Sustainability round-up: September 28
In this week’s round-up: Nominees announced for BBC Green Sport Awards; Open water swimmers call on more to be done to tackle pollution; sports stadiums across the US take steps to enhance their environmental attributes; and the effect of reduced snowfall on a ski resort.
In a year in which environmental awareness in sports has never been more important, the BBC has announced its Green Sport Award nominees. For the Athlete of the Year, nominees were: Pat Cummins, Sofie Junge Pederson, Jacquie Pierri, David Wheeler and Sebastian Vettel. Nominees for Young Athlete of the Year included: Alayna Burns, Ellen Donald, Innes Fitzgerald, Anna Hursey, and Belle Pellechia. Elite Organisation of the Year nominees were: Forest Green Rovers FC, Formula E, Richmond Football Club, International Biathlon Union and ATP Tour. Nominations for Grassroots Organisation of the Year included: Pledgeball, Rhino Cup Champions League, Save the Waves Coalition, The Green Runners, and Vermont Green FC. The winners will be announced on Monday.
As sports industries push for sustainability awareness, water companies have come under fire for their lack of accountability. After the Sunderland triathlon in July, over 88 competitors contracted an illness from the water. Olympian Hector Pardoe recently swam the length of Windermere (17km) in order to raise awareness and money toward the purification of the UK’s water bodies. This movement has called for water companies worldwide to improve their sustainable practices for the health of the planet and humans.
Sports fans who have had enough of the colossal waste that stadiums produce have joined forces with teams and even leagues in order to combat this sustainability issue, according to a new report in The New York Times. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has been at the forefront by diverting over 90% of its waste away from landfills – a move that is expected to cost around $400,000 annually, while over 200 teams, leagues and organisations have signed up to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action agreement.
French ski resort La Sambuy has been forced to close permanently as climate change has shrunk its ski season to just a number of weeks. The family ski destination in the French Alps, close to Mont Blanc, has dismantled its ski lifts after limited snowfall has led to a decline in profit. This year, the ski resort was only able to open for five weeks during January and February.