A database of sustainable actions that sports event organisers and organisations can adopt has been established.

Created by the GAMES project, an Erasmus+ funded initiative that explores ways sport can decarbonise, the database demonstrates ways that organisations and events can minimise their environmental impact through smart choices around energy, food and beverage, transport and waste, as well as through robust policies and governance.

Tiberio Daddi, associate professor at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, the project’s technical partner, said the database would “serve as a model for sustainable events” both within and beyond sport.

“The environmental impact related to sports events and the activities of clubs, leagues and federations has been well-documented,” he added. “Although the creation of this database goes beyond the original scope of our project, through our research and engagement with our sports partners it became clear that a resource like this would be a valuable tool as the industry seeks to reduce that impact.”

Sant’Anna was supported in the development of the database by the GAMES sports partners, World Athletics, the International Biathlon Union, the International Floorball Federation and the Swedish Floorball Federation, as well as the project’s communications partner, Touchline, the publisher of The Sustainability Report platform.

The database is available for anyone on the GAMES website.

Kicking off in June 2022, the GAMES project has five main aims:

– Raise awareness and increasing the adoption of climate change mitigation practices by key sports actors

– Analyse the climate change governance and management models in athletics, biathlon and floorball

– Support the sports with strategic objectives, programmes and operational frameworks

– Develop training modules to improve environmental knowledge

– Leverage the popularity of the sports to broadly increase environmental awareness

The project will conclude in early 2025, following the World Floorball Championships 2024 in Malmö, Sweden.

Find out more about the GAMES project here.