Sport events are among the most powerful platforms to unite people, fuel local economies, and inspire millions around the world.
Yet they also come with significant environmental impacts. From energy-intensive operations and transport emissions to water consumption, waste generation and pollution, large-scale events place considerable pressure on natural resources. Research published in 2025 confirms that these impacts are both measurable and significant (How sport management can address sustainability, Science Direct, 2025).
At the same time, sport is increasingly affected by the very environmental challenges it seeks to address. A Sport and Dev 2023 report found that average temperatures at the Olympic Games have already increased by 3.1°C since 1924, while at least half of the cities bidding to host the 2036 Summer Olympics already face heat conditions that could pose risks for athletes and spectators.
Sustainability is therefore no longer optional. As sponsors integrate ESG criteria into partnerships, host cities seek lasting legacies, and governing bodies demand greater accountability, event organisers must embed sustainability into every stage of event management.
This article explains how to build more sustainable sport events by exploring internationally recognised frameworks, practical implementation strategies, sustainability reporting standards and real-world examples from leading international competitions.
What Is Sport Events Sustainability?
Event sustainability is the practice of planning, delivering and evaluating a sporting event in a way that minimises negative environmental impacts while maximising long-term economic and social benefits for everyone involved.
Event sustainability is assessed by ISO 20121, the Event Sustainability Management System that is the international reference standard. It gives organisations a structured approach to managing sustainability across the full event lifecycle, from early planning and procurement through to post-event review.
Sustainability in sport events follows one core principle: event organisers and suppliers share responsibility for implementing and communicating sustainable practices to their stakeholders (Principles for Sustainable Events).
Sustainable sports events are generally built around three interconnected dimensions:
- Environmental: reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, managing the supply chain and responsible purchasing, and preserving biodiversity,
- Economic: creating lasting value for the host region through responsible governance, transparency, local sourcing, existing infrastructure, and durable returns,
- Social: safeguarding universal human rights, respecting culture, health and well-being, and leaving communities better off through fair employment, inclusive access, safety, and civic engagement that outlasts the event.
These three dimensions reinforce each other. For example, a caterer who sources locally cuts transport emissions, supports the regional economy, and strengthens community ties, all at once.
Approached holistically, sustainability in sport events creates compounding value rather than trade-offs. It demands structured governance, clear priorities, stakeholder engagement and continuous measurement throughout the event lifecycle.
How to Make Your Sport Events More Sustainable
Every sport event is different, but most successful sustainability strategies follow the same management cycle: identify priorities, implement actions, monitor progress and continually improve.
The Sustainable Sport and Events (SSE) Toolkit, developed with AISTS support and published by the IOC – is one of the most practical guides available. Its core message is simple: sustainability is not something you bolt on at the end. It has to be woven into event operations from day one.
The first step is to address the following questions:
- The why: consider your key stakeholders, identify the issues and sustainable goals of your event, assess the risks and opportunities related to the operation of the event,
- The who: develop an engaged cross-functional team with a strong top management commitment, and guide them through change,
- The what: set priorities that you can directly act upon and broaden the reach of your actions by partnering with stakeholders,
These answers will guide you through the last question: the how – when you design your plan for action using the SSE Toolkit management approach:
- State what you will do: for each priority, set a clear objective;
- Explain how to do it: break each objective into specific action items with measurable indicators;
- Delegate it: assign responsibility clearly across your team;
- Check it: monitor progress regularly;
- Celebrate your success and learn from your mistakes;
- Review your action plan and integrate what you have learned.
Focus on the Areas That Matter Most
Experience from international competitions shows that a limited number of operational areas account for the vast majority of environmental and social impacts. Focusing resources on these priorities generally delivers the greatest sustainability gains.
Funding and Financing
Sustainability budgeting works best when it is embedded in the overall operational budget.
A well-branded sustainable sport event can align directly with a sponsor whose values match yours. The key is to give sponsors meaningful opportunities to engage with spectators around shared sustainability goals.
Funding can be in cash or through value-in-kind contributions where services, equipment, and expertise can significantly reduce costs without requiring additional cash.
One important principle: ensure that funds raised through sustainability sponsorship are actually directed back to sustainability initiatives, rather than absorbed into a general budget.
Venue Selection
Because infrastructure decisions determine a large share of an event’s lifetime environmental footprint before operations even begin, venue selection has become one of the most influential strategic choices organisers make.
Using existing infrastructure rather than commissioning new builds dramatically reduces embodied carbon and avoids the risk of stranded assets after the event.
Existing infrastructure therefore needs to be assessed in terms of impact and operational efficiency.
When new construction is genuinely necessary, sustainability criteria such as materials sourcing, energy performance, water management, and long-term legacy should be part of the brief from day one.
Transport and Accommodation
Transport often represents the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for major sport events, particularly spectator travel.
Choosing accessible venues, integrating public transport into ticketing and communications, and offering cycling or micro-mobility options near the venue all make a difference.
The question shouldn’t be “which provider do we hire?” but “how do we move people as efficiently and sustainably as possible?”
Regarding accommodation, organisers should provide participants with sufficient information on sustainable options. For example, you can encourage local hotels to use the SSE toolkit, or ensure that the available accommodation options meet the needs of people with disabilities.
Waste, Food, Procurement and Supply Chain
The waste hierarchy is simple: reduce first, then reuse, then recycle.
For events, this means cutting single-use plastics, setting up water refill points, offering digital ticketing, and building clear on-site recycling infrastructure.
On the catering side, sourcing from local producers cuts transport emissions and supports the regional economy. Prioritising seasonal menus, reducing meat-heavy options, and redistributing surplus food rather than discarding it round out a credible procurement approach.
For all procurement operations, it is essential to write a policy with a code of conduct to source products that are ethical and sustainable.
By integrating environmental and social criteria into purchasing decisions, organisers encourage suppliers to adopt more responsible practices that extend well beyond a single event.
Energy and Carbon
Energy is typically the largest single source of emissions at a sporting event with lighting, heating, sound systems, scoreboards, and broadcasting infrastructure all adding up.
The starting point is an energy audit: understand what you actually use, set reduction targets, and act on them.
Switching to renewable energy, installing LED lighting, and reducing standby consumption between sessions are all achievable steps.
Where some emissions remain unavoidable, verified offset programmes such as reforestation and renewable energy credits can bridge the gap.
Stakeholder Engagement and Education
Sustainability isn’t something an organising team can deliver alone. Sponsors, athletes, volunteers, local authorities, and spectators all play a role.
Athletes, in particular, have become powerful ambassadors for sustainability initiatives. Their visibility allows organisers to amplify awareness campaigns and encourage behavioural change among spectators and local communities.
Regarding sponsors, the opportunity is growing, as many are actively looking to associate with events that can demonstrate genuine environmental and social leadership.
Communication
Communicating your sustainability efforts is not just about transparency, it is a strategic asset. Clear, consistent communication builds credibility with sponsors, media, and the public alike.
Equally important is communicating transparently about challenges and areas for improvement. Credibility is strengthened when organisations report both achievements and limitations rather than highlighting successes alone.
The SSE Toolkit recommends branding your entire sustainability programme under a single, memorable concept that is easy for all stakeholders to understand and rally around.
How to Report Event Sustainability Performance
Without credible data, sustainability claims risk being dismissed as greenwashing, and sponsors, governing bodies, and audiences are increasingly able to tell the difference.
The main sustainability reporting frameworks to know are:
- ISO 20121: the event sustainability standard. Certification signals a genuine, audited commitment to managing impacts across the event lifecycle,
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol: one of the most widely used carbon accounting standards. It gives a complete picture of an event’s carbon footprint,
- Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards: the framework for environmental, social, and governance disclosure, useful for comparing performance across events and organisations.
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a set of 17 global goals adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Aligning your event’s sustainability reporting with a number of these goals provides a recognised international language that resonates with diverse stakeholders.
What a Sustainability Report Should Include
Post-event, your sustainability report should demonstrate results covering:
- Total carbon emissions by scope,
- Energy consumption and its renewable share,
- Water use,
- Waste generated and recycled,
- Procurement practices, and
- Social and economic impacts on the host community.
Publishing these results and comparing them against the targets creates an accountability loop that drives genuine improvement from one edition to the next.
As an example, consult the Milano Cortina Sustainability, Impact and Legacy report.
Examples of Sustainable Sport Events
The evolution of Olympic and major international events illustrates how sustainability has progressively shifted from isolated initiatives to fully integrated management strategies.
Some recent examples of global sport events that have incorporated sustainability practices in their organisation include:
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Tokyo introduced several sustainability firsts:
- Medals made entirely from recycled consumer electronics,
- A hydrogen-powered Olympic torch relay, and
- Renewable energy across all competition venues.
The organising committee was one of the earliest to build its sustainability management system around ISO 20121.
2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
Birmingham prioritised social legacy alongside environmental performance. Sustainable measures were taken, such as:
- An Athletes’ Village designed for long-term community housing use after the Games,
- A zero waste target to landfill,
- A commitment to working actively with local suppliers to generate economic value for the West Midlands region.
Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Paris 2024 set an explicit target of cutting its carbon footprint in half compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Key measures included:
- Using 95% existing or temporary venues,
- Running the Athletes’ Village entirely on renewable energy, and
- Reducing aviation-related emissions across the supply chain.
It also became the first Olympic Games to make plant-based food the majority of official catering, a meaningful shift in the dietary carbon footprint of the event.
Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games
Milano Cortina 2026 is the most recent and most thoroughly documented example of sustainability at the Olympic level. The newly published IOC Final Report confirmed strong results across all three dimensions:
On the environmental side:
- 85% of competition venues were existing or temporary thanks to a distributed hosting model across Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo,
- All venues ran on certified renewable electricity,
- Over 24,000 pieces of equipment were reused directly from Paris 2024,
- A waste campaign targeted 70% separate collection and 80% packaging recycling across all venues,
- A food recovery initiative aimed to redistribute 100% of surplus food to vulnerable communities.
The economic and social legacy is equally significant:
- Over 36,000 jobs supported,
- More than €5 billion in expected economic impact for Italy, and
- The Milan Olympic Village converted into student housing and affordable accommodation.
For a fuller picture of the Games and their legacy, see our dedicated article on Milano Cortina 2026.
These examples show that sustainable sport events are becoming the standard. Behind many of them, you will find organisations, educators, and advisors who have made sustainability their core business.
AISTS and Sustainability in Sport
As sustainability becomes an increasingly strategic priority across the sport industry, organisations need both recognised management frameworks and practical implementation tools. Through education, applied research and advisory services, AISTS helps sport professionals translate sustainability ambitions into measurable action.
AISTS has also contributed to the development of the IOC’s Sustainable Sport and Events (SSE) Toolkit, reinforcing its role in advancing practical sustainability frameworks across the international sport sector.
By combining education, applied research and advisory expertise, AISTS contributes to the development of more sustainable sport organisations and events, helping decision-makers transform sustainability principles into measurable and lasting impact.
Conclusion
Sustainability in sport events is no longer a niche concern. It is becoming a baseline expectation that tools, frameworks, and real-world examples make it achievable at any scale.
Innovation is accelerating that progress. From hydrogen-powered torch relays to circular equipment reuse between editions, the most forward-thinking events are showing that sustainability and performance are not in tension. They reinforce each other. To explore how innovation is shaping the future of sport beyond events, read our article on how innovation in sport drives inclusion and sustainability.
