The world’s biggest sporting events have often been criticised for their impact on the environment. For instance, the Olympic Games last year in Paris promised they would be the greenest in history.
The organisers said the Games ran entirely on renewable energy, featuring mostly locally grown food and reduced use of single-use plastic. The organisers had initially planned to minimise air conditioning use to reduce the carbon footprint of the event, but that misfired, with many countries having to dispatch portable air conditioners for their contingents.
However, many sporting events are taking positive steps to become environmental-friendly. Like this year’s IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is the only T20 franchise in the world to be carbon-neutral. Their ‘Go Green’ initiative ensures that the team every IPL season plays one match in a green jersey instead of their usual red kit. The jersey is made from recycled waste collected from their home stadium.
This year, RCB wore green against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
The team manages and segregates waste at the stadium and conducts regular carbon footprint audits. Emissions are offset using solar-powered lighting and wind energy at the stadium. The team’s travel and logistics, including support staff and the cheer squad, are thoroughly factored into the emissions analysis. RCB has restored multiple lakes, including Ittgalpura, Sadenahalli, and Kanuru Lake, as part of their ‘Go Green Initiative’ in Bengaluru.
Even the new Kolkata Knight Riders’ jersey this year introduced sustainable packaging that is 100% biodegradable and germinates into plants when sown in soil with water.
Apart from wearables, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) in its sustainability drive launched an initiative ‘Green Dot Balls’ in collaboration with Tata Group, IPL’s title sponsor. Under the programme, every dot ball bowled during the tournament will result in 500 trees being planted. Symbols of green trees have shown up instead of regular dots on the scorecard graphics whenever a dot ball has been bowled in the ongoing IPL.
This year, the Rajasthan government has ensured matches played in the state will have a plastic-free environment and the number of runs scored in the five IPL matches held at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium will be directly proportional to the number of trees planted.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had launched a new guide in 2020 to help the sports community address plastic pollution. Titled ‘Plastic Game Plan for Sport’, the guide was published in collaboration with the UN Environment and included key steps to eliminate single-use plastic items, reduce the amount of plastic used, reuse plastic and recycle.
In fact, IOC’s medals crafted for the 2020 Games were created from metal obtained from recycled consumer electronics such as discarded laptops and smartphones. The discarded items were collected for over two years to raise awareness on e-waste recycling.
The Ocean Race Europe, a sailing round-the-world challenge, in May and June 2021 in France and Italy collected data contributing to the development of a map of plastic in the ocean and understanding how microplastics transfer into marine ecosystems. Major League Soccer and Adidas’ Parley for the Oceans expanded their efforts to raise awareness around the harmful impact of marine plastic pollution by creating customised uniforms built of technical yarns in 2018 for all 23 clubs that year.
The game of football sees over 12.5 million pairs of football boots being dumped in landfill every year. For this purpose, a brand called Sokito, designed in Britain and handmade in Europe, is building a business to make football boots from recycled and vegan materials like wood fibres, recycled carpets, plastic and rubber, castor beans, corn waste and bamboo.
Another problem being addressed by gaming authorities is water scarcity. The International Hockey Federation (FIH), recognising this, organised the hockey competitions at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 on the world’s first carbon-zero hockey turf, setting new standards for sustainability in sports surfaces. The carbon-zero turf was made from 80% sugarcane and manufactured using green electricity, besides using less water to irrigate it, thus having a low impact on the environment overall.