Sports and Sustainability. Even if it’s never crossed your mind, those two topics feel like they should go hand in hand.
Consider the amount of people you see in stands at football games. Soccer games fully sold out of tens of thousands of seats. You look across the bright green turf to those in the stands opposite to you and they feel miles away. It can almost feel like you’re in space looking down at millions of people as if they’re tiny ants.
But they’re not ants. They’re families, groups of friends wanting to fully immerse themselves and enjoy the game just like you are.
Reduce, reuse, recycle sign curtesy of https://www.instagram.com/greensportsalliance/
Now picture the trash cans, overflowing with beer cans and tin foil, trash littered in between seats and candy wrappers blowing past you – but you don’t really notice it because it’s a part of the experience. The mess that is left behind doesn’t magically evaporate; for many arenas that mess is hand organized, sorted through and placed appropriately in the correct bin to ensure the recyclables get recycled and trash gets thrown away appropriately.
There is so much going on behind the scenes at your favorite game to ensure your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will be able to experience the same joy as you – going to their favorite game, cheering on their favorite team.
So what does research say about fans and their opinions on sustainability in sports? According to Josh Walker, from Sports Innovation Lab, a study was done with over 10,000 fans to see what fans were actually talking about and what they actually cared about. The long of the short of it, fans care about how their events are run. They care about the ethics of sports, they are open to change, empowered to choose and continuously evolving.
The goal of the Green Sports Alliance summit is to create a change. A change in the fandom, a change in sports management, a change in players. However, there is so much more to be done.
So the next time you’re enjoying the incredible feeling of being in the stands next to thousands of strangers, who have the common love for your team as you do, consider the other commonality – we only have one planet. Let’s make sure we keep it clean so we can continue to enjoy these events for years and years to come.
Does sports sustainability interest you? Check out more at https://leaderpass.com/pass/green-sports-alliance/summit-2022 to see the spring special. Be a part of the change!
