Whitepaper: Embedding Justice into Sports Sustainability Strategy
Who gets to play, and who gets left behind? This is the central theme of our whitepaper on embedding justice in sports organisations strategies.
This question is becoming harder to ignore as the impacts of climate change widen the gap between those who can access sport and those who can’t. No safe streets to cycle. No snow to ski. No green spaces to run, train, or simply breathe clean air.
While sport is often seen as the great equaliser, it’s now facing the same inequities it has the power to help fix.
According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2023), more than 3.3 billion people live in areas highly vulnerable to climate change, many of whom contribute the least to the problem.
A 2023 Oxfam report found that the richest 1 percent of the world’s population was responsible for as much carbon pollution in 2019 as the five billion people who made up the poorest two-thirds of humanity.
These outsized emissions are projected to cause an estimated 1.3 million heat-related excess deaths between 2020 and 2030, roughly equivalent to the population of San Diego.
So how can sport, with its cultural relevance and huge reach, help shift the balance and create inclusive outcomes both on and off the field?
Sport has immense power. It has influence. But environmental justice can’t just be another sustainability buzzword in a strategy document.
It has to be embedded into operations, budgets, leadership, and decision-making.
That’s the kind of work we’re doing with our clients at Think Beyond, and the kind of leadership we need from sport.
You can read and download our whitepaper here.
To find out more about how Think Beyond can help your business with its Environmental Justice efforts and drive higher standards across the industry, please contact simon.lucey@thinkbeyond.consulting.
