Sustainability

Introduction

We’re working to promote positive health and wellbeing, embed gender equality and strengthen local resources and the capacity to reduce inequalities.

Environmental sustainability is integral to this work and to success.

We know, from the sector-wide consultation we carried out in the spring of 2023, that there’s a keen interest and awareness across the sector about environmental sustainability and a willingness to promote change where needed.

Partners told us they are keen to play their part to help achieve the UK’s target to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 and to improve the quality of our natural environment.

We know that climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events is already impacting people’s ability and opportunity to take part in sport and physical activity.

A rugby coach speak to a group of children who have formed a huddle around her.

The need to raise awareness, find solutions and build in resilience are an ever more pressing matter.

The information here provides help and support on how to be more sustainable in everything we do – from training courses, to how we govern our organisations, to traveling to training and events, designing facilities and buying kit and resources.

We will continue to add to and update these resources over the coming months and years helping our partners consider some of the principles to apply to effectively respond to climate change, create sustainable communities and drive industry innovation across the sector.

We encourage you to embrace environmental sustainability from the very start of your project and to treat it as a vital consideration throughout.

Everyone understands there’s much more to be done, from the management of major events, sustainable travel policies and selection and use of recyclable materials, to the creation and operation of energy and resource-hungry facilities.

Sports organisations should continue to lead by example, take a critical look at how we operate, quantify and record consumption and waste, and set challenging targets to reduce or eliminate it.

Responding to climate change is not an easy task but there’s no choice here.

The sport and physical activity sector is a force for good and has a major contribution to make.

Environmental sustainability and Active Design

Applying ‘active design’ principles to where we live, work and play, and encouraging more active lifestyles will be a major contribution to a carbon-free future.

Walking, running and cycling are some of the easiest ways for people to stay active and the benefits of walkable communities are recognised and well established in planning and design literature.

A junior cycling coaching session with mountain bikers learning to ride a wooden pump track

Local facilities such as shops, schools and open spaces bring residents together, reinforce communities and reduce reliance on private transport. However, the potential for walking and cycling is affected by distance, the nature and quality of a route and important perceptions of safety and security.

When walking and cycling are prioritised over other modes of transport though, they provide the greatest opportunity for people to be physically active in their day to day lives – with connected walking and cycling routes support higher rates of active travel. Routes should be direct, easy to navigate and integrated as part of a wider network.

This integration is made possible by ‘active environments’ – a coordinated and holistic approach to the design and operation of streets, neighbourhoods and public open spaces which are promoted and supported by the policies, standards and planning of the infrastructure of where we live and work.

We’ve produced guidance documents that help incorporate physical activity into design and demonstrate facility interventions that can encourage people to engage in physical activities. Options range from simple low-cost alterations and adaptations to the local landscape or re-use of facilities that are under used, to more ambitious new build projects.

Find out more about Active Design

Environmental sustainability and sports facilities

It’s important to consider the practical measures helping to make sports facilities more comfortable, make more efficient use of energy and other resources and help change attitudes and behaviours.

Environmental sustainability involves a wide range of issues and is best considered in a holistic and joined-up way from the outset of a project.

It's important to consider the whole picture. Sometimes there's resistance to implementing sustainable building designs because they're initially considered more expensive and sustainable design is often the first casualty when savings are made.

Any decisions should be made on the basis of an analysis of the total cost over the life of the project and take into account not just the initial purchase and installation but also the running and maintenance costs.

It's important to weigh up the pros and cons and long term implications of the use of new and different technologies in order to decide what may be most suitable in a particular situation.

The diagram below indicates a possible framework for developing a robust strategy for any facility.

Environmental sustainability template for projects

This downloadable checklist below highlights key environmental sustainability principles to consider through the a project development process, from inception through to day-to-day operation of the completed facility.

Topics include site selection, transport plan, site layout, facility design, construction elements, monitoring and evaluation specifications, energy recovery and conservation methods.

A range of facilities for sport, recreation and leisure are included from indoor swimming pools and fitness centres to outdoor tracks and pitches.

We've also compiled two case studies to give examples of how environmental sustainability can be incorporated into the design of sports facilities.

Environmental Sustainability check list Download the file - 583.74 KB

Case study: Exeter - St.Sidwells Point Leisure Centre Download the file - 908.6 KB

Case study: Norfolk - Wereham Village Hall Download the file - 617.9 KB

Further information

Dealing with droughts

The weather has a huge impact on sport – particularly on natural pitches and playing fields.

We’ve seen climate change disrupt our traditional weather patterns, so we’ve worked with Cranfield University and a number of national governing bodies (NGBs) of pitch-based sports to:

Understand the potential impact on sport of long-term climate change
Identify the sports and locations which will experience the greatest impact
Consider how sport can adapt and ease against the negative impact
Develop guidance to help clubs manage the short- and long-term challenges.

Our Drought Report sets out preventative measures you can take if your project is affected by droughts and covers the importance of good club/facility management, how a hosepipe ban can affect your turf and alternative methods to minimise the effects of drought.

Drought report Download the file - 163.72 KB

Floods

Floods can have a devastating impact on sports clubs and cause significant damage to changing and social facilities, as well as to sports pitches.

This includes damage to buildings and machinery on sports club facilities, as well as depositing harmful sediment and waste on pitches. While floods of such magnitude are relatively rare, there are many clubs that are affected by more regular flooding, such as on the far corner of a playing field or in the grounds shed.

You can take a number of preventative measures to help reduce the risk of flood damage and lessen its impact when it occurs.

A group of people watching a boy's football match on a playing field.

We’ve also answered the most frequently asked drought-related questions we’ve received from a variety of sports clubs about. Alongside this, you can find a Drought Advice Note for Clubs note on how to deal with water usage restrictions and how to use water more efficiently to maintain pitches and courts alike.

Drought FAQs Download the file - 125.11 KB

Drought Advice Note for Clubs note Download the file - 150.24 KB

Guidance and information

Working with a number of NGBs (The Football Association, Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League, ECB, Lawn Tennis Association and England Hockey), we’ve produced a set of information sheets and a template to help clubs and facility managers find out whether their facilities are at risk of flooding and what to do in the event of a flooding.

If facilities are at risk, the templates will help clubs and facility managers develop a flood plan and other strategies that will help reduce the impact of flooding.

We have the following guidance:

How To Plan Ahead Download the file - 301.54 KB

Developing A Club Flood Plan Download the file - 306.15 KB

Club Flood Plan Download the file - 390.11 KB

Creating Flood Resilient Design Download the file - 300.24 KB

What to do when you get a flood alert warning Download the file - 302.52 KB

Buildings after the flood Download the file - 314.64 KB

Pitches And Courts After The Flood Download the file - 325.03 KB

You can access other relevant information by visiting the following websites:

Environmental sustainability consultation

Earlier this year, we carried out a sector-wide consultation, supported by our external partner, Useful Projects, to co-develop a vision for our future – a plan for how we can support sports and communities to protect and adapt the environments in which sport and physical activity takes place and work together towards our collective net zero ambitions.

The consultation used a variety of approaches to understand current challenges, action, opportunities and support needed, and comprised of three key pillars:

Survey - open to everyone, in particular for grassroots sports clubs and local physical activity groups
Interviews - with a range of sustainable sport partners and leading organisations in this space
Focus groups – bringing together a range of our system partners, facility owners, leisure providers, and outdoor activity partners.

Laying new drainage system at Chester racecourse

Why this consultation matters

Extreme weather, the energy crisis and wider climate change are increasingly likely to impact participation levels, inequalities and when, and where, activity takes place.

Equally, the sport and physical activity sector has a significant environmental impact that reinforces these effects.

We have considerable scope, opportunity and obligation to create positive change - and have made a first step towards this by holding a consultation, the findings of which are now published.

This forms part of our Uniting the Movement commitment to tackle climate change by influencing how people live and travel, by connecting this agenda with local priorities around health and active environments, and through the sustainable planning and design of the nation’s sport and leisure facilities.

What we found

Our consultation revealed that the sports and physical activity sector already has a good understanding about environmental impacts and how this will affect clubs, organisations or groups, and plenty of ambition to tackle the issues.

However, the ability to act has been restricted by a wide range of factors, including lack of funding and capacity, rising energy and material costs, extreme weather events (floods, drought and heatwaves), reliance on cars, and waste issues such as recycling.

The key environmental challenges the sector would like training, resources and help to tackle are:

Travel - reducing carbon emissions associated with travel to/from the places where sports and physical activity takes place.
Buildings - reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions from buildings.

Circular economy - reducing consumption and waste associated with kit, equipment and general operations.
Water - improving water quality and use, managing rising water costs, and the impact of flooding and drought.
Climate change – adapting to extreme weather events, now and in the future.

The results of this consultation will be used to help shape our forthcoming sustainability strategy, to support and influence the grassroots sports and physical activity sector and will be published in due course.

Environmental Sustainability in Sport and Physical Activity

Read our executive summary for an overview of our consultation.

Sustainability in Sport and Physical Activity Download the file - 7.06 MB

Introduction

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