Net Zero Festival: What role can sport play in the net zero transition?

Michael Holder
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: In the second of our three Glimpses reports looking at potential net zero gamechangers, BusinessGreen looks at the role for sport in catalysing the world's net zero transition

The transition to net zero represents an incredibly exciting - if intimidating - challenge, requiring wholesale change politically, economically and culturally. Whether it's in the books we read, films we watch or the music we listen to, climate change is becoming an ever present issue, particularly as the phsycial impacts become ever more acute.

One part of everyday society already feeling those impacts heavily is sport, which is worth £9.8bn to the UK economy - and that's even before taking into account advertising and broadcasting. It's therefore imperitive for major sports clubs, stadium operators, and equipment companies to both adapt to the changing climate, as well as reduce their own impact on the environment.

The sports industry is being forced to respond to the climate crisis in increasingly innovative ways. In the latest in our 'Glimpses' video series produced for the world's first Net Zero Festival, BusinessGreen takes a look at the challenges facing sports, the trailblazing efforts being made to drive down emissions and adapt to the changing climate across different sports, and assesses the huge cultural role sport can play in raising awareness of climate change in order to accelerate the shift to a net zero future. 

The full video, which includes visits to Arsenal's pioneering battery storage system at the Emirates Stadium in London and interviews with leading figures from BT Sport, Formula E and the British Association for Sustainable Sport, is available to watch in full above. 

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the world's first Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 30 September featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand through the Net Zero Festival website.

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