IBU focuses on stakeholder engagement to create concrete sustainability action

In October 2022, the IBU used the occasion of the Sport Positive Summit in London, the 31st Sports Assembly staged by IBU’s media partner European Broadcasting Union, and the ASAP Forum in Prague to engage in dialogue with various stakeholders on the importance of sustainability in sport.

Starting at the Sport Positive Summit in London, held in association with United Nations Climate Change (UNCC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), 400 delegates including representatives from international sport governing bodies, professional clubs, major events, non-profit organizations, and the media came together to discuss, debate and share best practice on climate action in sport.

Known as Glastonbury of sustainability in sport, the Summit also hosted the 2022 General Assembly of the Sports for Climate Action Framework signatories. Following COP26 in Glasgow last November, which saw the sports movement join the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, the Framework has shifted its focus on climate impact measurement, reporting and reduction as the participants move from planning to action.

The IBU was represented by Head of Sustainability, Riikka Rakic, who used this opportunity to meet with industry colleagues to exchange experiences and share the IBU´s initiatives and accomplishments since the launch of its Sustainability Strategy in 2020.

Continuing at the 31st Sports Assembly, the IBU participated in a panel discussion together with SVT, France Télévisions and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The broadcasters play a significant role in the efforts to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint by creating awareness that will ignite behavioral change and by managing and decreasing the impact of the broadcasting production itself. This autumn’s Sports Assembly marked the first time that the sports broadcasters used the occasion to concretely address the topic of sustainability.

Finally, at the ASAP Forum, the flagship event of the „As Sustainable As Possible“ project, led by the Czech Olympic Committee and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, several European sports sustainability practitioners came together the discuss how to approach sustainability strategically. The IBU was invited to share its experiences in involving athletes to promote and enable sustainability objectives. The ASAP project was an inspirational four-year project that involved the National Olympic Committees of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Denmark, Germany, and Finland and created a high-quality toolkit for helping any sport organization develop a strategic approach to sustainability. To explore the toolkit, click here.