Sustainability is an increasingly important and relevant issue in sports – and no sport is more affected by climate change than biathlon. The IBU must a strong stance on becoming an increasingly sustainable and environmentally-friendly sport, becoming a thought leader among International Federations.
Olle Dahlin, IBU President
The IBU is committed to making its operations and activities fully sustainable along all three dimensions of sustainability:
environmental
social
economic
The IBU’s vision is to establish biathlon as a leader in promoting sustainability in sport by 2026.
Sustainability within biathlon is defined as:
The everyday behaviours of everyone in the biathlon family that create an overall balance between our social, economic and environmental actions and impact in order to ensure that the current and future generations may continue to enjoy the joy of snow sports and nature.
In September 2020, the IBU approved its Sustainability Policy and Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030. As an outdoor winter sport, biathlon is directly affected by climate change so it is only logical that one of the central tenets of the new strategy is to become climate neutral by 2030.
Sustainability PolicyIBU Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030Designed to deliver concrete benefits on a local level, the ten-year strategy is built around five Focus Areas and three levels of stakeholders as shown in the IBU Sustainability Framework below.
IBU Expert Reference Group
The IBU has invited a leading group of experts to join its Sustainability Expert Reference Group (ERG). The ERG brings together international professionals and thought leaders who will contribute external advice to the IBU on its sustainability journey. Representing various fields and areas of expertise, it will play an important role in ensuring that the IBU’s sustainability strategy is complemented – and challenged – by diverse perspectives through external consultation. Read more about the experts here.
UN Sports for Climate Action Framework
As part of its commitment to climate action, the IBU is also a member of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. Read more about it here.
Race to Zero
The Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors and other organisations to join 120 countries in the largest ever alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest. End of 2021, the IBU joined the campaign as a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action, which is an official partner of Race to Zero. Read more about it here.
Mountain Summit
The IBU is also a member of the Mountain Summit, a group of sports organisations led by the IOC and UNEP that are concerned with the current state of the world’s mountains and committed to protecting them. The aim of the Summit is to assess and minimise the negative impact of sports activities on mountain environments and leverage the power of sport to raise awareness about the importance of environmental stewardship when being active in the mountains.