I have to be honest. I’ve never viewed myself as a champion of sustainability. Amidst the ‘busy-ness’ of work and home life, it just wasn’t on my radar.
That is, until I chanced upon a certain podcast….
Emergency On Planet Sport
I’m not sure what sparked my curiosity but a shift of sorts happened when I came across Jonathan Overend’s extraordinary series, ‘Emergency on Planet Sport’, earlier this year.
If you haven’t come across it, it’s well worth a listen.
Diving into its eight episodes over a February lockdown weekend, I was captivated by stories relaying the impact of climate change on sports played and loved across the globe.
Tales of sweltering Olympics, vanishing ski slopes, tennis played in unfathomable heat, catastrophic football pitch flooding, cricket preventing droughts, erosion affected golf courses and so on. All examples and impacts of the increasingly extreme weather attributed to our overheating planet.
Voices of hope
As much as I was affected by the desperate views of our current trajectory, and how sport contributes to the problem, I was equally inspired by its constructive solutions.
Actions that could have impacts stretching far beyond the physical pitch, track or venue.
During the series, a varied cast of athletes, clubs, NGB’s, stakeholders and experts spoke candidly to the issues.
But whether it was the likes of former Australian rugby international player David Pocock, highlighting the power of the athlete voice; Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and Chair of Forest Green Rovers, telling the story of ‘the world’s first carbon neutral football club’ or Claire Poole, founder of the ‘Sport Positive’ Summit, marshalling UN and IOC support, all pointed to sport’s unique capacity to adapt and lead in this area.
Where to start?
Easy. Start by downloading ‘Emergency on Planet Sport’ for yourself, then check out a couple of the thought leaders who are producing great insight in this space.
Closest to home, the British Association of Sustainable Sport (BASIS), led by Russell Seymour (the UK’s foremost expert) offers pointers and resources to help kickstart your thinking. The ‘Sustainability Report’ is another ‘go-to’ source, providing regular and engaging updates for the sector.
Impact Three Zero will also be bringing the detail of these multi-layered conversations, solutions and incentives to life over the coming weeks. These are stories and successful strategies we feel must be shared.
The pandemic has impacted us all, and a podcast moved me to start this business and work towards creating meaningful, impactful change where sport and sustainability meet.
Patrick Haslett
Managing Partner
ph@impact3zero.com
