SUSTAINABILITYSTRATEGY
2020-2030
April 2020

www.worldathletics.org

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Executive Summary
World Athletics (WA) is the global governing body for the sport of Athletics. Today World Athletics
encompasses track and field, race walking, road running, cross-country, mountain and trail running.
Boasting 214 national Member Federations, World Athletics has significant global reach, and is
responsible for the worldwide development of the sport of athletics.
World Athletics is committed to ensuring that its athletics events, which are held all over the world,
and its headquarters, based in Monaco, are fully aligned to the principles of sustainability. This is inrecognition of but not limited to the growing environmental challenges that the world faces today,
specifically air pollution, climate change and our over consumption of resources and materials escaping
unmanaged into the environment alongside the social issues of global equality and diversity creating
unequal opportunities. All these global issues pose a serious threat to the quality of our lives andcommunities.
Sustainability within athletics is defined as driving the practices and behaviours of individuals andorganisations developing the sport in such a way that it:• accounts for the needs of future generations,• provides a fair and level sporting platform based on sound ethical principles,• actively involves interested parties and is open about decisions and activities, and• ensures actions take a balanced approach to their social, economic and environmental impact.
Putting in place a robust sustainability strategy ensures World Athletics and its partner organisations
have a framework for delivering tangible benefits across the three pillars of sustainability - environmental,social and economic. The vision for sustainability is:

Our sustainability vision is to become the leading International Sports
Federation in delivering best in class sustainable eventsorW

IMPACT

The strategy is based on key areas of impact recognising that some are under World Athletics’s control
and others only under their influence. Aligned to all aspects is the importance of working with thestakeholders, in particular across the permitted and licenced events.

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Embed sustainability delivery
into permit/licence criteria

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Include sustainability in all aspects ofplanning and staging WAS Events

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CONTROL

Embrace sustainability principles and practices within
World Athletics and MFs organisations and operations

INFLUENCE

World Athletics sustainability framework of impact, control and influence2The sustainability strategy sets out World Athletics’s commitment to accelerating athletics towards asustainable future, contributing to a better world. In some areas, this will require a change from ‘businessas usual’, in some cases it will be about influence and specification and in others it will be arounddeveloping partnerships to deliver scalable change. The objectives addressing each focus area and the2030 Target can be seen in the Table below. The recommended actions required to achieve the targets
are set out in the Strategy.
Focus areas

Objectives

2030 Target

Deliverythrough

Leadership in

Be a recognised driver in sports•

100% World Athletics, sanctioned

World Athletics

sustainability

sustainability

events and Member Federations are

Corporate, World•

Promote sustainability acrossaware of sustainability implications

Athletics Events

athletics and the sportand start to take action••

Ensure delivery showcases best•

100% Sanctioned events commit

practice

to World Athletics Sustainability

Visible commitment and credible

Charter

evidenced action across a range•

100% World Athletics Series (WAS)of sustainability targets for World

events deliver to ISO20121 standard

Athletics and through influenceand deliver continual improvement

across the sport•

100% corporate partners areengaged and activating around an
aspect of sustainability

Sustainable

Positively manage the impact of

production andconsumption•

Technical and event standards

World Athletics

procurement

account for social and environmental

Event delivery•

impacts as well as performance

partners, sponsors,

requirements

suppliers, technicalBaseline of impact at WAS events

standards

Minimise any social or environmental
impact from procurement of
products and services•••

Maximise local economic impact

and action plan for all events

around events

establishedEstablish sustainable procurement•

100% compliance with sustainable

code and 3rd party assurance of

procurement code across World

world athletics procurement

Athletics activities•

100% compliance with sustainableprocurement code at sanctioned
eventsClimate change

Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

and carbon•••

Achieve 2030 Carbon Neutrality

Events, World

Minimise carbon emissions acrossacross World Athletics operations

Athletics

World Athletics activities

and WAS events (annual 10%

operations

Identify credible means to offset

reduction in carbon emissions fromunavoidable emissions

2019 baseline)•

100% sanctioned events commit tocarbon neutrality targets

3Focus areas

Objectives

2030 Target

Deliverythrough

Local environment

Ensure environmental conditions enable•

Venue, event and equipment

Events and Hostand air quality

individuals to participate safely

standards incorporate environmental

City partnerships,

factors

technical andVenue and event standards minimise

venue standards•

Maximise venues for safe
participation in athletics where•

air quality is safe for athletes andcommunities•

impact on surrounding environments•

100% host cities establish low

Minimise impact of events andemission zones around stadia andvenues on local environment

athletics arenas•

Air quality targets are understood,
set and monitored protecting runners
and athletes

Global Equality

Demonstrably share skills across the•

100% World Athletics geographic

World Athletics

world

areas are capable of hosting highEvents, Training•

quality sustainable internationaland development

Build technical, event management
and performance capability acrosswider geography•

events in at least one city•

100% World Athletics geographic

Build global pipeline and capacity

areas have recognised opportunityof female leaders to achieve World

pathways for both genders in all

Athletics Council minimum genderprofessions in athletics acrosstargets by 2027

athletes, coaches, technical officials,
administrators•

Annual female leadership seminars•

100% athletes competing

World Athletics

Maximise participant awarenessat international events have

Events, Technicalaround health and wellbeing risks

standardised basic health checks

standards, Training

conducted in all Areas
Diversity,

Ensure athletics is open to everyone

accessibility and•wellbeing•

Ensure diverse workforce and fair

100% awareness and implementation and development,of diversity policy throughout thevenue, suppliers

at and on our events, and for our

sport

and partners

suppliers and partners••

treatment of staff and those working•

100% MFs have establishedFacilitate a collaborative approachcollaborative disability in athletics

to developing disability in athletics

programmes

programmes catering to a range•of disabilities across Member

100% implementation of staff
wellbeing policy and World Athletics

Federations

process to deal with issues.
•

100% implementation of an athlete
and related officials’ policy, andWorld Athletics processes to tackle
harassment and safety.

In addition to setting identified objectives and associated targets within sustainability focus areas, theassociated World Athletics departments responsible for delivering against the objectives are identified.
Assigning accountability for both delivery, monitoring and reporting is critical for continual improvement.

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Committing to the targets and openly reporting on progress will drive World Athletics to achieve more.
It is recommended that an annual sustainability report using the Global Reporting Initiative framework
as best practice in sustainability reporting is produced, where progress is reported against the strategy
framework and the delivery of each aspect. In addition, it is recommended that World Athletics utilise theInternational Sustainable Event Management System standard, ISO20121, for World Athletics events tocreate an audit and reporting framework which can be extended across all World Athletics activities andwill provide a robust framework for assessing progress and identifying areas of action to focus on.
Sustainability is about behavioural change when it comes to delivery. Implementation of a communicationand engagement plan will focus on taking people on a journey along the spectrum of engagement levels,from a lack of knowledge through to being knowledgeable, engaged and empowered to take effective
action. A communications and engagement strategy will set out how World Athletics will inform andinspire individuals to take individual and collective action on sustainability and influence others to do thesame, building momentum for change.
When developing a detailed roadmap to achieving the 2030 Sustainability targets, there are manyfactors thata) need to be considered in both determining a timeline against each action and the approach to realising
the action (enforcement or supportive/ collaborative) andb) may affect the progress through delivery against each action. Factors taken into consideration indeveloping the roadmap for delivery include:• Sustainability risk impact and priority• Where on the sphere of influence the action falls: within the control or influence of World Athletics• Phase of event/ venue bidding process• Existing partner/ venue contractual commitments and terms
The roadmap can be seen in the following table for each key focus area:• Corporate• Events• Technical and Venue Standards• Training and Development• Member Federations and Governance• Partnerships
Actions are identified against each priority area and are in turn themselves prioritised, ranked in high(red)/ medium (orange)/ low (green). In addition, each action is ranked according to the delivery timeframe
which relates to the time frame required to achieve the set target. This is ranked 1-10 with 1 (red) being
delivered within 1 year and 10 (green) being delivered to the 2030 targets.
Where the actions are repeated annually, the time to achieve the first deliverable is given.

5World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Corporate
1

Publish World Athletics Sustainability
Strategy 2020-2030 and providing
strategic support for the implementation

Leadership in
Sustainabilityof the sustainability strategy
2Commitment to global initiatives

High

1

3

Monitoring and reporting

High

10

4

Build a wider communications strategy

High

1

High

1

to inspire and engage wider stakeholder
community
Sustainable

5

sustainable procurement code

production andconsumption
Climate change
and carbon

Develop and implement World Athletics

6

Implement waste management hierarchy

High

2

7

Carbon roadmap 2020-2030

High

10

8

100% renewable electricity

High

1

9

World Athletics Sustainable Travel policy

Medium2

10

In collaboration with the Monégasque

High

1

Local environment

municipality, implement air quality

and air quality

monitoring programme across themunicipality of Monaco

Global equality

11

Upskilling of federation capacity

Medium6

12

Continue staff welfare programme and

High

10

share best practiceDiversity,

13

Ensure office and facilities are accessible

High

1

1

Develop Sustainable event management

High

2

High

4

High

2

High

5

High

5

Medium4

accessibility andwellbeing
Eventssystem for World Athletics events,
certified to ISO20121
Leadership in
Sustainability

2Implement World Athletics “Athletics fora Better World” sustainable event charter3

Establish scope and implement
programme of sustainable benchmarkingof events in Athletics and share bestpractice4

into Events

Sustainableproduction and5consumption

Implement a waste management planaligning to the waste hierarchy

6

6

Embed responsible procurement code

Establish an event reuse programmeWorld Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No
7

ActionWAS events to implement World

ActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

2

High

5

Athletics commitment to Sport for
Climate Action framework

Climate change
and carbon

8

Embed climate action into World
Athletics sustainable charter for
sanctioned events

9

Air Quality Monitoring

High

10

10

Set and implement environmental

Medium4

Medium6

standards for World Athletics events andLocal environment
and air quality

venues11

Create best practice guide to minimise
impact of sanctioned events on local
environment

12

Develop and share a toolkit with the local Low

3community around improving air quality
13

Low

4

Member Federation delivery partnerships

Global equality
Diversity,

Officials mentoring programme and14

Maximise local economic impact

Low

3

15

Sustainable Event Operations Manual to

Low

2

High

3

accessibility andinclude diversity and accessibility

wellbeing
Technical and Venue Standards
Leadership in
Sustainability

Sustainableproduction andconsumption

1

Review technical standards, embedding
sustainability criteria, for equipment

2

Establish a venue sustainability standard

High

4

3

Best practice guidance for manufacturing Low

3

to support delivery of the standard
4

Best practice for venue owners andMedium3

Medium

3

Low

5

Low

5

Include air quality factors (volatile organic High

4

operators
5

Host technical and Venue Sustainability
Forums6

manufacturers develop carbon reduction

Climate change
and carbon

Provide resources to support equipment
plan

7

Provide resources to support venue
owners develop carbon reduction plan8

compounds – VOC) emissions as part ofequipment and venue standard

Local environment
and air quality

9

Support venue owners implement aLow

6plan to improve air quality in and aroundvenues7

World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No
10

Global equality

ActionBuild up capacity of local businesses,

ActionDeliveryPriority

Year

Low

10

Low

10

High

7

Medium2

High2

Medium4

Medium4

Medium

2

High

3

High

6

High

7

Low

3

High

2

globally, to supply world of athletics
11

Build up quality of regional stadia to hostglobal events

Diversity,
accessibility andwellbeing

12

Establish diversity plan for trainingreferees and officials

13

Broaden the accessibility of Technical
Officials Training Programmes

Training and Development
1

training and coaching materials andLeadership in
Sustainability

Embed sustainability into World Athletics
develop new resources2

Develop legacy projects, capitalising on
the impact of athletics events

Sustainable3

production andPromote and develop if needed, training
materials for sustainable sourcing

consumption
4

Promote and develop if needed, training
around managing impacts of climate

Climate change
and carbonchange and carbon emissions
5

Reduce the travel requirement fordelivering programmes for coaches,
technical officials etc., through on-line
provision

Local environment

6Promote and develop if needed, training
around air quality and local environmental

and air quality

impacts
7

Balanced recognition of World Athletics
Approved sustainable venue charter
across areas

Global equality
8

Sustainable Training Facility exchange
programme

Diversity,
accessibility andwellbeing

8

9Targeted skills development programmeWorld Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Medium3

Medium5

Medium5

Medium3

Low

3

Medium

4

High

1

High

2

Medium7

Low

3

Medium7

High

7

Member Federations and Governance1

Engage Members Federations with
benefits of sustainability

2

Provide all Member Federations withbest practice guidance and support for
their operations, national championships

Leadership in
Sustainability

and sport development.
3

Support Member Federations indevelopment of their own sustainability
strategies

4

Support Member Federations inincorporating athlete/ team management
activities into their sustainability
strategies

5
Sustainableproduction andconsumption

Maximise local economic benefit byengaging with local suppliers

6

Focus on resource efficiency to reinforce
sustainability targets

7

Establish a reuse programme for
equipment

8

Provide best practice guidance forMember Federations in managing carbon
emissions

Climate change
and carbon

9

Proactively promote and encourage
implementation of healthy, sustainable
travel policies

Local environment

10Protect local environment and air quality
conditions for national, regional and local

and air quality

athletics areas.
11

Support in building capacity withinsmaller federations through federation

Global equality

and sponsor alliances
12

Target an ‘even’ geographic spread ofWorld Athletics WAS and sanctioned
eventsDiversity,

13

Support Member Federations achieveaccessibility andin-territory demographic equity acrosswellbeing

the sport

9World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Develop commercial plan considering and High1

Partnerships
1

Align World Athletics’s commercial
offering to existing partners andembed sustainability into partnershipagreements

Leadership in
Sustainability

2leveraging the sustainability strategy, inorder to secure new partnerships aroundsustainability
Sustainable

3

Innovation partners e.g., around materials

production andand waste – closed loop manufacturingconsumptionof equipment
4

2

High

1

Medium

4

High

2

Low

2

Low

2

energy and sustainable transport

Climate change
and carbon

Identify partners around renewable

Low

5

Develop partnerships with host cities
around climate change and carbon

Local environment

6

Leverage event venue contracts
to establish ongoing actions andand air qualitycommitment for improving air quality
7

Global equality

Secure global partners with theresource and appetite to engage acrossgeographic regions to drive equality

Diversity,

108

Ensure partnership values align to World

accessibility andAthletics values on diversity, accessibility

wellbeing

and wellbeing

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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................14
World Athletics Vision............................................................................................................................................................................... 14
World Athletics Mission........................................................................................................................................................................... 14

2. OUR SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT.................................................................15
Why develop a sustainability strategy?........................................................................................................................................ 15
Approach to developing the strategy............................................................................................................................................ 15
Our Sustainability Vision ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15

3. STRATEGIC CONTEXT...................................................................................................16
4. World Athletics SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY....................................................19
Governance, roles and responsibilities.......................................................................................................................................... 19
Stakeholders.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Identifying the significant sustainability issues........................................................................................................................ 20
Objectives, targets and delivery responsibility........................................................................................................................ 25
Aligning with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.................................................................................... 27

5. PROGRAMME APPROACH AND DELIVERY......................................................28
World Athletics Corporate..................................................................................................................................................................... 28
World Athletics Events............................................................................................................................................................................. 34
Technical And Venue Standards ....................................................................................................................................................... 40
Training And Development..................................................................................................................................................................... 45
Member Federations And Governance......................................................................................................................................... 48
Partnerships..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52

6. MONITORING AND REPORTING..............................................................................58
7. COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT............................................................59
8. ROADMAP FOR DELIVERY..........................................................................................60
Delivery timeframe....................................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Prioritisation of actions ........................................................................................................................................................................... 60

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1. INTRODUCTION
World Athletics is the global governing body for the sport of athletics. Today World Athletics
encompasses track and field, race walking, road running, cross-country, mountain and trail running.
Boasting 214 national Member Federations, World Athletics has significant global reach, and is
responsible for the worldwide development of the sport of athletics.
World Athletics is committed to ensuring that its athletics events, which are held all over the world,
and its headquarters, based in Monaco, are fully aligned to the principles of sustainability. This is inrecognition of the growing environmental challenges that the world faces today, specifically air pollution,
climate change and our over consumption of resources and materials escaping unmanaged into theenvironment. All these global issues pose a serious threat to the quality of our lives and communities.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, World Athletics signed a partnership with the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) earlier this year undertaking to engage consumers and to advocate forpolicy and practice change in the area of clean air. In 2018, World Athletics also signed the UN Clean
Seas commitment, joining a number of sports organisations in a move to address the increasing flow ofplastics entering the world’s rivers and seas.
WORLD ATHLETICS VISION

To lead, govern and develop the sport of athletics in all its forms worldwide,
uniting the Athletics family in a spirit of excellence, integrity and solidarity.

WORLD ATHLETICS MISSION• To lead, govern and develop athletics in all its forms worldwide, uniting the athletics family in a spirit ofexcellence, integrity and solidarity.
• To protect our sport and its athletes on every level of participation• To engage our followers and deliver events of the highest quality• To celebrate our sport with pride.
We do this through an organisation focused on four key functions:
1. Developing and delivering great events & competitions that showcase elite performances
2. Running World Athletics through good governance, setting rules, managing records, administrating
anti-doping processes and raising and distributing revenues.
3. Educating & empowering the sport of athletics through development programmes aimed at growing
the sport at grass roots level and delivering training programmes and tools for schools, coaches,
technical officials, clubs etc
4. Engaging fans through a series of marketing, commercial and communication initiatives, activities andpartnerships.

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2. OUR SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT
Sustainability within athletics is defined as driving the practices and behaviours of individuals andorganisations developing the sport in such a way that it:• accounts for the needs of future generations,• provides a fair and level sporting platform based on sound ethical principles,• actively involves interested parties and is open about decisions and activities, and• ensures actions take a balanced approach to their social, economic and environmental impact.
WHY DEVELOP A SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY?
Putting in place a robust sustainability strategy ensures World Athletics and its partner organisations
have a framework for delivering tangible benefits across the three pillars of sustainability - environmental,social and economic. Key benefits include:• better management of the sport’s social and environmental risk factors;• identification of opportunities benefitting the sport and engaging a wider group of stakeholders;• more efficient use of resources delivering lower operating costs enabling greater investment in the
sport;• wider activation platform for partnerships to bringing significant economic, social and environmental
benefits to local communities.
A robust approach to sustainability enhances athletics as a commercial proposition to funding partners.
This enables the sport to not only deliver on sustainability objectives but to also attract more resources
into the development of the sport. Finally, putting sustainability at the heart of its vision for athleticsaligns World Athletics with, and shows leadership of, the growing movement of sustainability in sport.
APPROACH TO DEVELOPING THE STRATEGY
The strategy has been developed using the ‘plan-do-check-act’ approach where issues are identified,prioritised and reviewed, measurable objectives are set and achievement is monitored. A programme of
specific actions has been identified to achieve these objectives. Taking the strategy into implementation
will require work plans setting out the activities and resources required for each activity. To ensure
appropriate oversight of the programme, a robust governance model and clear roles and responsibilities
framework has been defined.
Stakeholder communication and engagement has been a large part of the development of the strategy,
recognising the importance of engaging individuals and organisations across athletics to build a strategy
that can achieve lasting change in sustainable practices and behaviours.
In line with the values of World Athletics, transparency and credibility are important to the success ofthe sustainability programme. Open and accountable reporting and communication is a key part of thestrategy.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY VISION

Our sustainability vision is to become the leading International Sports
Federation in delivering best in class sustainable events15

3. STRATEGIC CONTEXTIn the 21st century, as the global population continues to explode, and individuals become moreaware of the environmental and social impact of the way they live, the pressure to work, live and playsustainably is growing. Awareness of sport’s unique position as a platform to raise awareness and tackle
the issues is also growing, with many sports starting to explore sustainable practices and raise awarenesswith supporters and fans. As society’s values shift, so to do those of businesses and investors looking forcommercial partnerships with sport.
To deliver scalability, we have aligned our strategy to global initiatives in the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (UN-SDGs or Global Goals), UN Climate Change (UNCC) Climate Action Framework,
UN Environment Clean Air and the IOC Sustainability Framework.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for peace
and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed anddeveloping - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go
hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic
growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Olympic Agenda 2020 is the strategic roadmap, of the IOC, for the future of the Olympic Movement.
The 40 recommendations are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that, when you put together, form a picturethat shows the IOC safeguarding the uniqueness of the Olympic Games and strengthening sport insociety. IOC is committed to supporting the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
through the Olympic movement, addressing 11 of the 17 SDG’s, highlighted in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 UN SDG’s to which the IOC aims to contribute towards

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World Athletics’s position as the world governing body for athletics offers an opportunity to both drivechange in areas under its direct control, and to influence change across the sport more widely. This
sustainability strategy covers both aspects: all activities in the direct control of World Athletics, andthe priority action areas across the broader sport of athletics which World Athletics can influence fromindividuals at the local level to national organisations and collaborating at the international scale withpartner organisations to scale impact further. This is illustrated in Figure 2.
The sustainability strategy has been developed in line with the international sustainability standard
for events, ISO 20121 – building on the Plan, Do, Check, Act process of continual improvement tofacilitate the implementation of the framework and to achieve ISO 20121 certification for World Athletics
controlled events. The structure of the ISO framework is outlined in Figure 3.

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INDIVIDUALSNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL
Figure 2: World Athletics context and spheres of influence

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PLAN
Identify intersted parties and map interactions with World Athletics
Outline scope of World Athletics’ sustainability strategy aligning with World Athletics vision and mission
Defined principles of sustainability within strategy and establish commitment throughWorld Athletics sustainable development policy
Identify issues and rank the associated risks and opportunities to set objectives andidentify projects required to deliver themDefine roles and responsibilities for delivery of sustainable strategy

CONTINAUL IMPROVEMENT

DO
Deliver Work Plans
1. Sustainability mamagement system action plan to structure operations with appropriate procedures
2. Delivering sustainability through WAS events setting new benchmark standards,
sharing best practices and using events as a platform to engage
3. Delivering sustainability, sharing best practice, driving efficient use of resources andmaximum investment in sport
4. Expanding technical standards to incorporate all aspects of sustainability action plan tosupport innovation across athletics community
5. Sustainability training programme to build on and maintain competencies andawareness across sustainability area
6. Programme of engagement with Member Federations driving engagement to deliver programmes atnational level building the profile of sustainability across athletics world
7. Data collection and reporting action plan which outlines processes to
produce accurate, complete and transparent reports

CHECK
Monitor identified clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against which to track progressagainst work plans, targets and achievement of objectives

ACT
Review and identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions

Figure 3: Development of World Athletics’s Sustainability Strategy

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4. World Athletics SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGYorW

IMPACT

The sustainability strategy sets out World Athletics’s commitment to accelerating athletics towards asustainable future, contributing to a better world. In some areas, this will require a change from ‘businessas usual’, in some cases it will be about influence and specification and in others it will be arounddeveloping partnerships to deliver scalable change. Figure 4 shows the starting framework identifying
the key areas of impact, control and influence and importance of working with the stakeholders, inparticular across the permitted and licenced events.

ld

Embed sustainability delivery
into permit/licence criteria

ic
et

hl
At
er
sP

ld

Li
it/

m

or
W

Include sustainability in all aspects ofplanning and staging WAS Events

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ic
et

se

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or
W

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s

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Embrace sustainability principles and practices within
World Athletics and MFs organisations and operations

CONTROL

INFLUENCE

Figure 4: World Athletics sustainability framework of impact, control and influence

In developing the priority areas of the strategy, we have identified the stakeholders and their interests,
their specific issues which present risks which in turn can be seen as significant opportunities. Fromthese we have identified a set of objectives and recommended actions.
GOVERNANCE, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESDelivering sustainability is never the remit of a single person and needs to be embedded into the cultureof an organisation across all delivery areas and levels of responsibility. Clear governance and leadershipassigning roles and responsibilities are essential components of delivering the sustainability programme
responsibly. World Athletics stakeholders can be seen in Figure 5.
World Athletics Sustainable Development Advisory Group will continue to advise World Athletics on thedevelopment of its sustainability vision, strategy and practical implementation across the sport.
World Athletics Council will be responsible for overall decision making and oversight of policy andresourcing for the programme, in line with its role in World Athletics governance in general. World
Athletics Executive Director of Communications has been allocated responsibility from the CEO for theoverall development and execution of the strategy, supported by World Athletics Senior Management
Team (SMT). The strategy has been aligned to the existing World Athletics departments and relevant
members of the staff responsible for the delivery of the specific sustainability initiatives will be allocatedas the actions identified move into their implementation phases.

19

Clear lines of accountability will be required to ensure delivery of the strategy and these will be
developed and reviewed as the strategy matures. A reporting framework will be developed to ensure
robust tracking and oversight of progress, resourcing, issues and risks is maintained throughout the
programme.
STAKEHOLDERS
To achieve lasting change in sustainable practices and behaviours across the sport of athletics requires
the support and engagement of many different stakeholders as identified in Figure 4. The strategy willbuild wide engagement across the stakeholder groups recognising the opportunity for scalability byembracing all events in the transition to a sustainable future for athletics.
To ensure stakeholder communication and engagement is effective across the sustainability projects, abaseline stakeholder analysis has been undertaken. The resulting understanding of each stakeholder’srole in sustainability and current level of engagement will be used to develop a robust stakeholder
communication and engagement plan during the initiation phase of the programme. Ongoing
management and review will ensure all stakeholders are engaged in an appropriate and timely manner
throughout the programme.
IDENTIFYING THE SIGNIFICANT SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
Sustainability issues are defined as activities that result in an economic, social or environmental impact
representing a sustainability risk or opportunity. These were identified across all World Athletics
business activities, and subsequently scored and ranked using a series of criteria including likelihood of
occurrence, severity, compliance history, in order to develop a priority list. Table 1 details the top 20
sustainability issues identified and the associated risks and opportunities. The full table of issues can befound in World Athletics strategy document “World Athletics Issues Significance Matrix”.

20

Rank

Sustainability Issues

Risk

Opportunity

1

Waste production - hazardous andLegal compliance issue - waste

Reduce cost, compliance, best

non-hazardous
2

3

practice

Unsustainable material consumption

Excessive cost resulting from non-implement sustainable procurement(low durability, non-reusable,

reusable or recyclable materials. PR

code and showcase best practicerecyclable, non-biodegradable)

issue from 'single use items'

Pollution – Greenhouse gas

Legal compliance issue - GHG/ Airemissions (GHG)/ Emissions to Air

quality. Detrimental to athlete healthResource consumption - Energy,

Continued operational cost andDrive resource/energy efficiency

water, materials (efficiency)

footprint

Drill best practice down to the

Visible wasteful behaviour impacting

supply chain

Showcasing best practicecompeting in poor air quality
4

on public image
5

Employee diversity

Legal compliance issue - employee

Diverse workforce

diversity
6

7

Inclusion and Diversity

Sustainability awareness

Events are hard to access for some

Events are open and inclusive to allgroups and participation and appeal

and participation of competitors anddecreases

visitors increases

Limited reach around sustainability

Wider influence and reach throughmessagefans/ partners/ suppliers - show

Legal compliance issue - pollution

Showcasing best practiceleadership
8

Pollution - water, land

water/ land
9

Health and safety

Non-compliance (legal), high criticism Increase communication around- health and safety

Health and Safety issues - public
image as a Responsible Organisation

10

Leadership in event delivery

Get 'left behind' as a leading

Lead and build recognition ofinternational federation in sustainable position as leading federation
management
1112

Embedded energy/carbon (footprint)
Stakeholder engagement

Intense use of high carbon means/

Support and encouraging use of low

technology/material

carbon technology

Complaints

Limited number of complaints

13

Economic impact

Economic impact to a few suppliers

Focus on local supplier market

14

Labour Conditions

Legal compliance issue - modern

Responsible, sustainableslavery act, child labour

procurement process

15

Accessibility

Legal compliance issue - accessibility Showcasing best practice16

Fair-trade and ethical trading andPoor image and PR

Showcasing best practice17

Employment

Lower employment coming from

Increased employment opportunities

decreased participation in the sports

from reputation
Work closely with suppliers to drive

procurement

18

Material/ supplier/ product costs

Cost prohibitive to use sustainable
materials/ practices

cost efficiency

19

Nuisance - noise, odour, litter

Legal compliance issue - nuisanceShowcasing best practice20

Employee work life balance/ healthLong working hours/ high travel

Staff retention and high productivity

requirement compromising - work life
balance and health
Table 1: Ranked World Athletics sustainability issues detailing associated risk and opportunity.
21

The sustainability issues appearing on the priority list were then grouped, representing the foundationof 6 sustainability priorities. These will be delivered by focusing on the key areas previously identified
and presented to Council in March 2019 of infrastructure, sourcing and resource management, mobility,
workforce, air and culture. These sustainability priorities, listed below and detailed in the following
sections are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Leadership in Athletics
Sustainable production and consumption
Climate Change and Carbon
Local environment and air quality
Global equality
Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing

1. Leadership in Athletics
Having accepted responsibility for their activities and committed to the development andimplementation of a sustainability strategy, World Athletics needs to demonstrate solid leadership byproactively addressing the transition to a more sustainable future and showcasing what is possible
across technology, events and general operations. The strength of an international federation embracing
sustainability is the broad reach it can achieve through existing system of permitting, licencing andselection of venues and delivery bids for World championship events.
2. Sustainable production and consumption
Optimizing the lifecycle of materials and reducing waste and the management of supply chain issues canbe one of the most effective sustainability focus topics. This begins with developing and implementing
a sustainable procurement policy, applicable to products and services. Identification of suppliers able tosupport the delivery of the sustainability goals is critical.
Management of waste was identified as one of the most significant issues to World Athletics. The
problem of persistence of plastics and our single use culture needs to be tackled through material
specification at the procurement phase. However, this needs to be aligned to the waste management
potential at the various locations.
Waste is costly and, in many cases, unnecessary. Good
practice in waste management is to follow the waste
management hierarchy as shown in Figure 5. During
procurement questions need asking as to where the producthas come from, what is its impact in production and use andhow will it be disposed of, or can it be reused.
Key areas for sustainable procurement are temporary event
structures, equipment and clothing, energy and power, foodsourcing, travel and transport and the venues/ stadia hosting
the events.

PREVENTIONPREPARING FOR REUSE
RECYCLING(ENERGY) RECOVERYDISPOSAL
Figure 5 Waste Hierarchy22

3. Climate Change and Carbon
Climate change driven by accelerated global carbon emissions are already impacting our lives. Athletics
is a global sport with many of the highest-level athletes coming from areas that will be most impacted
by changing climate, increased desertification leading to lack of rains for crops, for example. Athletics, inparticular the major world championship events, produce a significant carbon footprint. However, theyalso have the opportunity to drive technology and legacy to change energy sources to renewables.
Significant carbon emissions in athletics will be across travel, temporary power at events, energy
consumption in stadia and venues as well as production of equipment.
World Athletics business activities themselves place a large travel demand on all stakeholders, whether
internal or external, be that for training, competition or meetings/ conferences etc. Whilst travel isfundamental to uniting people through sport, travel-related carbon emissions represent one of the main
environmental impacts associated with sport.
Carbon mitigation steps will be considered across 5 activities:
3.1 Travel
3.1.1 flights taken by World Athletics employees/ officials, athletes, coaches
3.1.2 ground transport including official cars and public transport
3.1.3 freight
3.2

Energy Consumption
3.2.1 Heating, cooling and power used at permanent and temporary venues and in headquarters/
offices

3.3

Resources
3.3.1 Considered within the sustainable production and consumption focus area

3.4

Food and Beverage
3.4.1 Considered within the sustainable production and consumption focus area

3.5

Waste
3.5.1 Considered within the sustainable production and consumption focus area

4. Local environment and air quality
Air pollution poses a major threat to both health and climate. New data from the World HealthOrganisation shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants with morethan 90% of air pollution related deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries, mainly in Asia
and Africa. It is estimated that air pollution kills around 7 million people every year from exposure to fineparticles in polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases
including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory
infections, including pneumonia.
Air quality is closely linked to earth’s climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the drivers of air pollution(i.e. combustion of fossil fuels) are also sources of high CO2 emissions. Some air pollutants such as ozone

23and black carbon are short-lived climate pollutants that greatly contribute to climate change and affectagricultural productivity.
Actions and policies to reduce air pollution, represent a “win-win” strategy for both climate and health,lowering the burden of disease attributable to air pollution, as well as contributing to the near- and longterm mitigation of climate change.
World Athletics owned World Athletics Series - WAS - events and World Athletics sanctioned events
often cause significant local traffic disruption which, in turn, can elevate air quality issues. Throughintelligent planning and integration of initiatives to monitor and/ or improve air quality, World Athletics
can promote and protect a healthy environment for athletes, World Athletics family, fans and the local
community.
With an informal network of more than half a billion runners around the world, World Athletics is in aunique position to promote global awareness of the health impacts of air pollution.
5. Global Equality
Aligning with one of the core World Athletics values, UNIVERSALITY, World Athletics has a responsibility
to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in athletics. This is applicable to individuals
and, also, to the ability of Member Federations to have the opportunity to secure World Athletics
support and recognition for events. The opportunity is significant through procurement, mentoring,building skills to close the global inequality gap.
Leveraging “Athletics for a Better World”, World Athletics can provide the leadership so that stakeholders
can add value to their own work by concentrating the synergies of projects in the fields of health,environment, social inclusion and peace.
6. Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing
World Athletics has long been a leading international federation championing equal access tocompetition. Committing to having equal gender representation on its council by 2027 and, with aroadmap to achieve this, World Athletics is leading by example on gender parity.
Whilst many nationalities, physiologies, genders, races and religions are celebrated within the sport,
there remains an imbalance, particularly in relation to the retention and progression within the sport, as
technical officials, referees, judges, etc. Whilst programmes are in place at either ends of the participation
spectrum, World Athletics must continue to innovate to achieve diversity throughout the athletics
world, focusing on retention within the sports, creating a well-signposted, inclusive pathway into thegovernance of the sport, including technical officials.
Through the recognition of a gender imbalance within the sport and an enthusiasm to address this at alllevels, from grassroots participation through to administration and governance, World Athletics continues
to address the issues of equality and inclusion across the sporting world.
World Athletics duty of care applies beyond the direct World Athletics family involved throughparticipation and engagement with athletics. It also applies to volunteers, construction workers building24

sports infrastructure, those working for suppliers providing goods and services to athletics bodies andevents. People should not have their lives or health put at risk because of their work, nor should they besubject to discrimination, forced labour or other abusive practices.
World Athletics is committed to a fair, safe, healthy and non-discriminatory working environments,
promoting accessibility to training, education and encouraging a positive work-life balance.
Irrespective of geography, politics, religion, everyone has equal rights to being able to participate inathletics without fear of verbal of physical abuse, in an environment conducive to sporting achievement,
at all levels. World Athletics will provide best practice guidelines and exercise influence through Member
Federations to ensure that running, jumping and throwing can be universally enjoyed.
OBJECTIVES, TARGETS AND DELIVERY RESPONSIBILITY
A strategic objective has been identified for each sustainability focus area. These can be seen in
Table 2. Against each objective is a high-level target and the department involved in the delivery andachievement of the objective.
Focus areas Objectives

2030 Target

Delivery throughLeadership in

Be a recognised driver in sports•

100% World Athletics, sanctioned

World Athletics

sustainability

sustainability

events and Member Federations are

Corporate, World•

Promote sustainability acrossaware of sustainability implications

Athletics Events

athletics and the industry

and start to take action•

Ensure delivery showcases best•practice•

Visible commitment and credible

100% Sanctioned events commit toWorld Athletics Sustainability Charter•

100% World Athletics – WAS events

evidenced action across a range

deliver to ISO20121 standard andof sustainability targets for World

deliver continual improvement

Athletics and through influence•

across the sport

100% corporate partners areengaged and activating around an
aspect of sustainability

Sustainable

Positively manage the impact ofTechnical and event standards

World Athletics, Event

production and procurement

account for social and environmental

delivery partners,

consumption

impacts as well as performancesponsors, suppliers,

requirements

technical standards••

Minimise any social or environmental
impact from procurement of products
and services•

Maximise local economic impact
around events••

Baseline of impact at WAS events andaction plan for all events established•100% compliance with sustainable

Establish sustainable procurement

procurement code across World

code and 3rd party assurance ofAthletics activities

World Athletics procurement•

100% compliance with sustainableprocurement code at sanctioned
events25

Focus areas Objectives

2030 Target

Delivery throughClimate change Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030•

Events, World Athletics

and carbon••

Achieve 2030 Carbon Neutrality

Minimise carbon emissions acrossacross World Athletics operations and operations

World Athletics activities

WAS events (annual 10% reduction in

Identify credible means to offset

carbon emissions from 2019 baseline)

unavoidable emissions•

100% sanctioned events commit to•carbon neutrality targets
Venue, event and equipment

Events and Host City

Local

Ensure environmental conditions enable

environment

individuals to participate safely

standards incorporate environmental

partnerships, technicaland air quality•

factors

and venue standards

Maximise venues for safe
participation in athletics where•

air quality is safe for runners andcommunities•

Venue and event standards minimise
impact on surrounding environments•

100% host cities establish low

Minimise impact of events and venues

emission zones around stadia andon local environment

athletics arenas•

Air quality targets are understood,
set and monitored protecting runners
and athletes
100% World Athletics geographic

World Athletics,

world

areas are capable of hosting highEvents, Training and•Build technical, event management

quality sustainable international

development

and performance capability acrossevents in at least one city

Global Equality Demonstrably share skills across thewider geography•••

100% World Athletics geographic

Build global pipeline and capacity

areas have recognised opportunityof female leaders to achieve World

pathways for both genders in all

Athletics Council minimum genderprofessions in athletics acrosstargets by 2027

athletes, coaches, technical officials,
administrators

Diversity,

Ensure athletics is open to everyone

accessibility•

and wellbeing•

Annual female leadership seminars•

conducted in all Areas
100% athletes competing

World Athletics,

at international events have

Events, Technicalstandardised basic health checks

standards, Training andMaximise participant awarenessaround health and wellbeing risks••

Ensure diverse workforce and fair•

100% awareness and implementation development, venue,

treatment of staff and those workingof diversity policy throughout thefor our suppliers and partners

sport

Facilitate a collaborative approach to•100% MNAs have establisheddeveloping para-athletic programmes

collaborative para-athletics

across Member Federations

programmes•

suppliers and partners

100% implementation of staff
wellbeing policy tackling harassment,
and World Athletics process to deal
with issues.

Table 2: World Athletics’s sustainability focus areas, objectives and targets, detailing World Athletics departments involved in delivering against
the identified sustainability targets

26

16. Peace, Justice
Leadership in
Sustainability*

Broadcast, Media Ops

Communications,development

Coaching,

Partnerships

Brand/ Marketing

eventsRoad Race Labelfocus area

Circuit EventsGoals

WAS Events

Sustainability

sporting standards

Sustainability

Tech/ equipment andAthletics

Member Federations

United Nations

and operations

World

World Athletics office

ALIGNING WITH UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALSAs stated at the outset of the strategy, we have aligned our focus areas with the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals. This can be seen in Table 3.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

and strong
institutions
17. Partnerships

Sustainable

for the goals
12. Responsible

Production

consumption andandproduction

*
*

*

*

Consumption
7. Affordable andClimateChange andCarbonLocal

infrastructure
13. Climate action
3. Good health

Environment
and Air

cities andQualitycommunities
15. Life on land
8. Decent work

equality

Diversity,

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

innovation andand wellbeing
11. Sustainable

Global*clean energy
9. Industry,

*
*

*

*

*

*

*
*

*

*

*

*

*

*
*

*

*

*

*
*

*

*
*
*

*

*
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

and economic
growth
10. Reduced**

inequalities
4. Quality**

Accessibility

Educationand Wellbeing 5. Gender Equality

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Table 3: World Athletics Sustainability Strategy focus areas and aligned UN Sustainable Development Goals

27

5. PROGRAMME APPROACH AND DELIVERY
Driving up sustainability across the sport is a significant undertaking, requiring a robust, structured
programme of work that maps out a journey towards World Athletics’s vision. To deliver this aim, thesustainability programme will take a two-tiered approach. The first priority will be addressing the areas in
World Athletics’s direct control, enabling World Athletics to lead by example, and set a framework to be
adopted across the sport at regional, national and local level. The second tier will focus on stakeholders
under the influence of World Athletics, engaging and influencing stakeholders, including Member
Federations, World Athletics sanctioned events, World Athletics supply chain to drive change more
broadly, benefitting from World Athletics’s working best practices within its own activities.
These actions and recommendations are aligned to World Athletics’s business activities, the operational
areas which World Athletics will deliver sustainability through, namely:• World Athletics Corporate – leadership including office and Operations• Events – WAS and sanctioned events• Member Federations• Coaching, Development and Participation• Technical/ Equipment and sporting standards• Partnerships
Actions identified under each business activities cover the key priorities and are focused on achieving
the identified objectives as summarised in the Table below.
Key Priority

Objective

Leadership and sustainability

Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

Sustainable production and consumption

Positively manage the impact of procurement

Climate change and carbon

Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

Local environment and air quality

Ensure environmental conditions enable individuals
to participate safely

Global equality

Demonstrably share skills across the world

Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Ensure athletics is open to everyone

WORLD ATHLETICS CORPORATEThe headquarters of World Athletics are in Monaco where all the international federation staff are based
and where communications to the stakeholders comes from. This office is where international delegates,
visitors and committee members will come to at some point in time. It is essential, therefore, that thecorporate operations reflect the corporate commitments and decisions made by World Athletics and its
committees so that any visitors and staff will sense how sustainability is embedded into the heart of theorganisation.

Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

28

Objective: Be a recognised
driver in sports sustainability

The role of an International Federation can be a significant one when it comes to sustainability. They
have the ability to set the standards and requirements for the sport, building on performance and safety
requirements, they are able to deliver far reaching social and environmental benefits to local communities
and participants.
Action 1: Publish World Athletics Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030 and providing strategic support
for the implementation of the sustainability strategy
This initial strategy has been drafted with the input from all sectors of World Athletics as well as reachingout a wider stakeholder audience across manufacturers, event organisers and Member Federations.
The strategy development has been aligned to international sustainability standards and is built on
stakeholder input and a sound understanding of the sustainability issues and opportunities that World
Athletics face. The next steps in development of the strategy is to engage wider across World Athletics,
ensuring broad understanding and support for the strategy.
A working group, such as World Athletics Sustainable Development Advisory Group will lead on steering
the strategy forward and prioritising actions to take forward. A preliminary road map has been developed
at the end of this strategy document. Like all change programmes, different ways of working can beseen as disruptive and ensuring support at the outset will be essential. Adequate support and resources
for the different areas should bring rewards in the end whether through efficiencies and cost savings ormore significantly through partnerships and sponsorship.
Leading by example will also be critical and starting with the activities within World Athletics’scontrol – HQ operations and WAS events, will set the scene for influencing and ultimately embedding
sustainability into the core of World Athletics. The following sections outline actions to be taken forWorld Athletics centrally.
Once agreement has been achieved, a summary of the strategy should be widely disseminatedand promoted to all areas of Athletics encouraging wider partnerships to be developed. Launching
the sustainability plan needs credible, evidenced action against a range of sustainability targets,demonstrating visible commitment. This is targeted for World Athletics World Championships in Doha2019.
Action 2: Commitment to global initiatives
The world of sport and sustainability is gathering momentum and has been highlighted in World Athletics
Sustainability - Global analysis of sustainability best practice: Briefing Report researched as background
preparation for this strategy. Sports at the international level, particularly those engaging at the UN and
IOC levels, like athletics, will be left behind if they are not participating in the international initiatives
and signing up to the frameworks. World Athletics is already a signatory to UN Clean Air initiative. In
December 2018, the UN launched a further initiative addressing one of the most pressing global issues- climate change. The UNCC Sport for Climate Action Framework creates a collaboration with sports todrive positive climate action, engage fans and stakeholders wider in actions to mitigate climate change
and reduce carbon emissions. The following activities are recommended:• Ensure strategic alignment with IOC and UNSDGs

29

• Review and support the UN Climate Change Sport for Climate Action framework – aligning World
Athletics’s activities across key priority of Climate Change and Carbon with the Sport for Climate
Action collaborative framework• Broaden activation and benefits to athletics of partnerships with UN around Air Quality building
partnerships with host cities to provide clean air zones for athletics
Supporting and delivering across the UN initiatives, particularly around air and climate, will put World
Athletics front and central in terms of sport and sustainability leadership.
Action 3: Monitoring and reporting
World Athletics can ensure credible progress against the objectives identified by establishing robust
monitoring and benchmarking of its own achievements and those of the partners – whether sanctioned
events, Member Federations, manufacturers or venues for example. Reporting, transparency and theability to share best practice will build the momentum and maximise benefits to individuals and thesport. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been identified for each of the strategy areas to monitor
progress against targets.
It is also recommended that an World Athletics Annual Sustainability Report is published where yearlyprogress is reported on highlighting challenges as well as successes. This can highlight successes acrossthe industry and encourage others to follow.
Action 4: Build a wider communications strategy to inspire and engage wider stakeholder community
Engage with stakeholders on sustainability, promoting World Athletics sustainability vision, commitments
and focus areas across the global stakeholder community to achieve clarity and engagement across the
sporting community.
A stakeholder matrix, developed as part of this strategy, identified and scored stakeholder groups
according to their current level of importance, influence and engagement with sustainable practices. Thiscan be used to develop a targeted sustainability communications plan to engage across the spectrum of
stakeholders, identified earlier in figure 5. The global communications strategy will identify the channels
through which to engage with each respective stakeholder.
Key Priority: Sustainable production andconsumption

Objective: Positively manage the impact ofprocurement

Procurement is at the heart of all sustainability strategies. Suppliers play a key role in the ability to deliver
across a number of sustainability commitments. A procurement code that sets out the requirements is
critical. At HQ Monaco, the procurement of office supplies, goods and services from consultancy totravel and transport will demonstrate how sustainability is at the heart of all operations.
Action 5: Develop and implement World Athletics sustainable procurement code
A sustainable procurement code describes how to ensure that the key sustainability priorities aredelivered through the products and services that are bought. Each procurement decisions asks:30

1. Where did it come from
2. How was it made3. How did it get here and how was it
4. what is the impact during its use
5. What will happen at the end of the use/ service
Depending on the procurement process, the sustainable procurement code should require sign off andbe embedded into the procurement process. Additionally, identifying a credible independent partner towork with industry partners and suppliers where needed to investigate supplier issues will be critical tothe process.
Action 6: Implement waste management hierarchy
The waste management hierarchy of avoid – reduce – reuse – recycle – dispose should be at theheart of World Athletics operations. As with procurement a series of questions should be asked about
potential waste materials:• can I do without it?
• can someone else use it?
• what is it made from and can it be recycled?
• Who can recycle it?
• Can I safely dispose of it?
Hand in hand with the office procurement an effective reuse scheme and office recycling should be
implemented.
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective: Transition to carbon neutrality by
2030

World Athletics has recognised the importance of climate action and the impact this has on athletics,
human health and wellbeing. Across all operational areas, World Athletics is looking to support the UN
Sport for Climate Action framework and avoid, reduce and de-carbonise the use of energy. For HQ, thiswill be largely electricity and travel.
Action 7: Carbon roadmap 2020-2030
The carbon impact of World Athletics HQ should be assessed and monitored and a clear carbon
reduction roadmap 2020-2030 established. This will help prioritise areas for action and identify
the opportunities to reduce and potentially offset. This is also an area where a renewable energy orsustainability partner may be interested in sponsoring World Athletics and its global reach. The target ofthe roadmap is to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
The HQ carbon roadmap will include all HQ activities and could also provide a template for otherMember Federations and sanctioned events.

31

Action 8: 100% renewable electricity
World Athletics’s mains electricity and gas is provided by the only provider in Monaco – SMEG. Tariff Go
is a tariff provided by SMEG where they provide certificates for the renewable energy procured. SMEG
certifies that the equivalent of the electrical energy consumption provided for customers at the ‘tariff
go’ is produced from sources of renewable origin. World Athletics should ensure that their tariff is 100%
renewable – Tariff Go.
It is unclear whether there is a green gas provision available.
Action 9: World Athletics Sustainable Travel policy
Travel will be a significant proportion of World Athletics carbon impact. Where possible, individuals
should walk or cycle. Where necessary, logistics to coordinate and minimise individual trips should be
implemented. Any World Athletics transport – owned or hired - should look to be low-carbon – electricfor example, with the renewable energy charging capability.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

The commitment to the local environment and air quality should be reflected in all operations, specificallyin the implementation of the travel policy (see Action 9) and the 100% renewable energy (see Action 8).
Supporting the importance of the air quality monitoring project and the impact of clean energy andtransportation on human health, World Athletics can showcase actions through their choice of energy
provision and transportation by staff. In addition, they are working closely with the Monégasquemunicipality on air quality around the stadium.
Action 10: In collaboration with the Monégasque municipality, implement air quality monitoring
programme across the municipality of Monaco
In close collaboration, World Athletics will continue to monitor air quality at strategic locations in
Monaco, including the stadium, feeding the data to the Monaco municipality. This will form part of thewider Air Quality monitoring project and understanding the impact on runners and athletes. Where
emissions exceed the safe levels for participation in athletics, World Athletics will work with theMunicipality to identify actions to take to create safe areas to train and compete.
Key Priority:
Global Equality

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world

As a central international function, there is potential to build on the capacity of the Member Federations
through mentoring, internships and apprentice programmes to up-skill the capacity within the Member
Federations to drive global equality. Additionally, partnering up the larger federations with some of thesmaller federations may build capacity and therefore strength in athletics globally.

32

Action 11: Upskilling of federation capacity
Identify areas where global inequality exists across Federation staff and look to provide a range ofopportunities to build capacity globally.
Under the umbrella of “Athletics for a Better World”, World Athletics will develop a member federation
alliance to promote a collaborative approach to share best practice across federations, providing
opportunities for smaller federations to partner and work in unison with larger federations to build theirknowledge and skills.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

World Athletics has a staff of approximately 70 from nearly 20 different nationalities across 14
departments, based at World Athletics Monaco headquarters. Monégasque employment law provides alist of people benefiting from employment priority status who are, in order of priority:• individuals of Monaco nationality;• children or spouses of individuals of Monaco nationality;• residents of the Principality of Monaco; and• residents of the surrounding communes (Cap d’Ail, La Turbie, Beausoleil, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin)that have already been employed in Monaco.
World Athletics is committed to both employee diversity and, with a full programme of initiatives thatlook after the staff and build the team, achieving both welfare and staff motivation.
Action 12: Continue staff welfare programme and share best practiceWorld Athletics employees are privileged with the staff welfare programme that is in place which
incorporate the identification of staff representatives, trips and staff training. The following benefits arealso enjoyed by staff:• 1% of gross salary goes into a fund managed by management and the staff representatives to fundstaff activities• A “mutuelle” paid by World Athletics to supplement the reimbursement of medical expenses paid by
the Monégasgue social security system• A Tickets restaurant scheme that is worth €10 (50% of which is paid by World Athletics) for every
day worked.
World Athletics will both continue with the staff welfare programme and share best practices acrossMember Federations, as part of their commitment to global staff diversity and welfare.
Action 13: Ensure office and facilities are accessible
All areas of World Athletics operation, including Monaco headquarters should have an accessibility plan,
ensuring that offices and facilities are accessible to all.

33

WORLD ATHLETICS EVENTS
Major athletic events can be a huge spectacle with mass following. The track and field sports at the
Olympics and Paralympics are the central feature of the Games. These events provide huge reach andopportunity for sustainability programmes and is the real power of these initiatives.
World Athletics has different relations with the different events – some, such as the World Athletic Series(WAS) events, are within the direct control of World Athletics, whereas the Diamond League events andthe “Label Road Races” programme, encompassing 100+ road races (marathons, half marathons andother distances), including the 6 marathons that collectively form part of the “Abbott World Marathon
Majors” series, are all sanctioned events. These sanctioned events require approval from World Athletics
which, in the past, has focused on quality and safety for the athletes. This sustainability strategy and newrefreshed approach provides the opportunity to embed a wider spectrum of requirements across these
events in return for recognition of the standard achieved.
There is another level of opportunity around these major events with the host cities and event partners
to develop clear partnerships to deliver impact beyond the event itself, delivering positive impact legacy
projects for local communities.
1. World Athletics will develop its own approach to delivering sustainable events which will incorporatea standard set of operations delivering sustainability best practices for all WAS event organisers toadhere to, aligning with, and simplifying the delivery against, the strategic targets for sustainable
events. The sustainable event document will be developed as a phase 2 deliverable and built as partof the documentation framework for ISO20121 certification.
2. The second tier of events include all World Athletics sanctioned events, delivered through localorganising committees. In addition to existing contractual obligations, including operational,
commercial, marketing etc, sustainability criteria will be incorporated into all bidding and contractual
documents as contractual requirements. In addition, all organisers of World Athletics sanctioned
events will commit to World Athletics sustainable events charter in order to secure/ renew World
Athletics sanctioned event agreements. Recognition as an World Athletics “Athletics for a Better
World” event will be required at a standard reflective of the event. E.g. Diamond League events would
have a requirement to achieve ABW Platinum recognition.
3. All other athletics events will have the opportunity, and will be encouraged through the Member
Federations, to sign up to a tiered World Athletics “Athletics for a Better World” events standard,developed to facilitate a scalable, global standard providing the platform for events, at all levels, to berecognised by World Athletics for the sustainable practices
4. Whilst sporting events are short-term and finite, they present a platform, a springboard, to drive
awareness and inspire behavioural change acting as a catalyst for positive change. Event attendees,
local communities and the event supply chain can be inspired and educated during an event to createa lasting legacy, leaving a positive impact long after the event has finished. For multi-year events, thisplatform is even stronger with the ability for continual improvement.
World Athletics events have the ability to inspire – globally through media distribution and, locallythrough direct community engagement. World Athletics, through the various partnerships associatedwith the events will engage city stakeholders, supporting the development of community projects
focused around improving health and wellbeing including grass roots programmes, healthy spaces andcampaigns for clean air.
34

Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

Objective:
Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

Sustainable events are increasing in recognition and level of achievement. The international standard forevents, ISO20121 developed during the London 20121 Olympics provides a credible robust frameworkfor delivering sustainable events. It is recommended this framework becomes the operational framework
for all World Athletics events.
Leveraging the positive impact associated to major sporting events through the development of legacy
projects is a key deliverable across events, particularly World Athletics owned WAS events. Reference:
Training and Development, Action 2.
Action 1: Develop Sustainable event management system for World Athletics events, certified toISO20121
This strategy has been developed using the ISO20121 framework and the initial steps required indeveloping a management system for events is well underway. Further development of the system
to account for the legal and other requirements, the operational plans, sustainability communications,assignment of clear roles and responsibilities and a framework for monitoring, measuring, checking andimproving needs to be implemented. It is recommended this is undertaken as an initial step to ensure that
all World Athletics events are managed in a sustainable way, according to World Athletics sustainability
strategy.
Action 2: Implement World Athletics “Athletics for a Better World” sustainable event charter
World Athletics Sustainable Event Charter is a pre-requisite for any events to be sanctioned by World
Athletics. The Charter ensures that sanctioned events not only deliver world class sporting events
but showcase and deliver world class event sustainability aligning and supporting World Athletics
sustainability strategy. As a core component to the Sustainable Event Charter, World Athletics willdevelop a list of best practice criteria against each of the 6 focus areas identified in the sustainability
strategy against an associated scoring system to facilitate tiered recognition of achievement.
This approach facilitates the event best practice standards to be applicable, scalable and credible, at a
global level across World Athletics 3 spheres of responsibility.
• World Athletics Owned, WAS, Events: Requirement to be ISO 20121 certified and recognised as an
World Athletics ABW Platinum event• Sanctioned events: Minimum World Athletics ABW event requirements will be imposed, applicableto the position of the sanctioned event. World Athletics will encourage and support to facilitate ISO
20121 certification for all sanctioned events.
• National/ Local events: Will be encouraged and supported to sign World Athletics sustainable event
charter and achieve ABW recognition.
More information can be found in the document: World Athletics Sustainability: Recommendations forBest Practice Standards for Athletics Events

35

Action 3: Establish scope and implement programme of sustainable benchmarking of events in Athletics
and share best practiceIn order to develop best practice guidelines and meaningful, ambitious, achievable targets, World
Athletics needs to develop and implement benchmarking across all WAS events in 2019/ 2020,
implemented in line with the calendar of events, in order to truly understand the current situation. It is
important to develop transparent reporting of the benchmarking programme, demonstrating leadershipand responsibility, from which World Athletics can share learnings and best practices.
The findings from the benchmarking will be used as the foundation for SMART objectives within a tiered
framework for national and local events to achieve World Athletics ‘ABW’ recognition for sustainable
practices.
Key Priority:
Sustainable production and consumption

Objective:
Positively manage the impact of procurement

As with the corporate operations, establishing the right framework for procurement is the key todelivering a sustainability strategy. When it comes to events, this is increasingly important. A supplierthrough design of temporary infrastructure can delivery on a zero-waste target through modular design
and technology compared to another supplier using wood, glue and nails rendering the materials nonrecyclable and creating additional work and cost at the breakdown stage.
Action 4: Embed responsible procurement code into Events
A sustainable procurement code, embedded as part of the sustainable event management system, isa core component of both economic and resource efficiencies. Engaging with the supply chain is a
key part of the management system and fundamental to a successful strategy. Creating a sustainablesupply chain takes time and requires a business case. Businesses will need to understand the benefits
that embracing sustainability can have on them. A major event is an opportunity to inspire change but
collaboration with regular and/ or multiple events will increase the likelihood for change to become thenew ‘norm’. The more education that can be provided to the supply chain, promoting and empowering
the choice to use sustainable business decisions, the easier it will be.
Where existing relationships exist, conversations with these suppliers may reveal surprising results. Where
new contracts are being explored, sustainability requirements should be integrated into the request for
proposals.
Action 5: Implement a waste management plan aligning to the waste hierarchy
Waste management at events is not simple and one size doesn’t fit all but is a key component of any event
sustainability plan. The types of waste should be managed throughout the lifecycle of the event, fromprocurement, through build, event delivery and breakdown and, where possible, eliminated. The waste
management plan should minimise waste and maximise reuse/ recycling. The build and breakdown tend to bequantities of wood, plastics, cardboard and event carpet. These can be minimised through the requirementof modular stands and tents. Branding is also a significant waste element and for events that occur year on
year, ensuring there is no date stamp, means the branding can be stored and used multiple times.

36Event time waste can be managed through simple, yet clear, messaging to the public and consistent
provision of bin options across the event.
Where food is provided, particularly in hospitality, waste food may be able to be passed on to a foodbank or charity that collects it and uses it for local deprived communities.
Action 6: Establish an event reuse programme
Whether equipment or temporary infrastructure, many of the materials only used for event time canprovide significant benefit for community groups, sports clubs or local organisations. A full resource plan
will enable the second life of materials and equipment to be identified prior to the event and therefore
the time pressure of the breakdown will not jeopardise the ability to reuse materials and equipment.
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective:
Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

Events can provide a significant carbon impact as well as the opportunity to deliver wider legacy. Event
partners around clean energy are increasing and may be able to provide an opportunity for individuals
to offset travel, such as BP’s activation as a sustainability partner during the London 2012 Games, orToyota showcasing their hydrogen fuel cell car during the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
Action 7: WAS events to implement World Athletics commitment to Sport for Climate Action framework
World Athletics’s commitment to the UN Sport for Climate Action framework spans all operating areas,
including WAS events. The first step to fulfilling this commitment is to identify the main carbon impactsof WAS events, likely to be around temporary power, mains power, travel and transport. On identificationof the main carbon impacts and priority actions, a collaborative approach working closely with supply
chain and partners will be required in order to mitigate the carbon impact of events.
Carbon Impact Area

Mitigating actions

Temporary PowerWorking with temporary power providers to deliver efficient solutions
Install temporary power infrastructure utilising hybrid technologies/
alternative fuels

Mains Power

Identify opportunities for venues to transition to renewable energy tariffs

Travel and Transport

Utilise local resource to reduce international travel
Promote healthy and public transport options
Logistic arrangements to minimise local transport requirements

Table 4: Example carbon impact areas and mitigating actions

Significant carbon impact areas, priorities and actions will be developed for each event and implemented
under the event management system.

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Action 8: Embed climate action into World Athletics sustainable charter for sanctioned events
Once the carbon impact areas, priorities and actions have been identified, the events department will
be embedded into World Athletics sustainable events charter. The first phase of implementation will beto engage with all existing venues to obtain commitment to the charter and the identified actions andreport against their carbon reductions. The roadmap 2020-2030 will consider existing contracts andidentify milestones for embedding the sustainable events charter into the tender/ renewal process. All
new venue contracts and contract renewals require a commitment in order to secure World Athletics
sanctioned status.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

In 2018, World Athletics made a 5 year commitment to support the UN Clear Air programme. To ensurethat the programme is delivering benefit to World Athletics and world of athletics, World Athletics will
start to work closer with the UN and the host cities to establish clean air zones around key athletics
areas. The objective of the air quality monitoring programme is not to highlight issues but to raise
consciousness and awareness to drive improvements. Recognising that this is not a programme World
Athletics can deliver in isolation, World Athletics will need to work to securing new, stronger, partnerships
and to encourage governments to take more responsibility for air quality.
Action 9: Air Quality Monitoring
The recent installation of the air quality monitoring kit in Yokohama International Stadium marks the
5th installed at athletics stadiums as part of the programme, following Monaco, Addis Ababa, Sydney
and Mexico City. World Athletics will work with venues, stadiums and suppliers, working towards theirambitious target of developing an air quality monitoring network across 1,000 World Athletics certified
tracks around the world, establishing clear air quality targets.
World Athletics events are not the focus of the air quality monitoring programme but a platform forraising the awareness and to bring the focus to improving the health and lives of local communities.
World Athletics will work closely with host cities to leverage and amplify the monitoring programme
at World Athletics-certified tracks to deliver legacy air quality monitoring and share best practices,
including sustainable transport strategies and clear air zones to improve the air quality and health for
local communities, particularly around schools, green spaces and areas of sports participation.
Action 10: Set and implement environmental standards for World Athletics events and venues
Based on the evidence from the air quality project and wider environmental impact, ensure that WAS
events do not negatively impact the surrounding environment.
Upon implementation of air monitoring programmes, World Athletics will set air quality standards for WAS
and sanctioned events, utilising the WHO air quality standards. The 2005 WHO Air quality guidelines
offer global guidance on thresholds and limits for key air pollutants that pose health risks. The Guidelines
indicate that by reducing particulate matter (PM10) pollution from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre(μg/m), we can cut air pollution-related deaths by around 15%.

38

The Guidelines apply worldwide and are based on expert evaluation of current scientific evidence for:• particulate matter (PM)• ozone (O3)• nitrogen dioxide (NO2)• sulphur dioxide (SO2).
These WHO air quality guidelines (https://www.who.int/airpollution/guidelines/en/) are, currently, being
revised, with an expected publication date in 2020.
Whilst the stadia-based WAS events have a limited impact on the wider environment, sound protocol
should ensure elimination of litter, pollution and damage to species and habitats.
Action 11: Create best practice guide to minimise impact of sanctioned events on local environment
World Athletics accept responsibility to ensure that sanctioned events, in particular the newer offroad
and wilderness events, are respectful of the local environment. World Athletics will develop a bestpractice guide to minimise the environmental impact of all sanctioned events. Included within the bestpractice guide will be a code of conduct, actions to eliminate waste and damage to species/ habitats.
Action 12: Develop and share a toolkit with the local community around improving air quality
As part of building event legacy, World Athletics events, through engagement with community groups
are well positioned to share learnings from both local air quality monitoring projects and wider global
experiences. A toolkit will be developed, demonstrating best practice initiatives, along with simple
actions to improve air quality (both indoors and outdoors) and shared across the local community,
including local athletic clubs, school resources, community projects and businesses. The toolkit will
promote responsibility, at all levels, and will include actions that any individual/ family can take to improve
air quality in their homes, such as healthy travel choices, giving your car the day off, purchasing houseplants, eco-friendly cleaning products, through to larger initiatives that would require government
authorities/ businesses to embrace, such as low emission zones, clean air days, city greening projects.
Key Priority:
Global equality

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world

Global/ International sporting events present a significant demand, in terms of travel and skills required
to deliver major sporting events. World Athletics (owned and sanctioned) events represent a platform
to build the capacity, skills and experience of event professionals both across the globe and at the local
level, ensuring the next generation of event organisers are equipped to deliver sustainable events andcreate platforms for wider messaging through skills development programmes.
Action 13: Officials mentoring programme and Member Federation delivery partnerships
WAS events and World Athletics sanctioned events provide opportunities to facilitate skills development
locally through the establishment of mentoring programmes under the Member Federation alliance,
to be implement by World Athletics Member Federations department. The objective of the mentoring
programme is, through local upskilling, increase the capability to run future sustainable events with a local
team, thereby reducing travel demands.

39

Focus and opportunity should also be given to upskilling Member Federations across the globe. Under amember federation alliance programme, to be established through World Athletics Member Federations
department, delivery partnerships would invite representatives from other Member Federations to workas part of a WAS event delivery team to benefit from the resource and knowledge of WAS delivery team,growing the ability to host international events across the globe.
Action 14: Maximise local economic impact
In addition to the social and environmental benefits, adhering to World Athletics sustainable procurement
code will maximise the local economic impact utilising local business products and services, offering job
opportunities and driving positive impact to local community groups.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

Action 15: Sustainable Event Operations Manual and Event Charter to include diversity andaccessibility
With a sphere of influence spanning the globe, World Athletics events are subject to laws and regulations
applicable within the respective nation. Irrespective of location, World Athletics events are expected topromote and inspire event visitors, athletes, staff, partners and suppliers across sustainability and use theevent as a platform to drive wider social and environmental benefits.
Recognising the global disparity in legislation relating to health, welfare and accessibility, World Athletics
will need to embed criteria into World Athletics WAS contractual documents to ensure compliance tothe sustainability strategy, in addition to local and national legislation. As part of the sustainable events
charter, a compliance checklist will ensure that events are planned and delivered with an accessibility
plan and that all World Athletics events are, truly, events for all.

TECHNICAL AND VENUE STANDARDS
Host venues, equipment and technical officials, including referees, are a critical part of any athletics
activity. At the major events, these aspects become the framework for the actual sport and present
a clear opportunity to deliver visible sustainability achievements. Any sporting sustainability strategy
needs to ensure that the infrastructure and equipment supporting the sport is aligned to the strategic
sustainability goals.
Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

Objective:
Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

World Athletics certifies the performance of track surface, hurdles, shot, discus, hammer, javelin, landing
mats, as well as the actual stadium venues ensuring they meet the required performance standard
for athletes. Currently, the certification revolves, predominantly, around performance and technicalcriteria. A robust sustainability strategy will require responsibility to be taken by venues and equipment
manufacturers, under the guidance of World Athletics. Enforcing sustainability criteria on venues andequipment manufacturers will require a longer, phased approach due to the nature, scale and longevity

40

of the venue / equipment infrastructure and / or contracts. However, it is widely accepted that a moresustainable approach needs to be adopted, so World Athletics should drive collaborative, commercial
conversations to build a sustainable roadmap with venue operators and suppliers / manufacturers.
Action 1: Review technical standards, embedding sustainability criteria, for equipment
In consultation with and through the development of partnership with technical stakeholders, World
Athletics will review the technical standards, embedding sustainability criteria accounting for social andenvironmental impacts.
Performance standards for equipment can be certified to a standard that incorporates how the productwas made and what it is made of, ensuring the principles of the sustainable procurement code are taken
into account throughout the manufacturing process. Additional guidance, such as the IOC’s responsible
sourcing guidelines exist, which will further assist venues and equipment manufacturers meet sourcing
requirements and expectations, moving towards a more consistent approach to sourcing materials andservices. These components will become a requirement under World Athletics sanctioning agreementsthat event organisers will have to meet. This will ensure that supplier ethics, labour conditions, resource
efficiency, materials used, carbon impact, air quality emissions (volatile organic compounds - VOCs) andend of life planning are all considered for equipment manufacturing.
This action will require buy in from the suppliers and will see a phased approach, in recognition ofexisting contracts and equipment lifespan and, also, in many cases a need for innovative approaches
to manufacturing processes and life-cycle analysis. In some cases, further technology or productdevelopment may be needed and a collaborative approach can be undertaken to address this. The
procurement code will identify those materials to be avoided such as PVC. This will require partnerships
with key industries to develop / trial / promote new products with a lower environmental impact.
In the development of this strategy, direct conversations with World Athletics stakeholders areencouraging. Some suppliers are already embracing these aspects of manufacturing, welcoming theindustry to be driven by more specific social and environmental requirements.
Action 2: Establish a venue sustainability standard
The two main sustainability standards for the environmental assessment of buildings are LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method). As venue selection will become a core part of event certification,
World Athletics will utilise these standards to set expectations for stadia, relating to venue resource andeconomic efficiency and environmental responsibility.
In many cases, this will require a collaborative partnership between Member Federations and stadia
owners to develop the sustainable management of both new and existing stadia and overcome thechallenges of, in many Member Federations, limited venue options.
Key Priority:
Sustainable production and consumption

Objective:
Positively manage the impact of procurement41

World Athletics will implement sustainable procurement across all its activities. There will, very often,need to be a process of education involved to help equipment manufacturers and venue owners
understand a) the business benefits and b) that responsibility is not just about their own products andservices but, also, their supply chain.
Action 3: Best practice guidance for manufacturing to support delivery of the standard
To achieve the standards that World Athletics will start to look to establish (Action 1), World Athletics
will encourage and support equipment manufacturers implement a supply chain management system toimprove their economic, environmental and social impact whilst, in many cases, reducing their operationalcosts. This best practice guidance will include:• Sustainable procurement code
• Waste management plan adhering to the waste hierarchy• Framework of monitoring and reporting against resource consumption and waste production toevaluate performance• Identification of community groups that could benefit from reuse of equipment
In addition to working closely with suppliers/ partners to implement a supply chain management
system, in many cases, a collaborative approach will be required to develop innovative approaches toovercome sustainable manufacturing challenges working towards new products/ processes with a lower
environmental impact, promoting more sustainable equipment and maintenance regimes.
Action 4: Best practice for venue owners and operators
To achieve the standards that World Athletics will start to look to establish (Action 2), World Athletics
will help venues to transition to meet the required standards and will provide, potentially through theMember Federations, best practice and examples for venue/ stadia owners.
Action 5: Host Technical and Venue Sustainability Forums
Across the sport of athletics, there are many sustainable initiatives implemented across the spectrum of
stakeholders that should be given the platform to showcase achievements and demonstrate the “art ofthe impossible” to all. Specific focus forums with industry leaders, panel discussions and Q&As, hosted
at World Athletics/ World Athletics sanctioned events will be a platform for identifying industry-wide
challenges and case studies, spotlighting initiatives and forming industry-wide, collaborative, innovative
partnerships to develop equipment and venues with greater environmental, social and economic
responsibility.
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective:
Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

World Athletics will encourage and support equipment manufacturers and venue owners to identify,
accept responsibility for and take actions to reduce, their carbon impact. The primary businessactivities contributing to climate change are, typically, associated with travel and energy use with othercontributing factors dependent on the specific business activity. World Athletics, through sharing bestpractice will educate and empower venue owners and equipment manufacturers to develop their own
carbon reduction plans which will, inevitably, incorporate actions to reduce and embrace alternative
travel, and, also, to switch to alternative, renewal energy sources.
42

Action 6: Provide resources to support equipment manufacturers to develop carbon reduction plans
World Athletics will encourage and support equipment manufacturers develop a carbon reduction plan
to reduce their carbon impact, demonstrating business efficiencies to ensure that maximum resources
are going into the sporting product/ facility, rather than operational costs. The carbon reduction plan will
include:• Identification of businesses activities contributing to carbon impact• Monitoring and reporting framework to benchmark, quantifying the current carbon impact and toestablish KPIs and associated targets• Carbon action plan to achieve against targets, including carbon reduction roadmap.
Action 7: Provide resources to support venue owners to develop carbon reduction plans
Similarly, to action 6, World Athletics will encourage and support venue/ stadia owners and operators todevelop carbon reduction plans.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

According to WHO figures, a staggering 91% of the world’s population live in areas with above averagelevels of air pollution, with children most impacted. With an informal network of more than half a billion
runners around the world, World Athletics is in a unique position to promote global awareness of thehealth impacts of air pollution.
Athletes are, particularly, vulnerable to air quality due to their increased respiratory demands during
training and racing, along with extended periods of time during training sessions and competitions
outside, often in cities where air quality is often poorer.
Action 8: Include air quality factors (volatile organic compounds – VOC) emissions as part of equipment
and venue standard
VOC emission levels should be included as part of World Athletics equipment and venue standard toensure that any off gassing from paints, resins, glues or other materials is negligible and not detrimental
to the health of those training, competing, working or visiting venues.
Action 9: Support venue owners implement a plan to improve air quality in and around venues
The air quality in and around an athletics venue will have an effect on the participation and, therefore,
utilisation of a venue. World Athletics will develop a best practice guide for venues and local authorities,
including case studies, to support them in identifying actions that can be taken to improve air quality
around athletics venues and open spaces, parks etc to increase participation in athletics and sporting
activities. This may also include consideration to activity scheduling to align with times where air quality
is better.
Key Priority:
Global equality

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world43

Action 10: Build up capacity of local businesses, globally to supply world of athletics
As part of building local national capabilities, World Athletics guidance for partners and suppliers toachieve World Athletics required standards will enable businesses to engage at the national and local
level. World Athletics could look to provide content or host workshops to showcasing sustainable
manufacturing and venue operations providing a platform for local businesses to understand relevant
standards and what compliance to standards entails, learning from those leading the way.
Action 11 Build up the quality of regional venues/stadia to host global events
A challenge that has been cited by Member Federations is a reluctance to implement sustainability
criteria within venue contractual obligations due to the perceived limited options of venues able tocomply with such clauses.
However, there are an increasing number of athletic stadia embedding sustainability initiatives into theirdesign refurbishment and operations and these are increasing. Setting requirements now will drive thequality of operations up but it is likely this will need to go hand in hand with some support and guidance
for smaller venues to make sure they are not left behind. This action should go hand in hand with working
in unison with Member Federations to support venues hosting national athletic competitions and identify
those that, with support, could host World Athletics events.
Implementing a development strategy, would enable the venue to comply with host venue criteria
embedded within the bidding and contractual requirements, associated with World Athletics WAS andsanctioned events. The development strategy should demonstrate operational and economic efficiencies
which would, ultimately, facilitate a greater proportion of resources are allocated directly to driving
participation and performance.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

World Athletics has already accepted responsibility and committed to gender equity through its own
organisation and governance structure. At the other end of the spectrum, there is also balance indemographic representation in athletic participation, from the grassroot level. However, this does notappear to be the case through the family of technical officials for athletics. Consideration needs to begiven to the causes of this inequality and actions that can be taken to achieve diverse demographic
representation in this area of the sport with, for example, implementation of targeted development
pathways, as required.
Action 12: Establish diversity plan for training referees and officials
The first step is to benchmark the global demographic representation of technical officials, acrossgender, age, geography through the consolidation of member federation databases, in order to develop
a diversity plan identifying inequalities (e.g. gender, geographical, age etc), barriers (real or perceived) andactions to develop training pathways targeting equity.

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Action 13 Broaden the accessibility of the Technical Officials Training Programmes
Develop an accessible, online training platform facilitating a training pathway with consideration tobalancing inequalities identified from the benchmarking and diversity plan with additional World Athletics
support applied where required. This online training platform should be designed to increase accessibility
to the training programmes and decrease travel requirements. Also, consideration should be given
to building the modules in a way that content is appealing and relevant to other sports achieving a)
engagement with World Athletics and b) a revenue generator to feed into coaching programme.
As a complimentary “thread” to the online training platform, technical official mentoring programmes
should be built into the delivery of World Athletics WAS events.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
World Athletics has the opportunity to embed sustainability from the grass roots through the training
and development programmes to secure participation, from first steps into the sport, through to elitecompetition and into the governance of the sport. Establishing on-line courses will widen the reachof the training programmes to those less able to afford the travel costs. In addition, targeting female
participants specifically will grow the career opportunities and in turn likely drive female participation at
the grass roots and elite levels. Participation at the grass roots level relies on volunteers and ensuring
these volunteers have the right skills and confidence to run, coach and participate themselves will drive
the overall numbers across the athletics disciplines.
Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

Objective:
Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

Action 1: Embed sustainability into World Athletics training and coaching materials and develop new
resources
Embedding sustainability into World Athletics training and coaching materials will ensure that all aspectsof sustainability become business as usual to anyone who is taking part in the leadership aspects ofathletics. The material will become operational best practice to support the delivery of existing training
programmes. Whilst the majority will be embedded into existing programmes, it may be that additional
programmes are developed specifically around sustainability, for example sustainable event delivery.
Action 2: Develop legacy projects, capitalising on the impact of athletics events
Leveraging the positive impact associated to major sporting events, a toolkit could be developed
demonstrating best practice for engaging community groups and fuelling local grassroots programmeson the back of major events. Legacy programmes might incorporate:• Subsidised tickets for disadvantaged community and/ or school groups• “Chat with Champion” programme facilitating direct engagement with the stars of athletics• Re-distribution of athletics equipment to benefit local clubs/ grassroots programmes• Interactive coaching forums aimed at coaches and volunteers, including sustainable practices• Environmental initiatives, such as tree planting programmes (reinforcing commitment to clean air)
• Kids Athletics programme developed within community groups/ schools

45

Key Priority:
Sustainable production and consumption

Objective:
Positively manage the impact of procurement

Action 3: Promote and develop if needed, training materials for sustainable sourcing
There are simple actions that any facility (club or venue) could take to operate more efficiently and to
reduce waste and this stems from rules around procurement, ensuring products that are bought have aplanned second life or beneficial disposal route planned. The IOC has produced guidance for sustainablesourcing which could be promoted to or adapted for all aspects of athletics involved in sourcing.
Sustainability training as identified in Action 1 could develop specific modules on sustainable sourcing.
https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/IOC/What-We-Do/celebrateolympic-games/Sustainability/Olympic-Games-Guide-on-Sustainable-Sourcing-2019.pdf
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective:
Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

Action 4: Promote and develop if needed, training around managing impacts of climate change andcarbon emissions
Similar to Action 3, there are simple steps that could be taken for venue, club and event operators to takein reducing carbon emissions and being efficient about energy and water consumption. Sustainability
training could include modules on energy and water efficiency as well as sustainable transport planning.
Action 5: Reduce the travel requirement for delivering coaching programmes through on-line provision
World Athletics will take steps to increase the number of international coaches across each of the areas
to both increase global equality of coaching skills and to reduce the need for international travel todeliver coaching programmes.
The development of online training and coaching modules will further reduce travel requirements and,
therefore, carbon impact in certifying coaches.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

Action 6: Promote and develop if needed, training around air quality and local environmental impacts
Similar to Action 3 and 5, there are simple steps that could be taken for venue, club and event operators
to take in reducing impacts on the local environment and air quality as well as the consequential impact
on athletes of poor air quality. Ensuring venue managers and event organisers are aware of the impacts
and their ability to make informed choices will drive healthier places to compete and train. Sustainability
training could include modules on local environmental impact and air quality.
Key Priority:
Global equality

46

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world

Action 7: Balanced recognition of World Athletics approved sustainable venue charter across areas
Similar to the proposed sustainable event charter, World Athletics could develop a Sustainable Venue
Charter where facilities are able to sign up to the over-arching commitment and through various levelsof delivery be able to achieve different levels of sustainability recognition. Sustainability should become
an integral part of World Athletics venue recognition and different levels of sustainability implementation
should be achieved in order to host certain levels of event.
Providing support to venues whether online guidance, hands on support or facilitating sharing
best practice and solutions between venues, World Athletics can encourage an increasing level ofsustainability to be embedded into venue management. Actions may include resource efficiency
measures to save operational costs, inclusivity and community programmes to engage a wider audience,
air quality monitoring and connecting to local transport management to create safe environments tocompete and train. Providing a framework of achievements will help World Athletics to engage, inspireand encourage responsibility at all levels of training from grassroots through to international training
facilities and will support Member Federations to achieve a global footprint of recognised sustainabletraining centres.
Action 8: Sustainable Training Facility exchange programme
Supporting smaller Member Federations and less resourced venues, World Athletics could develop
partnerships, bridging borders and cultures, through a series of exchange programmes for Member
Federations and venues to benefit from each other’s experiences around sustainability building equality
and sustainability capacity, globally.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

As the keyholder to participation, the training and development department within World Athletics,
through the implementation of both global and targeted training programmes will promote access tothe sport focusing on diversity, inclusivity, accessibility and equity. These programmes will build clear
pathways into and through the world of athletics.
Building diverse pathways within the industry, positions of responsibility will encourage individuals tostay within the sport. As parity in competitors increases, so can parity in the skills available for coachingand other areas of responsibility across the sport.
Action 9: Targeted skills development programme
By first identifying demographic inequalities, World Athletics can develop specific skills and coaching
pathways to drive participation in under-represented demographic groups. E.g. Women in Athletics
programme.
Skill development programmes could be around provision of targeted work experience, internships andapprenticeships as well as mentoring programmes both within World Athletics and at World Athletics
WAS events targeting gender equity and global equality. Working with partners and suppliers can also
be a route to build skills base further.
47

MEMBER FEDERATIONS AND GOVERNANCE
Member Federations play a key role in the development of sport and athletics is no different. There is,clearly, large disparity across the Member Federations in terms of skills, capacity and resource and any
sustainability strategy needs to acknowledge this and provide support where needed.
A key role for Member Federations is the staging of their national championships, these enable theathletes to qualify for world championships. In addition, Member Federations administer national grants
for facility development, events and training and coaching programmes.
Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

Objective:
Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

Member Federations have the opportunity to embrace the commitments made internationally anddevelop a national strategy, aligning to the international focus areas, addressing the specific in-territory
issues and developing action plans that can be applied down to the national and grass roots level,
fundamental to the future of the sport. Ensuring that park runs are able to operate in clear air, on goodsurfaces and without impacting local communities, but rather inspiring local communities to take partas well.
Action 1: Engage members federations with benefits of sustainability
For World Athletics sustainability strategy to gather momentum across the world of athletics, World
Athletics needs to engage and educate Member Federations, not only in the strategy but the rationale
behind the strategy and the benefits associated to adopting sustainable practices, spanning the threepillars of sustainability.
World Athletics congress and conferences are a primary platform to communicate and engage directlywith Member Federations, as a unification of the athletics world, driving the sport forward. World
Athletics will place sustainability front and centre at Congress and World Athletics Conferences,demonstrating leadership, by delivering congress and conferences to recognised sustainability standard– using ISO20121 as the framework (see events for detail). Sustainability should be integrated into all
focus topics and provide the opportunity to showcase initiatives from Member Federations and Local
Organising Committees and to share best practice with interactive forums promoting a collaborative
approach to recognising and working through challenges (real or perceived).
To ensure that Member Federations embrace the strategy, World Athletics will share the draft strategy
and consult with World Athletics council and congress, inviting input before finalising the strategy andwill translate all sustainability resources for all Member Federations, distributing simultaneously, ahead ofa wider, public release.

48

Action 2: Provide all Member Federations with best practice guidance and support for their operations,
national championships and sport development.
Member federation resources should be allocated towards driving participation and delivering sporting
excellence, at all levels, rather than being consumed by inefficient resource consumption and operationalcosts. World Athletics will utilise their member federation communication channels to share best practiceguidance, demonstrating opportunities associated with sustainable practices, from operational/ financial
efficiencies, opportunities around sustainability partnerships to health and wellbeing of athletes andparticipants. World Athletics will be on hand to support Member Federations in building partnerships
around sustainability to deliver better environments for athletes and communities.
Action 3: Support Member Federations in development of their own sustainability strategies
World Athletics will look to provide support to Member Federations in developing their own
sustainability strategy, adhering to and reinforcing World Athletics sustainability strategy, anddeveloping a communications plan to engage with their own members/ clubs/ universities and the wider
local communities.
Action 4: Support Member Federations in incorporating athlete/ team/ personnel management
activities into their sustainability strategies
Raising awareness of the impacts and embedding a sustainable approach to team/ athlete preparationand participation in athletic competitions is an area that World Athletics will provide support toMember Federations by sharing best practice and facilitating knowledge transfer around the issues andopportunities.
Best practice guidelines will consider management of teams competing at major international events
through to recommendations for individuals to take greater responsibilities of their own activities.
Personnel considered include athletes, coaches, doctors/ physios, technical officials, family andguidelines will include topics such as travel and logistics, team kit distribution and packaging, sustainable
food sourcing, training equipment and schedules.
The overall aim to ensure that national teams will become key supporters of the sustainability initiatives
delivered at events and national athletes becomes ambassadors of the wider sustainability message.
Key Priority:
Sustainable production and consumption

Objective:
Positively manage the impact of procurement

Similar to World Athletics, Member Federations have business activities that are under their directcontrol and also those that are managed by 3rd parties within their sphere of influence.
Action 5: Maximise local economic benefit by engaging with local suppliers
Member Federations should, in their own operations, commit to World Athletics sustainability strategy
and, in the development of their own strategy (see Action 1) implement a sustainable procurement code
where local suppliers are engaged to build on the ability to support national and when appropriate
international events.
49

Action 6: Focus on resource efficiency to reinforce sustainability targets
Member Federations should engage across their partners and supply chain(s), sharing best practices
to maximise local economic benefits and minimise waste. Driving waste out of the operational costs will
enable more funding to be spend on the sport and equipment benefitting the local communities.
Sustainability considerations should be factored into venue and equipment selection to improve healthand local environmental impacts.
Action 7: Establish a reuse programme for equipment
Establishing an equipment reuse programme embedded into legacy projects from major events andindependently run events will maximise local community benefits through the improvement of local
athletics facilities.
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective:
Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

Climate change is a global issue that affecting every person on the planet with impacts including ocean
acidification, disruption of the food chain, ‘extreme’ weather events, home and habitat destruction andsea level rise.
There is no community immune to climate change. The specific impact will be determined by geographic
factors and the relevance of these will differ between Member Federations. Therefore, World Athletics
needs to support Member Federations in taking and responsibility themselves and promoting bestpractice through the national athletics community, embracing World Athletics strategy and implementing
actions against focus areas to address area specific issues.
Action 8: Provide best practice guidance for Member Federations in managing carbon emissions
Common impacts will be around energy and water and World Athletics can encourage and support
Member Federations to build in effective energy and water management strategies. These can include
the utilisation of renewable energy sources, mains and micro generations for the own operations, energy
efficiency tips and water reuse and efficiency schemes. World Athletics could set a target to get Member
Federations committing to switch to renewable energy tariffs.
Action 9: Proactively promote and encourage implementation of healthy, sustainable travel policies
As part of overall guidance for Member Federations, World Athletics could provide Member Federations
with a toolkit to proactively promote healthy and sustainable travel policies both in house and acrosstheir operational remit. The opportunities will different geographically and providing scooter recharging
points may be relevant in one location whereas working with local cities to provide safe bike lanes andbike parking may be appropriate elsewhere.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

50

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

From the hosting of the national events down to the park run areas, Member Federations can incorporate
local environmental conditions and air quality into the quality standard of athletics events and activities.
Setting standards for national championships will require working closely with the host cities. Identifying
how to manage air quality and ensure that the event and venue are not contributing to detrimental
impacts on the athletes and local communities is critical.
Action 10: Protect local environment and air quality conditions for national, regional and local athletics
areas.
World Athletics will support Member Federations enhance local environmental conditions for sport byproviding generic planning guidance to Member Federations to engage at the national and local level.
These planning guidelines will include• Member Federations engage and support the UN Clean Air programme• Incorporating and promoting local public transport network available for access to athletics facilities/
programmes. This would also ease pressures on local infrastructure and communities• Local actions to promote responsible use of green space and minimise impact on species and habitats• Local actions to improve air quality – secure bike parking, e-scooter plug in points, incentives to leavecars at home where feasible• Create national partnerships around athletics stadia and key athletics areas – clear air zones.
Key Priority:
Global equality

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world

There is clear disparity between federations, those with their own partnerships/ funding sources andthose reliant entirely on World Athletics funding where the focus is on national championships andbuilding opportunity for a few elite athletes with inadequate resources to address inequality issues.
Action 11: Building capacity within smaller federations through federation and sponsor alliancesWorld Athletics could engage with the Member Federations potentially through sustainability forums tounderstand regional challenges and limitations and establish member federation alliances that support
the capacity of smaller federations.
Whilst participation is generally not seen as a problem for World Athletics, engaging and inspiring
participation in emerging Member Federations through the Athletics for a Better World programme forexample will build the ability of the smaller federations to host larger events and attract external support
and potentially funding. Sponsors could be supporting the major events could also be encouraged tosupport a smaller national event or coaching programme.
A federation alliance programme could also unite federations in engaging, supporting and inspiring eachother towards global equality. The member federation alliance could incorporate• sharing best practices through a toolkit of resources, and direct engagement of the alliance members
at World Athletics events.
• established, resource ‘rich’, federations take a leading role in equipping smaller, developing federations
with knowledge and skills• Member federation exchange programme, providing emerging federations the opportunity to partnerwith established federations in the delivery of World Athletics events.
51

Action 12: Target an ‘even’ geographic spread of World Athletics WAS and sanctioned events
Through the bidding and selection process, World Athletics could strive to achieve a global distributionand ‘even’ geographic spread of World Athletics WAS and sanctioned events, promoting global equality,
proactively approaching those venues with the capabilities of delivering world class sporting events
both on and off the field of play.
World Athletics could also, through Member Federations, identify venues hosting national events withthe potential to deliver regional/ international events and implement a skills development programme tosupport the member federation build the number of facilities capable of hosting World Athletics events(owned and sanctioned) within their territory.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

Action 13: Support Member Federations achieve in-territory demographic equity across the sport
Having established targeted pathways to address inequalities within participation and governance ofthe sport, World Athletics will support Member Federations in understanding the current status, in termsof demographics and in the implementation of training and event initiatives addressing the specificinequalities within their territory.
Member Federation sustainability programmes could address for example:• Gender equity – participants, coaching, leadership roles• Access to the sport and participation for all groups – address different social and financial barriers• Health and wellbeing– Local facilities – healthy environments, good air quality, creation of low emission zones– Safety of athletic areas – roads, green paths, safe tracks network• Equipment reuse – reuse/ refurbish schemes

PARTNERSHIPSSport and sustainability is about delivering more than just the sporting spectacle. Unilever recently
announced their commitment to working with companies ‘with a purpose’. Similarly, corporations
interested in sponsoring sport and bringing their brand or service to life around a sporting spectacle
are looking for platforms that deliver more than just branding opportunities. Sports with ‘purpose’
will be more attractive to commercial opportunities and will therefore enable more funding to bebrought into the development of the sport offering and the wider impact it can have both socially andenvironmentally. Equally, sports with ‘purpose’ will facilitate better environments and better communities
for those participating in their sport.
Aligning to the right type of partner is critical as a wrong match can easily negate the positive work
achieved and also take excessive time to manage the critics. Upon announcement of World Athletics
sustainability, there will be a ‘honeymoon’ period, during which World Athletics will need to be seen to
be making very proactive steps to implement the strategy and, in parallel, World Athletics will have an
opportunity to secure new partnerships around the sustainability strategy, adding both momentum andresource to the implementation. Credible progress will be needed to secure sustainability partners.
52

Key Priority:
Leadership and sustainability

Objective:
Be a recognised driver in sports sustainability

Demonstrating credible leadership is essential for partnerships and actions have been covered underWorld Athletics Corporate section. World Athletics has already made high level partnerships and joinedsome of the UN’s global commitments. Aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the
Dow Jones Sustainability Index are important when it comes to positioning a corporate offering.
Action 1: Align World Athletics’s commercial offering to existing partners and embed sustainability into
partnership agreements
The first step is to work with existing partners and explore the potential of these partnerships to deliver
more. Bringing groups of partners together can also be a powerful way to lock in partners for the greater
good.
Embracing sustainability will give World Athletics a greater platform to engage with the corporate
sponsors. Working with Dentsu to identify the range of opportunities will be the first action to take.
Going forward, a sustainability commitment should be agreed between all partners and World Athletics –similar to the event charter to ensure that partner’s values are aligned.
Action 2: Develop commercial plan considering and leveraging the sustainability strategy, in order tosecure new partnerships around sustainability
Using World Athletics sustainability focus areas as a starting point, World Athletics commercial strategy
should be reviewed and updated, identifying business sectors and, subsequently, brands for a targetedcommercial approach. For World Athletics, relevant sectors include amongst others:• Sustainable transport – electric and hybrid mobility• Air quality monitoring• Clean/ renewable energy• Ethical/ sustainable manufacturers - equipment as well as venue fixtures and fittings - carpets/
coatings/ chemicals• Sustainable venues and infrastructure• Reuseable, low impact temporary event infrastructure
Key Priority:
Sustainable production and consumption

Objective:
Positively manage the impact of procurement

53

Partners may include suppliers, and these can support the delivery of the sustainability strategy andstrive towards the commitment to zero waste. Ensuring these partners are aligned with the procurement
code is critical, however, there are also wider opportunity to develop innovative solutions to supportdelivery of the sustainability objectives.
Action 3: Innovation partners e.g., around materials and waste – closed loop manufacturing ofequipment
Taking a leading role, through their own actions and through sharing best practices, World Athletics canchallenge suppliers to identify innovations to help deliver World Athletics sustainability goals.
World Athletics will need to re-imagine existing ways of working and by bringing partner suppliers, andpotentially main suppliers, together in workshops to identify what is possible and create a roadmap tozero carbon, zero emissions and build local capacity for supporting the athletics industry.
Key Priority:
Climate change and carbon

Objective:
Transition to carbon neutrality by 2030

Action 4: Identify partners around renewable energy and sustainable transport
Within the commercial plan (Action 2), attention should be given to securing partners within the
renewable energy and sustainable transport sectors. Both sectors would benefit from a global marketing
platform directly showcasing their products and, simultaneously, assist World Athletics towards theirsustainability targets.
Identifying a renewable energy partner that links to venues, clubs and individuals will show the scalability
potential of sport to drive change as well as future proofing the ability of venues and stadia against risingfossil fuel sources of energy. Creating a framework for venues to install their own solar electric, solar
thermal or wind powered generation will enable the finances to be spent on the sport as opposed to theincreasing electricity prices that will be inevitable.
Action 5: Develop partnerships with host cities around climate change and carbon
The goal of any World Athletics partnership should be for cities and communities to benefit from staging
World Athletics events long after the event itself. Through establishing partnerships with local authorities,
World Athletics events should present a city with a springboard for developing and/ or amplifying
existing initiatives to tackle climate change.
Through venue partnerships and supplier partnerships, venues could be encouraged and supported toturn to renewable energy sources. Step 1 would be to identify a key city already engaged in presenting
its sustainability or low carbon message and engage wider across this platform.
Key Priority:
Local environment and air quality

54

Objective: Ensure environmental conditions
enable individuals to participate safely

Whilst poor air quality is a global issue, the scale of the problem is not uniform being amplified in city
environments across the planet, according to new data from the World Health Organisation, 9 out of 10
people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants with more than 90% of air pollution related deaths
occurring in low- and middle-income countries, mainly in Asia and Africa. Therefore, air quality andenvironmental improvement programmes are not a one-size fits all.
Partnership efforts, aligned to Action 5 with cities, should be targeted both in terms of geographic focus
and tailoring authentic activation platforms addressing the specific issues experienced.
Action 6: Leverage event venue contracts to establish ongoing actions and commitment for improving
air quality
This is an area where World Athletics can, authentically, lead the sporting world. Air quality is a significant
issue for the world and one that positive action can have rapid impacts. A clear example was prior to the
Beijing Olympics, where turning off the coal fired plants saw rapid impact in air quality.
World Athletics’s commitment to the UN Clean Air programme presents the platform for securing support
and partnerships with host cities to improve air quality for the benefit of the local communities, throughthe establishment of low emission zones around athletics venues and open spaces or training venues
where people participate not only just in athletics but all sports, where the impact of poor air quality is
exacerbated on human health.
Commercial partners with air quality interests whether from air quality monitoring equipment, alternative
fuels, or sustainable electric transportation partners would all be aligned in this area. Reviewing the
air quality project to create a proactive programme benefitting the athletics community should beconsidered.
Key Priority:
Global equality

Objective:
Demonstrably share skills across the world

Action 7: Secure global partners with the resource and appetite to engage across geographic to drive
equality
Partnerships should be identified with a global focus and a social remit to invest in less developed
communities and build skills across the globe will align to this World Athletics objective.
Key Priority:
Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing

Objective:
Ensure athletics is open to everyone

Action 8: Ensure partnership values align to World Athletics values on diversity, accessibility andwellbeing
Sustainability clauses relating to this World Athletics focus area will be embedded in all partnershipagreements to ensure staff welfare and diverse workforce, applicable to partners and their supply chain(see Action 1).

55

World Athletics Sustainability Strategy Summary Actions
Delivery area

Sustainability priority area
Leadership in sustainability
1

Publish World Athletics Sustainability

Sustainable production and consumption
5

Develop and implement World Athletics

Climate change and carbon
7

Carbon roadmap 2020-2030

8

100% renewable electricity

9World Athletics Sustainable Travel policy

7

WAS events to implement World Athletics

sustainable procurement code

Strategy 2020-2030 and provide strategic
support for the implementation of thesustainability strategy
Corporate

2

Commitment to global initiatives

3

Monitoring and reporting

4

Build a wider communications strategy

6

Implement waste management hierarchy

to inspire and engage wider stakeholder
community
1

Develop Sustainable event management

4

Embed responsible procurement code into
Eventssystem for World Athletics events, certified

commitment to Sport for Climate Action
framework

to ISO20121
2
Events

Implement World Athletics “Athletics for a5

Better World” sustainable event charter3

Establish scope and implement programme

Implement a waste management plan aligning8

to the waste hierarchy
6

Establish an event reuse programme

3

Best practice guidance for manufacturing to

Embed climate action into World Athletics
sustainable charter for sanctioned eventsof sustainable benchmarking of events inAthletics and share best practice1

Review technical standards, embedding
sustainability criteria, for equipment

6

support delivery of the standard

manufacturers develop carbon reduction
plansTechnical
and Venue

Provide resources to support equipment

2

Establish a venue sustainability standard

4

Best practice for venue owners and7

operators

Standards
5

Provide resources to support venue owners
to develop carbon reduction plans

Host Technical and Venue Sustainability
Forums1

Embed sustainability into World Athletics

3

4

2

Promote and develop if needed, training
around managing impacts of climate change
and carbon emissions

new resources

Training andDevelopment

Promote and develop if needed, training
materials for sustainable sourcing

training and coaching materials and develop

Develop legacy projects, capitalising on the5

impact of athletics events

Reduce travel requirement for delivering
programmes for coaches and technicalofficials through on-line provision

1

Engage Members Federations with benefits

5of sustainability

2

Provide best practice guidance for Member

with local suppliers

Federations in managing carbon emissions

Focus on resource efficiency to reinforce9sustainability targets

Proactively promote and encourage
implementation of healthy, sustainable travel
policie

operations, national championships and sport

Federations
Governance6

practice guidance and support for their

MemberandProvide all Member Federations with best

Maximise local economic benefit by engaging 8

development.
3

Support Member Federations in

7

Establish a reuse programme for equipment

3

Innovation partners e.g., around materials

development of their own sustainability
strategies
4

Support Member Federations inincorporating athlete/ team management
activities into their sustainability strategies

1Partnerships

2

Align World Athletics’s commercial offering
to existing partners and embed sustainability

and waste – closed loop manufacturing of

into partnership agreements

equipment

Develop commercial plan considering andleveraging the sustainability strategy, inorder to secure new partnerships aroundsustainability

56

4

Identify partners around renewable energy
and sustainable transport

5

Develop partnerships with host cities aroundclimate change and carbon

World Athletics Sustainability Strategy Summary Actions
Sustainability priority area

Delivery area

Local environment and air quality
10 In collaboration with the MonégasqueGlobal equality
11 Upskilling of federation capacity

Diversity, accessibility and wellbeing
12 Continue staff welfare programme and share
best practicemunicipality, implement air quality monitoring
program across the municipality of Monaco

13 Ensure office and facilities are accessible

9

Air Quality Monitoring

13 Officials mentoring programme and Member

Corporate

15 Sustainable Event Operations Manual andFederation delivery partnerships

Event Charter to include diversity andaccessibility

10 Set and implement environmental standards

14 Maximise local economic impact

for World Athletics events and venues

Events11 Create best practice guide to minimise
impact of sanctioned events on local
environment
12 Develop and share a toolkit with the local
community around improving air quality
8

Include air quality factors (volatile organic

10 Build up capacity of local businesses,

compounds – VOC) emissions as part ofglobally to supply world of athletics

12 Establish diversity plan for training referees
and officials

equipment and venue standard
9

Support venue owners implement a plan to

Technical
11 Build up the quality of regional venues/stadia 13 Broaden the accessibility of the Technicalimprove air quality in and around venues

6

Promote and develop if needed, training

to host global events

7

Balanced recognition of World Athletics

Officials Training Programmes

9and Venue
Standards

Targeted skills development programmearound air quality and local environmental

Approved sustainable training facilities

impacts

across areas

Training andSustainable Training Facility exchange

Development

8

programme
10 Protect local environment and air quality

11 Building capacity within smaller federations

13 Support Member Federations achievethrough federation and sponsor alliancesconditions for national, regional and local

in-territory demographic equity across thesportathletics areas
12 Target an ‘even’ geographic spread of World
Athletics WAS and sanctioned events

MemberFederations
andGovernance6

Leverage event venue contracts to establish

7

Secure global partners with the resource and8

Ensure partnership values align to World

ongoing actions and commitment for

appetite to engage across geographic areas

Athletics values on diversity, accessibility

improving air quality

to drive equality

and wellbeing
Partnerships

57

6. MONITORING AND REPORTING

Monitoring, progress reviews and reporting will be critical to the on-going successful implementation of
the sustainability strategy. The objectives and associated targets have been identified in Table 2 where
they are set against the identified sustainability focus areas. In addition, the associated World Athletics
departments responsible for delivering against the objectives are identified. Assigning accountability forboth delivery, monitoring and reporting is critical for continual improvement.
Committing to the targets and openly reporting on progress will drive World Athletics to achieve more.
Sustainability reporting is an increasingly established process and can be delivered as standalone reports– an annual sustainability report - or as a section of the corporate financial report, forming the ‘nonfinancial’ reporting section. Initially aligning to the same timeframe as the annual financial report would be
prudent, whether it is a standalone or integrated report depends on the overall target audience for bothreports. However, a clear commitment to reporting should be made building up transparency in delivery.
It is recommended that an annual sustainability report using the Global Reporting Initiative framework as
best practice in sustainability reporting would be recommended, where progress is reported against thestrategy framework and the delivery of each aspect. In addition, developing the ISO20121 framework
for World Athletics events will create an audit and reporting framework which can be extended across
all World Athletics activities and will provide a robust framework for assessing progress and identifying
areas of action to focus on.
The metrics to measure and track progress against achieving the targets will need to be collected fromWorld Athletics departments, events, suppliers and the Member Federations. The proposed metrics
should be reviewed and aligned to information and data that is readily available or can relatively easily becollected.
Whilst it may be interesting in some areas to have a high level of detail, at the strategic level, thepurpose of the monitoring is to identify priorities, level of progress and barriers to achieving the targets.
Monitoring KPIs should be identified accordingly.

58

7. COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT

To embed sustainability behaviours and practices across the sport requires attention to what individuals
think, feel and do as well as making practical changes to governance, systems and processes. A
communications and engagement strategy will set out how World Athletics will inform and inspire
individuals to take individual and collective action on sustainability and influence others to do the same,building momentum for change.
To achieve this goal, implementation of the strategy will need to set out a framework of programmelevel communication and engagement activities and processes, as well as addressing the communicationneeds of individual projects. The success of the programme will rely on the buy in, or required actions, ofa broad number of individuals. Sustainability is about behavioural change when it comes to delivery andthere are different levels of engagement that can be identified, namely:
1. Lack of knowledge
2. Knowledgeable but not engaged
3. Knowledgeable, engaged but unwilling to change their operations
4. Knowledgeable, engaged but unsure of actions to take
5. Knowledgeable, engaged and taking effective action
A communication and engagement plan should focus on moving people towards level 5 - knowledgeable,
engaged and empowered to take effective action. The output can be likened to a coaching programme
where individuals are motivated by their own interests and gain knowledge and start to take action in
manageable, achievable steps, building on incremental successes.
Outward facing communications and engagement should be focused on building up a movement tosupport global achievement of the high-level objectives. The power of an international sports federationis the reach and scalability of impact, building the capacity of individuals to take personal and collective
action to create better environments and communities in the short, medium and longer term.
A communications strategy should look to align the messaging with the corporate, hosting and delivery
partners. This can be throughout the year but areas where messaging will be maximised will be aroundthe flagship events from fans visiting but as importantly through the social media and broadcast
channels.
Developing high profile ambassadors will also build the following. Finding those athletes that are
passionate about a certain aspect of the strategy and have a real drive in their message will certainly
help the programme. Whilst there may be come coaching needed in the specifics of the issues that is ofinterest to them, the engagement and support needs to exist.

59

8. ROADMAP FOR DELIVERYWorld Athletics sustainability sets out the ambition and commitment to lead the sport of athletics
through a transition towards a sustainable future, contributing to a better world, over the next 10 years.
World Athletics sustainability objectives, grouped by strategic focus area, are detailed in Table 2, “World
Athletics’s sustainability focus areas”, within this strategy, along with the 2030 target.
When developing a more detailed roadmap to achieving the 2030 Sustainability targets, there aremany factors that a) need to be considered in both determining a timeline against each action andthe approach to realising the action (enforcement or supportive/ collaborative) and b) may affect the
progress through delivery against each action. Factors taken into consideration in developing theroadmap for delivery include:• Sustainability risk impact and priority• Where on the sphere of influence the action falls: within the control or influence of World Athletics• Phase of event/ venue bidding process• Existing partner/ venue contractual commitments and terms
The intial focus for the implementation of the sustainability strategy is on World Athletics taking
responsibility for their own business activities, demonstrating leadership to the wider athletics andsporting communities building momentum for wider delivery. A process of benchmarking and reporting isneeded to obtain baseline data for 2019 to set the starting point for monitoring delivery progress.
In parallel, actions spanning World Athletics sphere of influence kick off with the process of engaging
and educating stakeholders to obtain universal awareness, support and, ultimately, commitment toWorld Athletics sustainability strategy. Through the development of a tailored communication plan, eachstakeholder will be taken on the journey to becoming knowledgeable, engaged and empowered to takeeffective action.
The specific actions detailed in the preceeding sections are summarised in a working document
supporting the strategy where the actions, timelines, KPIs and Targets are grouped by World Athletics
department and then ordered according to associated timeframe and priority status.

DELIVERY TIMEFRAME
Each action is ranked according to the delivery timeframe which relates to the time frame required toachieve the set target. This is ranked 1-10 with 1 being delivered within 1 year and 10 being delivered
to the 2030 targets.

PRIORITISATION OF ACTIONSEach action is subsequently ranked in terms of priority for starting implementation. A high/ medium/ low
priority is given to each one. A red flag – high priority - given to those which should start immediately, anorange flag - medium priority starting within 6 months and a green flag – lower priority starting within ayear.
A summary table can be seen below:

60World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Corporate
1

Publish World Athletics Sustainability
Strategy 2020-2030 and providing
strategic support for the implementation

Leadership in
Sustainabilityof the sustainability strategy
2Commitment to global initiatives

High

1

3

Monitoring and reporting

High

10

4

Build a wider communications strategy

High

1

High

1

to inspire and engage wider stakeholder
community
Sustainable

5

sustainable procurement code

production andconsumption
Climate change
and carbon

Develop and implement World Athletics

6

Implement waste management hierarchy

High

2

7

Carbon roadmap 2020-2030

High

10

8

100% renewable electricity

High

1

9

World Athletics Sustainable Travel policy

Medium2

10

In collaboration with the Monégasque

High

1

Local environment

municipality, implement air quality

and air quality

monitoring programme across themunicipality of Monaco

Global equality

11

Upskilling of federation capacity

Medium6

Diversity,

12

Continue staff welfare programme and

High

10

share best practiceaccessibility andwellbeing

13

Ensure office and facilities are accessible

High

1

1

Develop Sustainable event management

High

2

High

4

High

2

High

5

High

5

Medium4

Eventssystem for World Athletics events,
certified to ISO20121
Leadership in
Sustainability

2Implement World Athletics “Athletics fora Better World” sustainable event charter3

Establish scope and implement
programme of sustainable benchmarkingof events in Athletics and share bestpractice4

into Events

Sustainableproduction and

Embed responsible procurement code5

consumption

Implement a waste management planaligning to the waste hierarchy

6

Establish an event reuse programme61

World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No
7

ActionWAS events to implement World

ActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

2

High

5

Athletics commitment to Sport for
Climate Action framework

Climate change
and carbon

8

Embed climate action into World
Athletics sustainable charter for
sanctioned events

9

Air Quality Monitoring

High

10

10

Set and implement environmental

Medium4

Medium6

standards for World Athletics events andLocal environment
and air quality

venues11

Create best practice guide to minimise
impact of sanctioned events on local
environment

12

Develop and share a toolkit with the local Low

3community around improving air quality
13

Low

4

Member Federation delivery partnerships

Global equality
Diversity,

Officials mentoring programme and14

Maximise local economic impact

Low

3

15

Sustainable Event Operations Manual to

Low

2

High

3

accessibility andinclude diversity and accessibility

wellbeing
Technical and Venue Standards
Leadership in
Sustainability

Sustainableproduction andconsumption

1

Review technical standards, embedding
sustainability criteria, for equipment

2

Establish a venue sustainability standard

High

4

3

Best practice guidance for manufacturing Low

3

to support delivery of the standard
4

Best practice for venue owners andMedium3

Medium

3

Low

5

Low

5

Include air quality factors (volatile organic High

4

operators
5

Host technical and Venue Sustainability
Forums6

manufacturers develop carbon reduction

Climate change
and carbon

Provide resources to support equipment
plan

7

Provide resources to support venue
owners develop carbon reduction plan8

compounds – VOC) emissions as part ofequipment and venue standard

Local environment
and air quality

9

Support venue owners implement aplan to improve air quality in and aroundvenues62

Low

6World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No
10

Global equality

ActionBuild up capacity of local businesses,

ActionDeliveryPriority

Year

Low

10

Low

10

High

7

Medium2

High2

Medium4

Medium4

Medium

2

High

3

High

6

High

7

Low

3

High

2

globally, to supply world of athletics
11

Build up quality of regional stadia to hostglobal events

Diversity,
accessibility andwellbeing

12

Establish diversity plan for trainingreferees and officials

13

Broaden the accessibility of Technical
Officials Training Programmes

Training and Development
1

training and coaching materials andLeadership in
Sustainability

Embed sustainability into World Athletics
develop new resources2

Develop legacy projects, capitalising on
the impact of athletics events

Sustainable3

production andPromote and develop if needed, training
materials for sustainable sourcing

consumption
4

Promote and develop if needed, training
around managing impacts of climate

Climate change
and carbonchange and carbon emissions
5

Reduce the travel requirement fordelivering programmes for coaches,
technical officials etc., through on-line
provision

Local environment

6Promote and develop if needed, training
around air quality and local environmental

and air quality

impacts
7

Balanced recognition of World Athletics
Approved sustainable venue charter
across areas

Global equality
8

Sustainable Training Facility exchange
programme

Diversity,

9

Targeted skills development programme

accessibility andwellbeing63World Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Medium3

Medium5

Medium5

Medium3

Low

3

Medium

4

High

1

High

2

Medium7

Low

3

Medium7

High

7

Member Federations and Governance1

Engage Members Federations with
benefits of sustainability

2

Provide all Member Federations withbest practice guidance and support for
their operations, national championships

Leadership in
Sustainability

and sport development.
3

Support Member Federations indevelopment of their own sustainability
strategies

4

Support Member Federations inincorporating athlete/ team management
activities into their sustainability
strategies

5
Sustainableproduction andconsumption

Maximise local economic benefit byengaging with local suppliers

6

Focus on resource efficiency to reinforce
sustainability targets

7

Establish a reuse programme for
equipment

8

Provide best practice guidance forMember Federations in managing carbon
emissions

Climate change
and carbon

9

Proactively promote and encourage
implementation of healthy, sustainable
travel policies

Local environment

10Protect local environment and air quality
conditions for national, regional and local

and air quality

athletics areas.
11

Support in building capacity withinsmaller federations through federation

Global equality

and sponsor alliances
12

Target an ‘even’ geographic spread ofWorld Athletics WAS and sanctioned
eventsDiversity,64

13

Support Member Federations achieveaccessibility andin-territory demographic equity acrosswellbeing

the sportWorld Athletics

Sustainability

Department

Focus Area

Action No

ActionActionDeliveryPriority

Year

High

1

Develop commercial plan considering and High1

Partnerships
1

Align World Athletics’s commercial
offering to existing partners andembed sustainability into partnershipagreements

Leadership in
Sustainability

2leveraging the sustainability strategy, inorder to secure new partnerships aroundsustainability
Sustainable

3

Innovation partners e.g., around materials

production andand waste – closed loop manufacturingconsumptionof equipment
4

2

High

1

Medium

4

High

2

Low

2

Low

2

energy and sustainable transport

Climate change
and carbon

Identify partners around renewable

Low

5

Develop partnerships with host cities
around climate change and carbon

Local environment

6

Leverage event venue contracts
to establish ongoing actions andand air qualitycommitment for improving air quality
7

Global equality

Secure global partners with theresource and appetite to engage acrossgeographic regions to drive equality

Diversity,

8

Ensure partnership values align to World

accessibility andAthletics values on diversity, accessibility

wellbeing

and wellbeing65©World Athletics 202066