Sport events and the environment: Assessing the carbon footprint of spectators’ modal choices at professional football games in Austria

Lyu S.O.

Sports stadiums have faced criticism due to their significant environmental footprint, contributing to the exacerbation of climate risks. In this context, green stadiums, developed to reduce resource consumption and promote sustainable practices, are gaining importance. Using a choice experiment with South Korean spectators attending professional sporting events, this study aims to better understand their preferences for diverse attributes comprising green stadiums and how personal and social norms regarding climate risks influence the formation of stadium preferences. Results reveal that respondents place great importance on the implementation of on-site renewable energy generation, showing their strong commitment to sustainability. Furthermore, spectators who support environmental norms are more willing to pay for green stadium features, indicating a growing recognition of climate-related hazards. Findings from the scenario analyses suggest that stadiums with sustainable technologies and practices have the potential to capture significant market share, even with higher ticket prices. These findings provide invaluable insights for stadium operators and policymakers in developing and promoting green stadiums and sustainability initiatives, addressing the urgent issues of climate change.

Chakrabarty J.B., Premkumar P.

The presence and popularity of sports can be witnessed at every level, from local, and regional to global. What often gets overlooked is the processes followed in terms of logistics and operations’ management to successfully conduct a sports event. In this chapter, a framework is presented to understand the central aspects of sports logistics management evaluating its characteristics, scope, and functions. Disruptions such as natural calamities, World Wars, riots, economic crisis, and disease outbreaks have shattered the entire sports community time and again and made the sports organizations rethink the future blueprint of sports logistics and operations. Breakthroughs in science and technology also posed challenges to sports logistics eventually leading to the growth of the global sports market. The logistics challenges’ post-disruptions at some of the popular sports events are contextualized, illustrated, and assessed using the proposed framework, thereby setting a template for further refinement and contemplation.

Breitbarth T., McCullough B.P., Collins A., Gerke A., Herold D.M.

Wilby R.L., Orr M., Depledge D., Giulianotti R., Havenith G., Kenyon J.A., Matthews T.K., Mears S.A., Mullan D.J., Taylor L.

As a global industry, sport makes potentially significant contributions to climate change through both carbon emissions and influence over sustainability practices. Yet, evidence regarding impacts is uneven and spread across many disciplines. This paper investigates the impacts of sport emissions on climate and identifies knowledge gaps. We undertook a systematic and iterative meta-analysis of relevant literature (1992-2022) on organized and individual sports. Using a defined search protocol, 116 sources were identified that map to four sport-related themes: (1) carbon emissions and their measurement; (2) emissions control and decarbonization; (3) carbon sinks and offsets; and (4) behavior change. We find that mega sport events, elite sport, soccer, skiing, and golf have received most attention, whereas grass-roots and women's sport, activity in Africa and South America, cricket, tennis, and volleyball are understudied. Other knowledge gaps include carbon accounting tools and indicators for smaller sports clubs and active participants; cobenefits and tradeoffs between mitigation-adaptation efforts in sport, such as around logistics, venues, sports equipment, and facilities; geopolitical influence; and scope for climate change litigation against hosts and/or sponsors of carbon-intensive events. Among these, researchers should target cobenefits given their scope to deliver wins for both climate mitigation and risk management of sport.

Ito E., Higham J., Cheer J.M.

• Mega sports events must respond urgently to the climate crisis. • COVID travel restrictions reduced Tokyo Olympics Games transport CO 2 emissions. • Reduced attendance of Olympics-related personnel saved 129,686.0 tCO 2 emissions. • This reduction equates to 38.1% of the travel emissions of overseas spectators. • Minimising event-related personnel reduces gross sports event emissions.

Gössling S., Dolnicar S.

Tham A.

Dantas V.L., Pausas J.G.

Large mammal herbivores are important drivers of plant evolution and vegetation patterns, but the extent to which plant trait and ecosystem geography currently reflect the historical distribution of extinct megafauna is unknown. We address this question for South and Central America (Neotropical biogeographic realm) by compiling data on plant defence traits, climate, soil, and fire, as well as on the historical distribution of extinct megafauna and extant mammal herbivores. We show that historical mammal herbivory, especially by extinct megafauna, and soil fertility explain substantial variability in wood density, leaf size, spines and latex. We also identified three distinct regions (‘‘antiherbiomes’’), differing in plant defences, environmental conditions, and megafauna history. These patterns largely matched those observed in African ecosystems, where abundant megafauna still roams, and suggest that some ecoregions experienced savanna-to-forest shifts following megafauna extinctions. Here, we show that extinct megafauna left a significant imprint on current ecosystem biogeography. Herbivores are important drivers of vegetation patterns and plant evolution. Dantas and Pausas investigate how mammal herbivores affected plant traits in South and Central America, revealing that historical herbivory substantially explains current trait and biome biogeography.

Daddi T., Rizzi F., Pretner G., Todaro N., Annunziata E., Frey M., Iraldo F.

Purpose The relation between sport and sustainability is a topic that has recently raised a lot of interest among both academics and practitioners. However, in the academic literature, very few studies have investigated which solutions are implemented in football, despite its popularity, to reduce the environmental impact of its events. This study contributes to filling this gap by exploring how stadium managers tackle environmental issues for football events. Design/methodology/approach The authors have analyzed 94 sustainability reports of major sports events and conducted 6 case studies in 6 different major league stadiums around Europe in the framework of research supported by UEFA and three EU National Football Associations. Findings The heterogeneity of practices and goals at both the governance and operational level denote that stadium managers pursue environmental objectives mainly voluntarily and under local pressures. Efforts toward environmental improvement appear to depend on an economic and efficiency rationale, which translates into the adoption of technologies and operational practices characterized by short-term economic returns (i.e. energy and resources savings). As a result, operational practices outnumber governance-level practices. Practical implications The analysis clearly highlights that the fragmentation of operational practices derives from a lack of maturity of governance structures, especially when multiple actors have different – yet mutually influencing – responsibilities on the infrastructures or the planning and staging of football events. Originality/value Building on the notion of the holistic approach to environmental sustainability in sport management the research differentiated environmental practices according to the operational and governance dimensions. While operational practices tackle environmental aspects directly associated with football events (e.g. waste, energy consumption, water usage, etc.), governance-level practices relate to the systemic allocation of environmental roles and responsibilities within the management structure underlying football events.

Breitbarth T., Herold D.M., Insch A.

McCullough B.P., Hardie A., Kellison T., Dixon M.

The purpose of this study was to analyze qualitative data to understand a sport organization’s external stakeholders’ (i.e. sport fans’, non-sport fans’/community members’) environmental attitudes,...

Loewen C., Wicker P.

Kummer S., Hribernik M., Herold D.M., Mikl J., Dobrovnik M., Schoenfelder S.

Current urban city logistics literature often claims that rising e-commerce and the associated courier-, express- and parcel- (CEP) deliveries are inherently responsible for the increase in urban road traffic and the related congestion, disturbances and delays within cities. However, existing research is so far limited concerning studies to what extent CEPs impact and contribute to urban road traffic, particularly in comparison with other commercial sectors and passenger cars. In response, collecting data through an extensive empirical survey, counting urban road traffic in the city of Vienna in Austria, this paper identifies the share of CEPs and other selected categories of road vehicles. Results show that the share of CEPs in urban road traffic consists of merely 0.8 per cent, while the delivery vans’ share of craftsmen/technicians is almost eight times bigger with 6.0 per cent. Overall, delivery vehicles comprise 13.5 per cent of the total urban road traffic in Vienna, thus policies to reduce traffic should include not only other commercial sectors, but should also focus on passenger cars comprising the majority with 86.5 per cent of total urban road traffic. This is the first study that specifically investigates the share of CEPs and other vehicle categories in the context of city logistics.

Fiedler T., Pitman A.J., Mackenzie K., Wood N., Jakob C., Perkins-Kirkpatrick S.E.

Emerging awareness of climate-related financial risk has prompted efforts to integrate knowledge of climate change risks into financial decision-making and disclosures. Assessment of future climate risk requires knowledge of how the climate will change on time and spatial scales that vary between business entities. The rules by which climate science can be used appropriately to inform assessments of how climate change will impact financial risk have not yet been developed. In this Perspective, we summarize the demands by the business and finance community for reliable climate information, and the potential and limitations of such information in the context of what climate models can and cannot currently provide. Assessing future climate-related financial risk requires knowledge of how the climate will change at various spatial and temporal scales. This Perspective examines the demand for climate information from business and finance communities, and the extent to which climate models can meet these demands.

Bianchini A., Rossi J.

The implementation and assessment of sustainable initiatives at sport events has a great importance for researchers and practitioners to improve the effects on the hosting territory. All three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) must be considered. In running events, such as marathons, one of the main issues is the environmental impact of the great quantity of waste, and particularly of plastic waste. A recent tendency is to shift to a “plastic-free” model. However, some single-use plastic products have unrivalled properties and their replacement with other materials may not be the most sustainable solution, at least in the short term. In this paper, a new model for managing plastic waste at a marathon is proposed. It does not aim to eliminate plastics at sport events, but to better manage waste by increasing collection, and sorting and recycling efficiency, following the circular economy paradigm. To demonstrate the sustainability of the model, a precise and quantitative methodology is applied to an innovative visualisation tool, developed by the University of Bologna, to assess circular initiatives and some key performance indicators (KPIs) to compare the sustainability of the new model to waste management in the previous editions of the same event. With this approach, it is demonstrated that a marathon can be completely sustainable: (i) from an environmental point of view, plastic collection efficiency increased by 120.5%; the recycling rate by 157.0% and the landfill rate decreased by 75.4%; (ii) from an economic point of view, it was demonstrated that, with the technological level of the involved recycling plant, the initiative is cost-effective when the virgin PET price is greater than €776/tonne; and (iii) with regard to the social impact, it was proved that the direct engagement of participants (runners and walkers) and their positive perceptions about the initiative achieved the highest score for the two selected qualitative KPIs (3/3). Moreover, some insights have been derived to improve plastic management, covering different disciplines: technical standardisation of plastics, consumer training and legislative support for technological innovation in the industrial context.

Su X., Chen L., Xu X.L.

Carbon emissions from mega sporting events pose a serious challenge to the sustainable development of the global environment, and the management of carbon emissions and energy efficiency in sporting events has become a focus of attention for both countries and international organizations. However, most existing research focuses on carbon emissions in sporting events is limited by a narrow focus on individual cases, limited attention to indirect emissions, insufficient integration of socioeconomic dimensions, a lack of broader data coverage, the adoption of interdisciplinary methodologies, and an emphasis on lifecycle energy risk management to provide robust support for sustainable event practices and policy development. To remedy these deficiencies, this study systematically compiles the current situation of carbon emissions in sports activities, analyzes the carbon emission characteristics and energy-saving potential of different types of sporting events, and summarizes the excellent cases of carbon emission and energy efficiency management in sports activities. The study reveals that large-scale sporting events generate substantial carbon emissions and energy consumption in transportation, venue construction, and event operation. However, carbon emissions and energy usage can be significantly reduced by optimizing venue locations, promoting green transportation, and implementing energy-saving measures at all stages. This study not only provides empirical data and theoretical support for the management of carbon emissions and energy efficiency in sporting events but also proposes practical and feasible suggestions that are highly important for the sustainable development of future sporting events. The findings have reference value for policymakers and event organizers in planning and implementing energy-saving and low-carbon events, helping promote environmental governance and sustainable development in the sports sector.

Konstantopoulos I., Manoli A.E., Ntzoufras I., Chantzi E., Thamnopoulos I.

Wang H., Tian J., Li Y., Wang Y., Lu Y., Zhang J., Lei C., Li C.

This study proposes a model for the quantitative evaluation of the life-cycle carbon footprints of large sporting events and the uncertainties related to them. The model was used to analyze the case of a mega sporting event in Beijing, China. First, the quantitative model for the evaluation of the carbon footprints of mega sporting events includes a preparation stage, a holding stage, and an end stage. These stages consider the energy and resources used for construction, operation, transportation, catering, and accommodation. Second, this study proposes a prediction model using model-based and simulation-based methods to address the difficulty of obtaining traffic activity. Third, a semi-quantitative method that combines a data quality indicator and stochastic simulation is adopted for the uncertainty analysis of mega sporting events. Finally, a case study is used to indicate that the preparation stage of a mega sporting event accounts for the highest CO2 emissions at 92.1%, followed by 7.5% in the holding stage and 0.4% in the end stage. The total life-cycle CO2 emissions of a sustainable scenario of a mega sporting event in Beijing amount to 205,080.3 t CO2e, and the per capita CO2 emissions during the event’s holding stage amount to 0.26 t CO2e/person. The uncertainty in the input parameters is 0.0617, indicating that the uncertainty of the model is low, and the reliability of the results is high.