Sustainability Cannot Sit on the Side: Denise Ludlam on Culture, Communication and the Challenge Facing Sport and Physical Activity.
- Why Sports
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
As the Green Goals Conference approaches, one of the most important conversations for the sport, leisure and physical activity sector is not simply about carbon targets, environmental strategies or technical solutions; it is about culture.
It is about whether sustainability is still seen as a separate agenda, owned by one person or one department, or whether it becomes part of how organisations think, plan, communicate and deliver every day.
That distinction matters. Because if sustainability is treated as an add-on, it will always struggle to compete with the immediate pressures facing leaders, teams, facilities, communities and delivery partners. But when it is understood as part of participation, place, public health, finance, workforce, inclusion and long-term resilience, it becomes something far more practical and far more urgent.
Ahead of the Green Goals Conference, Why Sports asked Denise Ludlam from Sport England to reflect on the sector’s progress, the barriers still holding organisations back, and the practical steps leaders can take to move from awareness to action.
Her reflections offer a clear message: the sector is moving, but the next stage depends on better communication, shared learning and making sustainability easier to start.
Sustainability is connected to everything we do.
One of the biggest challenges facing the sector is that many organisations are still trying to understand where sustainability fits.
For those already working in this space, the connections can feel obvious. Climate change affects facilities, events, participation, health inequalities, travel, green space, energy use, funding decisions and the long-term future of community sport. But Denise makes an important point: not everyone is at the same stage of the journey.
People often need to begin before they fully understand the scale of the issue.
As she explains, sustainability professionals can sometimes forget that they are further along that path. They may assume others already see the same links, share the same language or understand the same urgency. In reality, many people are dealing with other priorities. They may be focused on keeping facilities open, supporting communities, managing budgets, delivering programmes or responding to immediate operational pressures.
That does not mean sustainability is less important. It means the way we communicate has to improve.
If the sector wants sustainability to become part of everyone’s role, it must be explained in ways that feel relevant to different audiences. For some, the starting point might be reducing energy costs. For others, it may be protecting outdoor sport from extreme weather, improving active travel, reducing waste, strengthening community resilience or supporting people to be active in healthier local environments. The agenda is the same, but the route in will not be the same for everyone.
The barrier is not always willingness — it is knowing where to begin.
A recurring theme in Denise’s answers is that the sector does not lack good intent. In many places, organisations recognise the challenge and want to respond. The difficulty is often more practical.
Where do we start? What does good look like? How do we make progress when teams are already stretched? How do we bring people with us when sustainability can feel technical, distant or overwhelming?
Denise points to the importance of taking a first step and improving communication with different audiences. She also highlights the value of support from organisations such as Climate Outreach, whose work helps people communicate climate issues in ways that are more human, more relevant and more likely to lead to action.
This is a crucial point for the sport and physical activity sector. Sustainability cannot be built through policy documents alone. It has to be understood by the people who run facilities, coach young people, manage clubs, design places, commission services, support volunteers, lead organisations and engage communities. If the language does not land, the action will not follow.
Progress is happening — and the sector needs to shout louder about it.
There is no shortage of positive work taking place across sport and physical activity. Denise points to strong examples across different parts of the sector. Golf is making progress on water efficiency. Sailing, British Triathlon, 5Thread and others are doing important work around the circularity of kit. Pledgeball has started a community energy project. The British Mountaineering Council is supporting biodiversity through its work and resources. Active Partnerships are increasingly tackling the links between inequality and climate change.
And beyond these examples, there are projects happening across the country that often do not receive the attention they deserve. This matters because progress creates confidence.
When organisations can see what others are doing, sustainability becomes less abstract. It becomes something that can be copied, adapted, improved and repeated. Denise’s message is simple and powerful: we need to learn, tweak and repeat what is already working so that everyone can move faster.
That is one of the reasons Green Goals exists. The conference is not just a place to talk about the scale of the challenge. It is a place to share the practical work already happening, connect people across the system and help organisations see what is possible in their own context.
Leaders do not need to start with everything.
For leaders who want to make sustainability real inside their organisation, the first step does not need to be complicated.
Denise’s advice is refreshingly straightforward: ask the team what they could do and choose three simple actions. Just get going.
That may sound small, but it is often the shift that matters most. Sustainability can feel paralysing when organisations believe they need a perfect strategy before doing anything. In reality, momentum often begins with simple, visible actions that help people understand their role and build confidence.
Those actions might relate to energy, waste, travel, procurement, biodiversity, events, communications, staff behaviour or community engagement. The right starting point will depend on the organisation. But the principle is the same: involve people, choose something practical and begin.
For those unsure where to start, Denise points to Sport England’s Sustainability Maturity Tool as a helpful source of ideas. Tools like this can give organisations a structure, but the culture change still depends on people feeling able to act.
Embedding sustainability into culture is the harder challenge.
Making sustainability part of day-to-day delivery is more difficult than launching a project or assigning responsibility to one person.
Denise is honest about this. Sport England is still working through the same challenge. Ideally, everyone would understand how sustainability connects to their own role, alongside other priorities such as equality, diversity and inclusion, health, children and young people, welfare and safety.
That requires a blend of general awareness and role-specific support. A senior leader, facility manager, events team, communications officer, development lead or community partner may all need different forms of guidance. The principle is shared, but the application is different.
The challenge, of course, is that people are busy. Organisations are under pressure. Training, awareness and culture change all take time. That is why sustainability has to be made practical rather than perfect. It needs to become part of existing conversations, decisions and planning processes, not another separate agenda competing for attention.
Denise also poses an important question back to the sector: how are others doing this well?
That question should sit at the heart of Green Goals. The answers will not come from one organisation alone. They will come from sharing what works, being honest about what is difficult and creating the conditions for more people to take ownership.
System partners are willing — but they need support and scaffolding.
Sport England’s work with system partners has shown both the opportunity and the challenge.
Denise describes partners as responding brilliantly. Good news stories are emerging every week, and there is clear recognition of the need to act. But willingness does not automatically translate into progress. Many partners have needed help to build the knowledge, confidence and skills required to take their first steps.
That is where support and scaffolding become important, including the role now being provided by Basis.
This reflects a wider reality across the sector. Organisations are not ignoring sustainability because they do not care. Many are dealing with immediate pressures, competing priorities and turbulent conditions. For some, sustainability can feel like another demand on already stretched teams. The lesson is clear: if we want the sector to move faster, we need to make it easier.
That means clearer guidance, better examples, practical tools, stronger peer learning and communication that meets people where they are. It also means recognising that sustainability must connect to the things organisations already care about: participation, community outcomes, financial resilience, workforce development, health improvement and the future of local places.
Are we moving quickly enough?
Denise’s answer is direct: no one is moving quickly enough.
That honesty matters. The climate challenge is urgent, and the sport and physical activity sector is not separate from it. Extreme weather, energy pressures, changing environments and widening inequalities are already shaping people’s ability to be active.
But Denise also offers a note of perspective. The sector is moving forward, and that progress should not be dismissed. The task now is to accelerate without overwhelming people. To build confidence without pretending the work is easy. To keep raising ambition while making the first steps feel achievable.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, the challenge is not simply to produce more sustainability statements. It is to help more organisations understand what sustainability means in their world, in their place and in their role.
That means moving from isolated examples to shared practice. From individual responsibility to organisational culture. From technical language to human communication. From good intent to everyday action.
Why this matters for Green Goals.
The Green Goals Conference is designed to bring this conversation into the centre of the sport, leisure and physical activity sector.
Because sustainability is not just about buildings, energy, waste or emissions. It is about the future of participation. It is about the places where people move, play, connect and belong. It is about whether communities can remain active, healthy and resilient in a changing climate.
Denise Ludlam’s reflections remind us that the sector does not need to wait for perfect answers before it begins. It needs to start, learn, share and repeat. It needs leaders who are willing to ask better questions. It needs teams who are supported to see how sustainability connects to their work. It needs partners who are prepared to communicate differently and act practically.
Most of all, it needs sustainability to become part of the culture of sport and physical activity, not an issue sitting to one side. That is the opportunity in front of us.
And it is one the sector cannot afford to miss.
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