Surfing the waves of sustainability with new WSL report

The annual report details the league’s efforts to advance environmental initiatives including ocean conservation, coastal restoration and more. 

Since 2018, the WSL has measured, reduced and offset emissions from the WSL Championship Tour and WSL operations. As a result of this, the WSL has offset 29,067 tonnes of CO2 emissions – the equivalent to planting and growing 480,625 trees for 10 years. 

WSL One Ocean saw the league work with 4,536 volunteers and 3,504 young people on education and engagement initiatives during 2024. The programme sees athletes engage with local communities and organisations across 17 impact projects throughout the surfing calendar.

The league’s report details some of the major milestones reached by the most prominent environmental and social sustainability initiatives in the sport. 

For example, since 2018 some 480,625 trees have been planted to help offset some of the impact made by WSL’s operations and competitions. Meanwhile, a total of 41,821 participants have been educated on cultural and environmental stewardship since 2021. 

Elsewhere, 490,921 hectares have been protected and restored since 2018 while the WSL also initiated the Brazilian Surfing Reserves Programme. Last year, WSL One Ocean worked with environmental non-profits, surfers and government officials to help protect and conserve Saquarema, which is one of Brazil’s most iconic surging areas.

Thanks to grants from WSL Pure and beverage brand Corona, WSL One Ocean has supported the Surf Conservation Partnership, led by Conservation International and Save The Waves Coalition, with regional partners Conservation International-Brazil (CI-Brazil) and Instituto APRENDER Ecologia.

These efforts represent just a fraction of the initiatives undertaken or supported by the WSL. Surfing’s intrinsic link with the ocean means that all involved in the sport want to protect it – and the environment that provides its platform – in any way they can.

‘The ocean is our arena’

“The ocean is our arena, it’s our office, it’s our place of inspiration,” John Suhar, the WSL’s Vice President of Environmental and Social Impact, tells Global Sustainable Sport.

It was not only climate change’s threat to surfing’s ‘arena’ but the impact on the oceans in general and people’s health that spurred action all those years ago.

“Some of the facts that we were seeing in the media at the time were related to increased global temperatures and realising the ocean is absorbing this excess heat that’s in the atmosphere. This was leading to intense storms and rising sea level, et cetera,” says Suhar.

“There was another stat that said 30% of the carbon in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean which is causing acidification, and this harms coral reefs and other marine life. These were some of the larger-scale climate issues that we were looking at, and then there is plastic.

“By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish – an alarming stat to read. So, we do our best to really try and minimise single-serve plastic at events or eliminate it completely. We work with great partners like Yeti, a reusable drinkware company, encouraging fans to bring their own reusables to site.”

Additionally, the WSL and its athletes regularly take part in beach cleans as part of surfing’s commitment to coastal conservation and restoration, as well as restoring biodiversity.

Part of this work includes offering grants relating to the installation of innovative river intersect devices, which are like floating buoys that stop plastic pollution from running out into the ocean.

“I’d say that roughly 80% of the grants we fund are related to conservation and restoration,” added Suhar.

At this year’s Margaret River Pro in Western Australia, the WSL teamed up with WSL Pure grantee Nature Conservation Margaret River Region to host a day of coastal restoration and education with a group of local coastal ambassadors. WSL surfers also supported the initiative, including Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy, Australia’s Liam O’Brien, Hawaii’s Bettylou Sakura Johnson and the USA’s Cole Houshmand.

Across the year, WSL One Ocean partners and grantees also helped to restore thousands of native plants, restore tens of thousands of hectares of land, and removed more than 20 tonnes of rubbish from beaches and rivers.

UN recognition

The World Surf League’s One Ocean has been recognised by the United Nations’ Decade on Ecosystem Restoration as an Official Actor.

The UN designated the 10 years between 2021 and 2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a decade dedicated to creating a united effort toward implementing sustainable solutions for the world’s ecosystems and ocean.

A line in WSL’s Purpose and Impact report states: “Surfing, at its core, is an indigenous practice deeply rooted in respect for the ocean and environment.”

Essentially this means that elevating indigenous and first nation voices is crucial to honour the origins of the sport. One example of this is the WSL’s work in Australia. The league has partnered with the Wadandi and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners to integrate cultural practices and ceremonies at the Margaret River and Bells Beach Championship Tour events.

“We are proud of the strides that we have made since making these commitments, but we fully understand that there is always more work to be done,” says Suhar.

“We are also proud of having great relationships with local partners and commercial partners like Yeti, the reusable drinkware company, that not only supports the WSL commercially, but also our environmental and social impact initiatives.

“The grant programme would be a standout for me, and being able to work with so many exceptional community partners. Their efforts on the ground in all these communities are where we visit really try to amplify and uplift their organisations and inspire more local community members to get involved.”

Images: World Surf League/Andrew Nichols/Damien Poullenot/Elizabeth Fowler

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