium to make sustainability the default

Oxford United has just won approval to build the UK’s first all-electric stadium – a 16,000-seat ground set to open in 2027 that could redefine what sustainable sport infrastructure looks like.

Designed by AFL Architects, whose portfolio spans Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium and Swansea Arena, the project combines commercial ambition with a blueprint for low-carbon living.

The plans are lean and deliberate: no fossil fuels, an 80% cut in annual emissions and 3,500m² of rooftop solar to power matchdays. A lightweight timber roof lowers embodied carbon, while rain gardens, wildflower meadows and ponds lock in a biodiversity net gain. Nearly 450 cycle spaces and integrated transport links are intended to shift fans towards cleaner travel.

Harlequins, meanwhile, is taking a more immediate step – extending its deal with Conrad Energy so The Stoop will run on 100% renewable electricity from October. It’s a move that cuts costs as well as emissions, and signals to fans that renewable power is both viable and essential.

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Can Planet League partnership help Colorado pick up pace on recycling?

Colorado is known for being environmentally progressive, but it’s underperforming on recycling.

In 2023, only 15.5% of waste was diverted from landfills statewide – half the national average of around 32%. With landfilling cheap and infrastructure patchy, many households lack easy access to curbside recycling, especially outside major cities.

That makes Ball Arena, with its packed calendar of NBA and NHL games, a testing ground for how sport can help close the gap.

Over the past season, Planet League and Ball Corporation have worked together to engage fans of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche in sustainable behaviour, with a focus on aluminium recycling.

The results were clear: supporters recycled more than three million cups, cans and bottles during the 2024/25 season.

Now, the two organisations are expanding the partnership into the 2025/26 seasons, building on that momentum and fan appetite for more. Their ambition is rooted in data: during last year’s Green Action League, a three-week, gamified campaign across Arsenal, Denver Nuggets, LA Rams and Colorado Avalanche, 95% of participants said playing for their team motivated them to adopt more sustainable habits and the same share said they wanted more sustainability programmes.

The contrast is telling: Colorado’s recycling system struggles to gain traction, yet sport is showing how to accelerate behaviour change at scale. When sustainability is embedded into fandom, it doesn’t just have the potential to engage – it has the potential to normalise.

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The prize for using public transport? Save money and make friends, says Real Betis

Real Betis is taking on one of the toughest matchday sustainability challenges: fan travel. More than 80% of supporters currently drive to La Cartuja Stadium (the club’s temporary home during the renovation of the Estadio Benito Villamarín), making transport a major contributor to the club’s footprint.

To shift habits, Betis has partnered with MUBE, a sustainable mobility company, to launch a new platform within the club’s app where fans can arrange shared round-trip travel to and from games. The scheme, debuting tonight against Deportivo Alavés, is designed to cut emissions, ease congestion, lower costs and even create new social connections among supporters.

The club is also backing alternative travel choices with free, guarded parking zones for fans arriving by bike or scooter. By making lower-carbon options more accessible, Betis isn’t just tackling Scope 3 emissions – it’s nudging fans towards behaviours that could stick well beyond matchdays.

‘Nobody likes us – except climate policy makers’

At The Den, Millwall has expanded its vegetarian and vegan menus across kiosks. It’s a decision rooted in fan behaviour: last season Millwall supporters topped the Pledgeball League, saving more carbon emissions than any other fanbase.

It’s also a reminder not to fall into easy stereotypes. Millwall fans are often cast through the lens of their 1970s and 80s reputation for hooliganism, yet the same fanbase is now leading on climate pledges and backing inclusive initiatives such as the LGBT amateur side, Millwall Romans.

The shift underlines the dangers of relying on old labels: supporters, like clubs, can evolve.

In the US, the San Francisco 49ers has gone a step further, launching a reusable cup scheme at Levi’s Stadium with PepsiCo. Single-use plastic has been replaced with a closed-loop aluminium system that reduces virgin plastic use, cuts waste and saves operational costs.

Crucially, the system also takes choice out of the equation: the sustainable option becomes the default.

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But what if we split the difference? What does five years tell us?

That thought struck me while putting together Monday’s newsletter. I mentioned The Sustainability Report, the precursor to this platform, and realised: I’ve been at this for a while. Almost eight years, in fact.

So I thought, why not take a trip down memory lane? I dipped into the archives to see what we were writing about five years ago (right in the thick of lockdown) in August 2020. It’s a fascinating exercise, not just to see what’s changed, but to track the journey of those we’ve featured along the way.

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Envision racing against climate change

First up: Envision Racing. You might know them as the Formula E team that finished ninth in the 2024/25 team championship, just two seasons after winning their first title. But back in 2020, they were still Envision Virgin Racing, and we published a piece titled ‘Climate change movement first, sports team second’.

At the time, team principal Sylvain Filippi (still leading the charge today) told us about the team’s ‘Race Against Climate Change’ virtual event, which featured the likes of climate scientist Michael Mann, footballer Héctor Bellerín and UN ambassador Aidan Gallagher.

The team’s ambition then was crystal clear: to be “the greenest on the grid”. And in a championship already built on sustainability principles, that’s saying something.

“Race Against Climate Change is a huge thing that we’re doing that no other team is doing,” Filippi said. “We want to use the Formula E platform and our share of voice to talk about climate change and solutions. I want to talk about solutions all the time.”

Fast forward to today, and Race Against Climate Change remains at the core of Envision’s strategy. It's evolved into a full sustainability programme, anchored by fan engagement through its pledge initiative, encouraging followers of the team to make more sustainable choices in their daily lives. Fans can choose from 13 different pledges – from cutting energy use to reducing e-waste and embracing sustainable fashion.

Since launch, more than 250,000 fans have taken part, leading to the planting of over 265,000 mangroves and pledges amounting to 43 million kilograms of carbon savings.

In the past year alone, Envision has hit some notable milestones. The team car continued to carry the Climate Stripes graphic by Professor Ed Hawkins. It reported a 10% carbon emissions reduction compared to its 2018/19 baseline, and an 18% drop in carbon intensity from the previous season. The team’s thought leadership events also continued, tackling finance and innovation in London and exploring circularity in Tokyo.

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Sport fuelling global research

Meanwhile, across the seas, The Ocean Race Europe kicked off just over a week ago in Kiel, Germany. Almost five years to the day, we published an interview with Richard Brisius, CEO of The Ocean Race, where he spoke about the ambition to leave a lasting legacy in each stopover city.

“We’ll adapt our programme to the local city,” he said. “We’re not pushing a specific programme onto them, but we are pushing a requirement to have one. If you get the race, what are you going to do with it?”

Five years on, that philosophy has taken shape in multiple ways. The Ocean Race has launched summits, education programmes and an innovative science initiative that collects ocean data mid-race.

Racing vessels now serve as floating research labs, collecting up to 25,000 real-time climate measurements per day, covering everything from temperature and salinity to microplastics and environmental DNA.

It’s a remarkable example of sport fuelling global research.

Roots go from strength to strength

And from the coasts of Europe to the streets of Oakland, California. Back in 2020, we also wrote about the Oakland Roots, a football team founded by Edreece Arghandiwal and Mike Geddes (now at 17 Sport). Their aim was simple but bold: harness the culture of Oakland and the power of football for social change.

They spent two-and-a-half years on the ground, acting like “anthropologists”, trying to understand what the local community wanted from a club. That work informed everything from the name to the badge to the identity.

Shortly after our chat, the team moved up to the USL Championship, stepping into the Oakland Coliseum – once home to the Oakland A’s (of “Moneyball” fame) and Raiders – tripling their capacity in the process.

“You can’t bullshit people here,” Geddes told us. “They’ve seen it all before. It’s a sports-crazy city that’s been burned by the old model. They’re proud and socially conscious. We knew it was the right place to try something new.”

Since then, the club has launched the Oakland Soul women’s team and established The Roots and Soul Foundation, focused on Sports Equity, Safe Places to Play, coach development and justice initiatives. And they’ve inspired others too – clubs like Vermont Green (who we wrote about here) are following in their purpose-driven footsteps.

So, what do you remember from August 2020? And how far do you think we’ve come since then? Let us know in the comments.

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This south-west city is no stranger to rugby. Home to the Chiefs and the roaring crowds at Sandy Park, Exeter is hosting seven matches in the tournament, including Saturday’s all-European showdown between France and Italy.

But it’s not just the rugby grabbing attention. The city has been chosen for a flagship sustainability pilot that could push the boundaries of what sports infrastructure can do for the environment – and for athlete performance.

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At the centre of it is a new application of Clean Air Go technology, applied to over 2,600 square metres of branding and signage. When treated with a special photocatalytic coating, the signage reacts with sunlight to break down harmful air pollutants like nitrogen oxides.

In effect, the banners and boards dotted around Sandy Park will act as passive air purifiers throughout the tournament.

It’s an elegant example of sport moving beyond harm reduction into something more proactive. We’ve spoken a lot in this newsletter about the shift from a "do-less-harm" mindset to one that actually gives back – and this project lands squarely in that space.

Lots of events measure air quality. Very few try to actively improve it.

Of course, this is still a pilot. We don’t yet know how much difference this tech will make, or how scalable it is. But it’s arriving at a time when air pollution’s effects on sport are becoming harder to ignore, and the evidence piling up is compelling.

Sport’s invisible threat

Back in The Sustainability Report days, we ran one of our most-read stories on air pollution as sport’s "invisible threat". At that time, around 2020, researchers were already building the case.

In Germany, studies found that higher ozone and PM10 levels reduce the number of completed passes and overall accuracy in professional football. In Major League Baseball, a modest rise in carbon monoxide led to a notable increase in umpiring errors; roughly two additional incorrect calls per 100 decisions.

Marathon data tells a similar story. Researchers from Brown University found that even a small increase in fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) could slow male runners by 32 seconds and women by 25 seconds over the course of a race. Other studies published in Scientific Reports and Sports Medicine back this up: air pollution quietly chips away at performance like heat or dehydration does.

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And it’s not just a matter of pacing or precision. A 2025 review showed that short-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2 and ozone can reduce lung function, trigger inflammation and heighten immune stress, even after relatively short bursts of exercise.

New football-specific research published in Atmosphere this year observed players covering less distance and walking more during matches in polluted air, suggesting a direct hit to endurance.

A performance variable

The impact is nuanced, too. Athletes with allergies are more vulnerable, and older or physically larger players tend to suffer sharper declines. In other words, poor air quality isn’t just a health risk, it’s a performance variable.

Some organisations are beginning to factor this in. The Australian Institute of Sport updated its air quality guidelines in late 2023, recommending that training be moved indoors when PM2.5 levels exceed 50 µg/m³, and that events be postponed above 150 µg/m³.

Meanwhile, World Athletics (long a pioneer in this space) has seen air quality initiatives integrated into 40 events it sanctioned last year. The Mexico City Marathon went as far as to partner with the city’s Atmospheric Monitoring Department, using a mobile lab at the finish line and sensors on lead vehicles to track real-time data.

Which brings us back to Exeter. If a stadium banner can double up as a tool to purify the air around athletes, officials and fans, then it’s doing more than delivering a message, it’s creating a healthier space for competition.

And in doing so, it’s adding a new dimension to what sustainability in sport might look like.

It may be a small touch in the grand scheme of a global tournament. But if it works – and if it scales – it could be one of the most impactful moves of the World Cup.

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It’s not just that the sector is moving from pledges to projects. That much has been said. What’s more interesting (and far less talked about) is how that shift is happening. Look closer and you’ll see forward-thinking sports properties quietly building the muscle for long-term, systemic change: new forms of reporting, new players in innovation and new narratives around nature, community and fan impact.

What’s emerging is a subtle, strategic realignment of priorities. Biodiversity isn’t being framed as a carbon offset play – it’s about place, responsibility and local connection.

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Education isn’t confined to exec training or athlete workshops – it’s becoming a layered, global pipeline to upskill the entire ecosystem. And tech is finally being used to predict and avoid emissions, not just count them after the fact.

In short, the sector’s getting smarter, not louder. Less about who can make the biggest splash, more about who’s building the best systems. That shift is harder to headline, but it’s exactly what meaningful progress looks like.

Here’s what we’ve noticed looking at the shortlist:

1. Education is infrastructure

The breadth and scale of education-focused entries this year signals a notable mindset shift: sport is starting to see sustainability knowledge not as a nice-to-have, but as essential infrastructure. And it’s being built across the board – from Loughborough’s Climate Cup and Columbia University’s executive course, to Udinese’s summer camp for kids and ITTF’s gamified platform.

This matters. If we want sustainability to show up in decision-making at every level (from governing bodies to grassroots clubs) then this kind of multi-tiered, accessible learning is a prerequisite. It’s how you build a workforce and a fanbase that are both informed and engaged.

2. Honesty and nuance in data

We’re also seeing a more grown-up relationship with data. Instead of just measuring for marketing, progressive clubs and organisations are using data to surface complexity and guide decisions – even when the picture isn’t perfect.

Munster Rugby’s Environmental Impact Report stands out here. It connects the climate dots from elite operations down to grassroots, and doesn’t shy away from the gaps.

Similarly, the Sustainable Sport Index in North America is gaining real traction, not because it’s flashy, but because it’s credible. With 65 venues now onboard, it’s building the comparative benchmarks that make improvement possible.

3. Nature is back – but not as a bolt-on

The biodiversity entries offer a quiet but significant reframe. Rather than treating nature as an offsetting tool, sport is embedding itself within ecosystems.

At the elite end, Spurs are using real-time sensors to track bees and birds. But it’s the hyper-local projects that really impress: Ulster GAA planting native trees at over 30 clubs; VfB Stuttgart repurposing old turf into usable soil for local use.

4. Campaigns with credibility

Some of the most high-impact work this year has come through campaigns – but what sets them apart isn’t the messaging, it’s the messengers.

Whether it’s elite athletes fronting ‘Protect Where We Play’, footballers challenging FIFA’s sponsorship via ‘United for Change’, or the star-studded cast behind ‘Save Our Grassroots’, these are campaigns that carry clout. They’re well-timed, well-targeted, and impossible to ignore – the kind of storytelling that should move public opinion and policy alike.

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5. Partnerships that actually work

Purpose-led partnerships are another area of quiet evolution, with the best partnerships becoming multi-stakeholder platforms for real impact.

Lidl and UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 is a standout, not just for what it delivered (fruit cups, sanitary products, fresh food donations, a youth camp for girls from 18 countries), but for how it joined up the dots.

Similarly, Brentford’s ‘I Came By Train’ initiative with Trainline tackled fan travel – one of sport’s thorniest emissions challenges – in a way that was both practical and replicable.

Brazil’s Olympic Committee teaming up with Neoenergia to link renewable energy with gender equity is another good example: smart, strategic and aligned to long-term goals.

6. Innovation is becoming operational

There’s real momentum in innovation this year, but again, the shift is subtle.

Take NYRR’s Team for Climate, which offers race entries in exchange for fundraising to offset and inset travel emissions. With mass participation events booming globally, this model could scale fast.

Or the trio of tools using tech and AI for emissions modelling: FIL’s Sliding Sports Calculator, FIS’s CO2e Calculator and World Sailing’s Oria Marine, which tracked fuel use and boat movement at Paris 2024 to inform future logistics.

This is innovation grounded in practicality and tools that help organisers make better decisions before events even begin.

7. The signal in the noise

Across all 12 categories, the real story this year isn’t just about best-in-class projects. It’s about a sector aligning around smarter systems, more honest communication and deeper community ties. That doesn’t make for the punchiest headlines – but it does make for real progress at a challenging time for sustainability and climate action.

Congratulations to everyone shortlisted. You’re helping to define the new baseline.

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“One of the greatest powers that athlete platforms have is actually showcasing how we interact with our natural world, and why we want to preserve it.”

Isabella Bertold is going on an adventure. And she’s doing it to show that there’s a different way for athletes to communicate about sustainability, and the importance of nature.

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 believes there’s a more powerful way to tell sustainability stories: through raw, visceral experiences that show athletes in direct contact with the elements. And she shares her thinking in this episode of the podcast.

Isabella also dives into the tension between sustainability and performance in sport – and how we might begin to overcome it.

She reflects on 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.

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The country, better known for its mineral wealth than its tourism campaigns, is aiming to transform itself into a must-visit destination.

AC Milan first announced its deal with DRC last September, but revealed more details last month. The club says it will be at the centre of an “international platform” to support the country’s socioeconomic development. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona will feature the slogan ‘R.D. Congo – Cœur d’Afrique’ on the back of its training shirts.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen national tourism boards in the sponsorship game.

Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich have all worked with Visit Rwanda, while Fulham signed with Go Mongolia last year.

It makes sense – football’s global popularity keeps growing, attracting every type of fan, from hardcore supporters to occasional viewers. Many of them are also curious travellers, always scanning for their next adventure.

But here’s what’s interesting about the AC Milan–DRC partnership…

Last year, DRC approved its first national tourism policy, followed a month later by two major initiatives – the AC Milan deal and a programme to create tourist villages. The policy has four clear goals to achieve by 2030: develop partnerships (hello Rossoneri and Barca), diversify tourism offerings, strengthen institutional capacity and promote sustainable tourism.

One of the stated aims of the AC Milan agreement is to “highlight the unique features and biodiversity” of the largest country in Central Africa. And unique is an understatement.

Why this matters

The DRC is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Its landscapes range from vast tropical rainforests to high-altitude ecosystems, home to species you won’t find anywhere else – forest elephants, mountain and lowland gorillas, bonobos and the elusive okapi, to name a few.

The Congo Basin rainforest, second only to the Amazon in size, plays a critical role in regulating the global climate. Its rivers and lakes, including the mighty Congo River, brim with unique aquatic life. Protected areas like Virunga, Salonga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

But all of this is under threat – from deforestation, mining, poaching and ongoing conflict. Conserving this natural wealth isn’t just a national priority, it’s a global one.

And that’s where football comes in. A campaign like this could put DRC’s story in front of millions who might otherwise never think about the country, let alone its role in climate regulation and biodiversity. In short: this is a chance to show sports fans what we have – and what we stand to lose.

It’s a strategy other destinations are already testing. Visit Maldives, for example, is using its partnership with Liverpool not only to draw tourists but to highlight its fight against rising sea levels and its focus on sustainable tourism. For a low-lying island nation, ocean conservation is existential.

Tourism partnerships like these can do more than boost visitor numbers. They can help grow eco-tourism (travel that supports conservation, uplifts local communities and encourages deeper appreciation of nature and culture) and steer people away from the mass-tourism spots that damage both environments and economies.

For the DRC, the opportunity is huge. Tourist receipts have fallen in recent years, but with 12% of the country designated as protected land – that’s 281,449 km², more than the size of New Zealand – there’s a clear path to position itself as a top-tier eco-tourism destination. Yes, travel has its emissions footprint, but the awareness, funding and conservation outcomes it can drive are a powerful counterbalance.

If AC Milan and Barcelona can help even a fraction of their fanbases see the DRC’s natural treasures – and understand why they matter – that’s a goal that could have positive consequences beyond the nation, as far reaching as the San Siro and Camp Nou.

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The local authorities aren’t messing around. A combination of policies, penalties, and incentives has helped reduce per capita water use by 58% since 2002. But with Lake Mead – the area’s most important water source – declining at an alarming rate, water scarcity remains one of the city’s most urgent challenges.

Which is why I was really interested this week by a video showcasing the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix’s contribution to the cause. In partnership with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and MGM Resorts International, the organisers have installed an ‘atmospheric water generator’ (AWG) – a high-tech bit of kit that literally pulls water out of thin air.

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Jeremy Walters, the Grand Prix’s community engagement director, describes the AWG as “a high-tech dehumidifier, drawing in warm, humid air, cooling it until moisture condenses, then filtering that water for use”.

Basically: it harvests water from the air and converts it into usable supply.

The unit installed can produce up to 250,000 gallons of water annually. According to Walters, it has already helped offset the water consumption of race weekend, which draws over 300,000 fans. The next goal? Becoming “net zero consumptive” year-round.

It’s a great example of how sport is beginning to think beyond the stadium walls. Where sustainability efforts used to focus inwardly – energy efficiency, waste, recycling – we’re now seeing a shift toward infrastructure investments and solutions that can benefit both sport and the wider community.

NBA-promoted Trashie diverts 1,900kg of waste

Take the NBA. The league just published its 2024/25 Social Impact Report, which included some headline numbers: its Global Games and All-Star events were powered entirely by renewable energy; one tonne of fishing nets was collected in Brazil and repurposed into basketball courts through the ‘Nets for Change’ programme with the World Surf League.

But what really caught my attention was the league’s first-ever sustainability track as part of its NBA Launchpad initiative. Launchpad is designed to source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies – and for the first time, it put out a call for sustainability-focused innovations. On this occasion it discovered Trashie, a recycling and rewards platform.

Here’s how the pilot is working: NBA fans could claim a free Take Back Bag from Trashie, fill it with up to 15 pounds of used clothing, shoes, or sports gear, and return it via UPS (also for free). In return, participants received discounts and the chance to win tickets to the 2025 NBA Draft.

Annie Horn, the NBA’s social responsibility programme director, shared progress during the UEFA Respect Forum in May: halfway through the six-month pilot, 1,900kg of waste had been diverted, avoiding 21,000kg of carbon emissions and saving two million litres of water.

“What they're trying to solve is that 85% of textiles end up either in landfill or incinerators,” said Horn. “And so they're trying to solve for that at scale by incentivising consumers and fans.”

€100,000 for community-led climate action

Meanwhile, in Germany, the football-for-good network Common Goal has teamed up with the City of Berlin and FUTURE LEAGUE Berlin to launch the Berlin City Climate Contribution Fund 2025. The initiative has provided €100,000 to support projects using sport to reduce carbon emissions and support community-led climate action.

Ten Berlin-based sports clubs have benefitted, and will now be able to invest in solutions such as tree planting, wetland restoration, rainwater harvesting and procurement of electric vehicles.

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Capgemini helps World Rugby address hotspots

We’ll dive into more partnerships like this in future editions, but one standout right now is the growing collaboration between World Rugby and Capgemini. It ticks three big boxes: (a) aligning around a shared sustainability goal, (b) showcasing Capgemini’s capabilities, and (c) helping World Rugby tackle a complex and difficult area – carbon.

Capgemini recently published two case studies highlighting their joint work:

1. Carbon groundwork: Capgemini ran targeted workshops with World Rugby’s Events & Media team to define emissions data requirements, assess the feasibility of data collection and identify opportunities to reduce future emissions. It also developed strategies to gather data on fan travel and accommodation, collaborating with the fan insights team on potential survey and ticketing-based methods.

2. Sustainable sourcing tools: Capgemini has also built a heatmap to prioritise sustainability issues across procurement categories (facilities, travel, food, logistics), alongside detailed factsheets. These outline best practices, offer supplier guidance, raise awareness of risks and legislation, and help teams assess whether purchases are necessary – or if lower-impact alternatives exist.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on how these kinds of partnerships – rooted in data and infrastructure – are helping shape sport’s sustainability journey. In the meantime, if you’ve got decorative grass in Vegas, time to say your goodbyes.

More from the Sustainability Huddle team next week. If you want to get this in your inbox, hit the button below.

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