The International Biathlon Union (IBU) was today announced as the winner of the IOC Climate Action Award 2025 in the International Federation (IF) category in recognition of driving new sustainability standards in sport.

IBU President Olle Dahlin was presented with the award by HSH Prince Albert during the 145th IOC Session at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The IBU was awarded by the IOC for setting new benchmarks as the first Winter IF to have included World Cups and World Championships in its transition plan, which resulted in a 6% reduction in direct and indirect emissions across all three scopes of the GHG Protocol in 2024. The IOC also praised the IBU for ‘driving systemic change’ by supporting national federations to develop their own sustainability strategies, which include calculating CO2 footprints and educating stakeholders. Other innovative projects noted by the IOC include developing joint athlete climate advocacy projects through collaboration with brands in the Winter Sports Network; the “Athlete Ambassador Programme”, which has empowered 26 athletes from 17 countries to champion sustainability; and the Biathlon Climate Challenge, which saw 12,000 fans engage in climate action through physical activity.

IBU President Olle Dahlin said: “We are honoured to receive this prestigious award from the IOC. This award is a testament to the work of the biathlon family, not just in 2025 but over the last five years as part of our IBU Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030. Together, we have made excellent progress, but we are committed to doing more to reduce biathlon’s climate impact and protect its long-term future.”

IBU Head of Sustainability Riikka Rakic said: “We have always been clear that meaningful change can only happen when everyone in our sport contributes and works together. We are proud that the IOC has recognised that through projects with our athletes, national federations, organising committees and broadcasters, we have been able to empower our stakeholders to deliver concrete climate action.”

The IBU’s award comes on the back of the IOC Climate Action Awards 2024, where the IBU was Highly Commended for working with TV broadcasters, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, to measure the carbon footprint of broadcasting at IBU World Cup events.

The IBU’s commitment to sustainability is fully aligned with the biathlon competitions in Milano Cortina 2026, which sees the reuse of an existing annual biathlon venue: Olympic Arena Südtirol Alto Adige. During the Games, the venue is 100% supplied with renewable energy. The operational infrastructure upgrades for the Games were implemented to support sustainable event delivery and restricted to the existing venue footprint to avoid additional land use. The Olympic event will also see circular sustainability practices, including water and energy consumption tracking, full food waste recovery and an aim to recycle 70% of urban waste, including 100% PET bottle-to-bottle recycling and 80% packaging recycling.