Sustainability in sport: The practical action driving change.

Sport has always been about bringing people together as well as providing participants with a challenge and a chance to enjoy the outcomes of united effort.  

The physical and mental health benefits of exercise are undeniable, and sport provides a fantastic vehicle through which to build social cohesion, promote inclusivity and enhance the local economy.

Organisations in the sports sector are now being asked to help overcome a further challenge, and one in which everyone can play a part: improving the health of the environment. The growth of the sports industry has contributed to many of the issues which are now starting to affect participation in it, being climate change, air and water pollution, overconsumption of natural resources and generation of unmanageable waste.  

Sport England sees these issues as increasingly real threats to sport participation and, both directly and indirectly, to public health. Extreme weather – droughts, heat,  protracted periods of still weather and storms - is already contributing to unplayable levels of heat, air pollution, water source contamination and pitch damage, leading to event disruption, cancellations and deterring people from being active at every level of sports participation, but particularly those least able to cope with the impacts of such intense conditions.

Whilst the sports industry is only one of the many global contributors to the causes of the environmental issues mentioned above, Sport England recognises that the sector has a role to play in resolving them. To that end, it is supporting its 130 system partners to have sustainability action plans in place by March 2027.  

This sounds like a demanding target, particularly for those organisations that do not have sustainability expertise within their staff body. The good news, however, is that it is easy for any organisation to make quick progress, particularly if it is under the leadership of a committed captain and the whole team is united in its focus.  

Free resources are available from BASIS (the British Association for Sustainable Sport) and Sport England’s Buddle (previously Club Matters) to help organisations within the sector to adopt sustainability values and practices. To help them get on the right track, several organisations in the sector, including Rise North East, Alliance Leisure Services and Newcastle United Foundation, have become members of Investors in the Environment (iiE), a not-for-profit accreditation programme which offers one-to-one support to organisations that want to get to grips with environmental performance improvement.

Rise North East

Rise North East transform lives, communities and places through the power of movement. It works in a region where 35% of children and young people are living below the poverty line.

As part of its iiEaccreditation, it wanted to deliver an outreach project which would tackle an environmental as well as a social issue. Evidence shows that one of the barriers to children and young people accessing physical activity provision, both in school and community-led provision, is a lack of appropriate clothing and footwear, with some children having to share PE kits with siblings.

Through Kit Out Sunderland, the Rise North East worked collaboratively with Sunderland City Council, NECA, StreetGames, Sported and YST, and coordinated 18 donation points across the city, which included leisure centres, Sunderland football stadium, NHS sites and Nissan, collecting 224kg of reusable sports kit and active wear in only three weeks.  

The clothing was sorted and redistributed to 10 local organisations supporting children and families. Any items that couldn’t be reused were responsibly recycled.  This simple project, which could be easily replicated across the country, had multiple beneficial outcomes, which included reducing waste, strengthening community links and improving access to physical activity.

Alliance Leisure Services

Alliance Leisure is the UK’s leading leisure development specialist, partnering with local authorities and operators to deliver sustainable, place-based active environments.

Whilst its key focus is to design low-impact facilities for its clients, it also recognises that it needs to manage the environmental impact of its own business, the largest area of which is work-related travel. It developed or introduced initiatives which brought about a 36% drop in its annual transport carbon footprint (or 17 tonnes CO2e) between 2024-2025 and almost halved the emissions of its car-related transport across the same time frame.

By prioritising online meetings, strengthening their transport policies to encourage greater use of car-sharing and better travel planning, improving data capture for all forms of transport and developing plans to shift its fleet to be fully EV by 2028 (with 41% achieved by 2025 from 0% in 2021), with hybrid cars being used as an interim measure, the organisation quickly cut its reliance on high carbon travel.  

Newcastle United Foundation

Newcastle United Foundation (NUF) uses the power of football to connect, motivate, inspire, and change outcomes for people in Newcastle and the surrounding area. Alongside delivering wide-ranging local sports and community support, the Foundation has also taken practical steps to improve its environmental performance through Investors in the Environment (iiE).

Their Green Champion, Steve Mack, has driven activity at the organisation, and what started with a cardboard recycling bin in the corner of an office has grown into an active Green Team, a clear action plan, and a sense of shared responsibility across the organisation, NUF has embedded environmental management into the heart of its operations and set a carbon budget to support its net zero target. Sustainability is now integrated across activities, policies, and procedures to drive continuous improvement.

That approach has delivered measurable results. By mapping bookings, auditing energy use and making small scheduling changes, the team cut 230 hours of energy use per week with zero disruption to services - a win for the planet and a win for the finance team! Steve’s advice to others starting out is simple: “You can’t do this alone. Reach out. Get support. That’s what made all the difference for us.”

Step by Step

The progress made by all three organisations shows what can be achieved when sustainability is woven into everyday decision making. None of them relied on grand statements or generic aspirations. Their impact comes from knowing their communities, understanding their operations, and choosing practical steps that make sense for both.  

Want to follow in their footsteps but not sure where to start? Investors in the Environment (iiE) helps organisations put their ambition into practice, offering a straightforward framework that turns intent into measurable progress.

Head to www.iie.uk.com to find out more.