Orienteering invests in academic sustainability solutions with latest award

Systematic research can be a highly effective tool into ascertaining a sport’s impact on nature and highlighting where changes need to be made.

Last year, the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) published a report of its own to examine issues related to the sport’s environmental impact, namely the disturbance of vegetation and wildlife.

The preservation of the environment is nothing short of essential for orienteering to continue, as it ties into nearly all aspects of its operations.

As a result, the IOF has established a prize for the “best scientific publication relating to sustainability and orienteering”.

“Orienteering is very connected with the environment,” IOF Secretary General Sondre Gullord tells Global Sustainable Sport.

“Our field of play is out in nature, therefore nature is crucial to us so we always need to be cautious to organise our events in a way that doesn’t have any negative impacts on nature.

“That’s why this prize is so important for us.

“In the scope of the award we also want to be open to other perspectives related to sustainable development and orienteering, not just the environmental side of it.”

A winner will be named every two years and will receive a financial reward, with the amount set to be determined in early 2025.

The prize will reward the research paper that best considers the sport’s relationship with any or all of the core elements of sustainability according to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

These are economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.

While the IOF believes it is already excelling in its environmental goals, this prize is symbolic of how the organisation is not allowing itself to become complacent.

“From one side, I think that we need to continue to do more of what we are already doing,” Gullord says.

“We have done a lot related to our carbon footprint and we have already reached our 50% reduction target for 2030.

“But what we see is that we need to do more related to our events.

“Everything from sustainable travel to race emissions reduction and also how our major events connect with local communities in an optimal way, so I think that our events will be the main focus going forward.

“There has already been one publication from Czechia and one from Finland related to mass participation events. That is very interesting for orienteering events and how we can make them more sustainable.

“That is our focus going forward for our Environment and Sustainability Commission.”

Gullord is hoping to see further studies that not only analyse orienteering’s impact on nature, but assess the social facets of the sport.

The IOF calendar from January 1 of this year to January 27, 2025, features 196 six events for nearly all age groups as youth, junior, senior, and masters athletes are all catered for.

Orienteering is considered to be a sport for life and even boasts competitors older than 100.

“The social and lifelong aspects of orienteering are also very interesting so hopefully we will see some studies there,” Gullord says.

Research from the Pacific Northwest Orienteering shows that the sport helps in improving the social skills of participants, creating the possibility of establishing relationships with other participants – which in turn helps to lessen issues around mental health.

The IOF boasts a range of partners that have helped it in the past, including American multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer, but the new prize offers a chance to expand this group.

While the governing body is not necessarily looking for another sponsor to fund this, it remains an exciting possibility.

“The ambition is to connect with a partner that could be interested in the prize and also to create awareness around it,” Gullord says.

“We are open to new partners but we also have a portfolio of existing partners.

“The finances involved with the award could be something that we continue to explore with our current partners but there are opportunities for new partnerships for the IOF.”

Orienteering has been a mainstay at the World Games since 2001, featuring in all six editions including the most recent two years ago.

The IOF has also been a member of the International World Games Association since 1995 and for Gullord, the body’s sustainability efforts, including the upcoming research prize, are also aimed at helping to make the Association more environmentally friendly.

However, it is not aiming to increase its likelihood of inclusion into other events with the initiative and is solely focused on becoming more sustainable.

“We are not doing this because we want to become a part of the Olympics,” says Gullord.

“Our ambition is also to push on making the World Games more sustainable. Our sport is very connected with nature so that is what makes it right for us to have a strong commitment to the environment.”

The upcoming research prize is an innovative new environmental implementation from the IOF, but it is not slowing down there.

The organisation is working on updating its sustainability strategy and operationalising a sustainable sourcing policy which is in line with the Sports for Nature Framework.

The biggest update of the current projects, however, is set to launch next month.

“We are developing a climate transition action plan which we will hopefully implement from November this year so that will be exciting,” says Gullord.

“It will affect the planning of our events, everything from how they impact the climate and how the climate impacts them.

“For example, we experience new challenges related to forest fires and extreme heat, so we need to find a way to work around them.”

The IOF is a signatory of both the United Nations’ Sports for Nature and Sports for Climate Action frameworks, as it strives to become a leader in sporting sustainability.

This latest move will not only help to cement this position, but help the organisation to uncover new and informed solutions.

Images: Dmitrii Shirnin on Unsplash, Nikita Nikitenko on Unsplash