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Sustainability Round-up: Milwaukee Bucks, World Rugby
Also in the news: Liverpool Football Club, San Francisco 49ers, UEFA and more…
Rugby union’s Dragons RFC has teamed up with academics from Cardiff University to aid new research around sustainability in sport. Fans that attended home games last season, and again this season, have been asked to complete an online survey about their transport choices. The project will also involve stakeholder workshops with external partners to help Dragons RFC and research better understand the impact of the rugby club’s work to improve sustainability.
The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Milwaukee Bucks has partnered with German company Wilo Group, which has become the first Global Sustainability Partner of the Bucks and Fiserv Forum. The partnership will see Bucks and Wilo work together on sustainability projects and initiatives, including river clean-ups throughout Wisconsin.
Gallagher and World Rugby have revealed the next 11 female coaches that will head WXV 2024, the second edition of the women’s 15 tournament, as part of the Gallagher High Performance Academy. The coaches include: Bella Milo, Carolyn McEwen, Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin, Claire Cruikshank, Dina Razafindratsar, Elke Van Meer, Gill Bourke, Maz Reilly, Michela Merlo, Tavaita Rowati and Yoko Suzuki.
The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh has been awarded the GEO Certified distinction, which recognises its leadership in sustainability within golf. The club has committed to reducing its environmental impact, conserving natural resources and supporting the local community.
In New York, former Liverpool footballers Lucas Leiva and Martin Skrtel met with United Nations Under-Secretary-General Alice Wairimu Nderitu to discuss more about LFC’s commitment to sustainability. Leiva and Skrtel were accompanied by the club’s Director of Impact Rishi Jain, and also demonstrated how LFC supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sticking with Liverpool, the club participated in a panel as part of New York Climate Week, alongside representatives from the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL) and NASCAR.
Wembley Stadium has introduced its own sustainability ‘rider’ in a bid to enhance the role environmentalism plays within the venue’s operations. The rider – essentially a checklist of requirements shared between a host venue and a promoter – has been implemented to encourage greater environmental thinking within the live events sector. It outlines recommendations of how to make more sustainable choices and reduce the environmental impact of live music and sport events.
The IBU Congress has awarded Hochfilzen, Austria and Oslo, Norway the rights to host the IBU World Championships in 2028 and 2029 respectively, on a day that saw a number of key decisions to secure the sport’s long-term future. The Congress also approved the adoption of a new Target 2030 strategic plan, building on the success of Target 2026, which has been implemented two years ahead of schedule.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Santini Cycling have extended their partnership agreement for a further seven years. The Italian brand has been supporting the UCI and its activities since 1988, supplying the prestigious rainbow jersey to athletes crowned UCI World Champions in all cycling disciplines.
The second edition of the Climate Cup Football Tournament took place last month in Ladakh, India at Spituk Football Stadium. The Climate Cup hopes to raise awareness in an area of India largely affected by climate change – in July, the Himalayan territory experienced an 88% rainfall deficit which caused decreased humidity and intense heat in the following months.
The San Francisco 49ers National Football League (NFL) team has expanded the number of non-profits it donates social justice grants to. Five new non-profits have been added to existing recipients in the Bay Area, with grants totalling $1m over the next two years.Kingmakers of Oakland, East Oakland Youth Development Center, Alive & Free, OK Programme & Community Education Partnerships and Urban Peace Movement were selected out of a pool of 90 grant applicants along with two returning organisations: Operation HOPE and Urban Ed Academy.
European football’s governing body UEFA has published a new toolkit for walking football, with the aim of engaging older people in the sport and encouraging an active lifestyle. The Walking Football Toolkit has been designed to help national associations, leagues, clubs and local organisations enhance the health of older people and support the growth of walking football.
The BBC’s Green Sports Awards have shortlisted its nominees for the third edition, with winners to be announced on the BBC Sport website and app on October 7.
Read the full list of nominees here.
This Sunday (October 6) marks Green Sports Day, which celebrates how sport can help drive significant, environmental change, as well as the efforts of Green Sports Alliance.
Image: Luke Witter on Unsplash