Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI), the membership group advocating for a more sustainable sports industry, has launched a new platform designed to help sports organisation implement good practice.

The SandSI Support Centre is made up of three key components: the helpdesk, frequently asked questions and resources to help signatories adopt the five principles of the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework.

Encouraging its 237 members to sign up to framework – which asks sports organisations to measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions – has been outlined as one of SandSI’s strategic priorities.

The five principles of the framework include: undertaking systematic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility, reducing overall climate impact, educating for climate action, promoting sustainable and responsible consumption, and advocating for climate action through communication.

Organisations and individuals needing advice can gain insight from case studies of good practice curated by SandSI, or ask questions via the helpdesk.

Once a question has been submitted, SandSI will answer and potentially make an introduction to a person or organisation within its membership network that can help with the inquiry.

A pilot phase for the platform will occur until the end of 2019, in which the services provided by the resource will be free. Following the pilot phase, the platform will only be available to paid up members of SandSI.

The platform supports the English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese languages.

“There are many tools, experts and good practices available, it’s just a matter of finding them,” said Geert Hendriks, SandSI’s chief executive. “The SandSI Support Centre helps the global sports industry to understand the potential of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and offers concrete help on the sustainability journey of small and large sports organisations around the world.”

SandSI was established in 2017 by Allen Hershkowitz, the co-founder of the Green Sports Alliance and the New York Yankees’ environmental science advisor, and a number of prominent sport and sustainability professionals, including European Club Rugby chief executive Vincent Gaillard and Neil Beecroft, the head of sustainability at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games.

Formula E’s senior sustainability consultant, Julia Pallé, is the organisation’s current president.