sportanddev partners with Global Sustainable Sport  

Given the range of intersecting crises facing people and planet, sustainability has become more important than ever before. The global environmental crisis and other factors have made it imperative for all sectors and stakeholders to work together to ensure a sustainable future. 

As the leading global hub for those using sport to achieve social, economic and environmental goals, the International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) shares knowledge, builds good practice, facilitates coordination and fosters partnerships in sport and development. 

sportanddev has long advocated for sustainability issues to be taken more seriously in and through sport. This includes aligning initiatives to the Sustainable Development Goals with measured and targeted action, as well as launching a Spotlight Series on Sport and the Environment with a call for articles, webinar and report, and other focused communications. 

Global Sustainable Sport (GSS) maintain that sustainability is bigger than the current focus on ESG (Environment/Social/Governance) and that sports needs its own unique framework to describe its true sustainable value. Sport engages over 5 billion sports fans a year and sport can use this platform to be a driver for change. GSS has launched its own unique framework, the 7 Sustainable Pillars of Sport and is encouraging more sports organisations to think and act sustainably through its Champions of Sustainability programme. 

Sustainability is bigger than the current focus on ESG, and needs its own unique framework to describe its true sustainable value. - Mike Laflin, Global Sustainable Sport

The Partnership 

As part of the partnership, sportanddev will join the GSS Partners with Purpose programme, while GSS will be featured as a partner on sportanddev.org which is now available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish to better cater to more beneficiaries. Over 600,000 persons visit the sportanddev website per year, with over 1,000 registered organisations and 10,000 registered individuals. 

Both parties will work together to share and amplify content on sustainability issues in and through sport with a focus on ensuring that such issues are mainstreamed in the sector. 

Commenting on the partnership, Dr Ben Sanders, sportanddev Executive Director, stated: “Sustainability is a critical issue, one of the most urgent of our time. Sport needs to do more to ensure it responds to environmental and social challenges in a productive and positive manner. The partnership with GSS will support increased focus and advocacy in this area.” 

Mike Laflin, Founder and CEO of Global Sustainable Sport commented “It is great to be working alongside sportanddev to encourage more sports organisations to embrace sustainability. Sustainability needs to sit at the core of every sports stakeholder, engaging everyone from board level downwards. We see sustainability as an opportunity for organisations to re-think their purpose, balancing profit and profile with people and planet.” 

sportanddev welcomes our users to submit content (news, events, jobs, opportunities and research) relevant to sport and sustainability for publication on the sportanddev website. 

GSS is encouraging every sports organisation to become a Champion of Sustainability by registering on the GSS website.