Sustainability round-up: August 10
This week’s round-up includes the Belgian Grand Prix’s latest sustainability certification; Coventry Building Society Arena’s waste management; the MCC’s champion of sustainability; and the latest perspective on Victoria’s Commonwealth Games controversy from the UK Sport’s Head of Major Events.
Ahead of the recent Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, organiser Spa Grand Prix was awarded the Three-Star Environmental Accreditation by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body. Spa Grand Prix has previously been awarded ISO 20121 certification, and has committed to reducing single-use consumption, sorting and managing waste and reducing the environmental impact of the event.
English Championship football club Coventry City is set to kick off its home campaign this weekend, but fans will notice a few changes. New packaging, food suppliers and recycling stations have been implemented at the 32,500-seat Coventry Building Society Arena. Guests will have their drinks served in new recyclable cups, with the stadium working with Event Cup Solutions to implement the ONE Planet ONE Chance Reusable Cup System. The stadium has further partnered with Notpla and Vegware to introduce new disposable packaging for food and drink, and Go Green to record and track all its waste.
In October last year, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sports For Climate Action Framework. Now, it has applauded Australia men’s captain Pat Cummins for driving awareness of sustainability. During a recent MCC World Cricket Committee meeting, Cummins highlighted how his own sustainability journey had started at his local cricket club.
As the fall-out continues over the Australian state of Victoria’s shock decision to pull out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the Head of Major Events at UK Sport has insisted that “a major sporting milestone does not have to become a millstone around the neck of a host city or nation”. In an opinion piece published by InsideTheGames, Esther Britten highlighted the UK’s track record of hosting major events and underlined the importance of ensuring major event investment is tied to social benefits. “Of course, the cost of staging events will always be a key consideration – and in the UK, the public funding model has become more nuanced and increasingly linked to social outcomes,” she stated. “Major events should be a catalyst to create authentic social impact. The reasoning for hosting events should be more rounded rather than simply focusing on the bottom line… Social impact has to be at the heart of any event right from the start, even when weighing up the feasibility of a bid.
Image: Felix Berger on Unsplash