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Tips to make your sport club more environmentally friendly
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Progress towards a sustainable future still requires work even during COVID-19. Making simple changes can help make your club more environmentally friendly and teach athletes about sustainability and making other changes in their own lives.

All sectors of society have a long way to go for being more environmentally friendly and introducing more sustainable practices in our society. Sport programmes are not exempt from this. Governments and corporations need to step up their actions for reducing emissions, but even grassroot sport teams can take steps to reduce their own impacts on the environment. 

Local teams don’t necessarily have that big of a carbon footprint, but it is important for everyone to make small, but easy, changes to their programmes that will make them better.

First, clubs can introduce active transport as the main way of getting to practices or tournaments, if possible. Coaches can frame this in a way that biking, running, walking, rollerblading, or skating will contribute to each athlete’s personal development. Encouraging athletes to be more active getting to practices can help boost their training.

When athletes cannot walk or bike to practice, encourage them to take public transit as much as possible. Or set up carpools for kids who live in the same neighbourhoods or go to the same schools. All of these actions can contribute to decreasing a club’s carbon footprint.

Another way that clubs can make a difference is by introducing buy and sell programmes for used equipment. All children grow, which means they will outgrow equipment. Sometimes they outgrow equipment each year, which creates a lot of waste. When possible, clubs should try sharing used equipment with younger athletes to expand the life of each piece. This will reduce the amount of waste generated by clubs. Even during COVID-19, we can take safety measures, wiping down the equipment with disinfectants before passing them on.

When clubs host events (like competitions, year end banquets, or any other team gathering), make sure to use reusable or compostable cutlery, plates and cups. Teams can also try to only purchase sustainably sourced food and snacks for their events. Make sure that when you host an event you have recycling and composting bins around.

In some instances, clubs can even seek out sport facilities that use renewable energy. This will not be available for everyone, but it can be an option to keep in mind for some. 

These are some simple steps that individual grassroot clubs can take to reduce their direct and indirect impact on the environment.