The International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have been shortlisted in the Purpose-led Partnership category at the Sport Positive Awards 2025, recognising their pioneering collaboration to reduce the environmental impact of sports broadcasting.

Biathlon is already facing the direct consequences of climate change, from unpredictable weather to event disruptions. Broadcasting is a cornerstone of biathlon’s global reach, but it also contributes to carbon emissions through travel, energy use, and event production.

As a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, the IBU is committed to reducing its climate impact by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2040. A key part of this strategy is ensuring that all IBU World Championships (from 2027) and World Cups (from 2030) have sustainable TV broadcasting plans. The EBU, the IBU’s media rights partner, shares this commitment and works with national broadcasters and Actua Films to deliver consistent, sustainable production across all major events.

Since launching the partnership, six host broadcasters are now actively measuring their production carbon footprint—up from just one before the 2023/24 season. Data from two seasons of World Cups and World Championships has already revealed that broadcast-related emissions can be reduced by up to 67% through targeted sustainable production practices, including the use of greener power sources, remote production workflows, and climate-related content integration.

The collaboration goes beyond measurement: it includes training, shared resources, direct support for host broadcasters, and innovative tools for data collection. The 2025 IBU Biathlon World Championships at Lenzerheide, Switzerland, achieved albert sustainable production certification, setting a new benchmark for environmentally responsible sports broadcasting.

This groundbreaking initiative—the first of its kind between an Olympic International Federation and a global broadcasting alliance—demonstrates how purpose-led partnerships can drive meaningful climate action. By combining the IBU’s leadership in sports sustainability with the EBU’s broadcasting expertise and communication platform, the partnership offers a scalable model for reducing emissions across the entire sports broadcasting sector.