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SUSTAINABILITY


TOM WALKER, MANAGING EDITOR, SPORTS MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE


GREEN SHOOTS


Sport is increasingly adopting environmentally sustainable practices. Tom Walker looks at how sport can be used to promote environmental awareness and social and economic development.


M


ajor sporting events have shown their potential to be catalysts for the creation of sustainable, healthy environments and


economies. The London 2012 Olympic Games changed the landscape of a previously dilapidated part of the capital, creating a brand new environmentally- friendly neighbourhood in east London with world class leisure facilities, 2,800 new homes and an urban park. This year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil was


widely credited as the “greenest” in history. Crucially, the tournament provided an impetus for positive change beyond the competition, as the Brazilian public embraced initiatives such as the Green Passport – published and distributed to all fans – and its message of adopting ecologically- friendly practices in everyday life. As a direct result of the change in public attitudes and the widened environmental


awareness facilitated by the World Cup, the Brazilian government passed a new waste management law to better regulate recycling in the country. It’s not only major events, however, which can deliver lasting, positive change to their surroundings. The spaces needed for sport have an impact on the natural world. Stadium construction projects, venue operations and even the building and running of local sport pitches change landscapes and have an impact on habitats. Those responsible for building and operating sport infrastructure have an opportunity to make a positive impact on their environments and communities. According to Russell


Seymour, chair of the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), interest in making venues more sustainable has increased rapidly in the past decade. He says, however, that there remains fragmentation in the way green issues are


approached. “There are now a number of professional clubs and venues which have really embraced the idea of being environmentally friendly – and the same goes for community sport,” Seymour says. “It's still, however, a case of having great but isolated examples of good practice. Even within venues it's sometimes a case of picking and choosing certain aspects of environmentally-friendly operations, while ignoring others.”


GREEN DESIGNS When sustainability is incorporated at the very core of stadium development, the end results can be impressive. In 2007 the city of Incheon in South Korea was selected to host the 2014 Asian Games and was faced with a need to build a main stadium for the event. From the outset, the Incheon City Government made sustainability a primary requirement. It wanted a venue that would deliver a memorable games but also provide a lasting legacy for the city. Architects Populous took up the challenge and came up with the innovative


The Green Passport scheme at the FIFA World Cup this year helped increase the Brazilian public's awareness of environmental issues 48 sportsmanagement.co.uk issue 4 2014 © Cybertrek 2014


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