From the Pitch to Planet: New Handbook Helps Sports Clubs Integrate Sustainability

Earlier this week, Common Goal and Football For Future collaborated with adidas' 'Move For The Planet' initative to release the 'Fields of Change' handbook - the first-ever resource dedicated to integrating environmental sustainability into grassroots sport.

The handbook, which is available to download here, is a comprehensive sustainability resource with the goal of empowering grassroots sports clubs and community organisations, many of which are located in areas vulnerable to climate change, with the tools and knowledge needed to implement practices in their work.

We caught up with Jérémy Houssin, Common Goal's Environmental Lead for a Q+A on the importance of the handbook and the impact it will make in the industry.

CG: How do you see the role of sports for good organisations in addressing climate change, and why is it important for them to embed sustainability into their operations?

JH: To act as a role model and educate.

Sustainability begins with organisations, acting as role models in terms of managing their own impacts, and by educating community members on the topics of environmental sustainability.  

Their close ties to communities allow them to be strong partners in helping these communities become more environmental conscious and to take on the environmental issues affecting them.

There is opportunity in building the capacity of organisations to be able to pass on the knowledge and be multipliers of environmentally sustainable practices.

Organisations can share their knowledge and implement sustainable practices and educational programs that improve them and their communities which positions them as role models, leaders and multipliers.

Supporting climate adaptation and resilience initiatives in their communities and being deeply rooted in communities, Sport For Good organisations have the ability to identify and understand communities challenges and how are they impacted by the effects of climate change.

They can engage conversation, pilot bottom-up approaches and drive transformative projects to build climate adaptation and resilience, allowing the ability to support a just transition.

The handbook offers practical advice for embedding sustainability. What are the most critical actions or changes that sports for good organisations should prioritise?

If we consider our sample of 200 organisations that are part of the Common Goal Community as representative of the Sports for Good sector, more than 80% of those organisations are not addressing environmental sustainability.

The most critical step is actually to take the first step.

The potential of the sector to drive transformative climate action in vulnerable communities is untapped. Organisations shall engage the topic and embed climate action first in their educational programmes and then in their programmatic activities which are delivered in the heart of the communities.

Sports is an extremely valuable tool to engage climate actions in communities.

For most organisations, this decision does not necessarily means changing its core mission or its impact strategy. It means integrating the topic of climate action it their existing programs, and by doing so embracing the intersections between social and environmental topics, for the benefit of their community members.

What challenges do Sports For Good organisations face when trying to adopt sustainable practices and programs, and how can this handbook help them overcome these barriers?

The main challenges that we see relate to lack of knowledge, access to experts, benchmarks and funding.

Though this handbook won’t solve all of these challenges, it represents a major milestone for the sector.

The handbook is made to inspire organisations worldwide to integrate environmental sustainability into their projects and communities, offering practical tools and guidance for sustainability in sport.

Its design make it extremely accessible and easy to go through, demonstrating how sports can be a valuable tool to engage conversation on environmental sustainability. Partnering with Football For Future has been key to reach this level of quality, both in terms of content and accessibility.

On top of that, we created educational posters addressing a selection of key topics. By using these posters in learning spaces teachers, coaches and projects managers have valuable tools for engaging their audience, raise awareness, inspire action, and demonstrate sport’s role in driving positive impact.

As climate change continues to present global challenges, how do you envision the future of sports and sustainability evolving in the next decade, and what role will resources like this handbook play in that evolution?

I would like to see the Sport For Good sector capitalising on its 3 decades of successful experience embody environmental sustainability and take the lead on this topics.

There is a huge potential for the Sport For Good sector to act as a genuine leader and agent of change in vulnerable communities to order to bridge existing structural gaps.

Organisations need to engage conversation with their community on these topics and drive collaborative actions. This handbook should facilitate this path.

When it comes to elite sport, I am confident that the sector will slowly become greener, there is high demand for that.

Institutions and rules are starting to change. However, getting a sustainable Elite Sport ecosystem won’t really solve the climate crisis. The question is not here. The role of Elite Sport is not there.

Indeed, while climate change is a daily reality, this reality is not the same for everyone.

The crisis exacerbates existing inequalities, such as those caused by wealth, age, race, demography and gender.

Find out more information about the Fields of Change handbook here: https://footballforfuture.org/fieldsofchange