Posts Tagged ‘sustainable sport’
On Thursday, May 6, Professor Sackett, the Chief Scientist for Australia, presented at the Sir Mark Oliphant CleanTech conference dinner, hosted at the MCG, on the topic of Green Sport.
In referring to some of the great moments in sport she said “with every one of these moments in our sporting history has come emissions of carbon, in the form of CO2 and soot, the same substances that are directly or indirectly risking tennis players fainting at the Australian open as they fight through our hottest summers yet, Olympic athletes to wheeze as they run through poor air quality in Beijing, and contributing to drought in areas where athletes need fields to train.”
Professor Sackett went on to say that “sport is, without a doubt, a crucial part of the Australian cultural fabric” and at Greensense we believe it is an industry that through it’s leadership has the ability to educate and influence a nation to more sustainable living. We are already engaged with the WA Football Commission, Triathlon WA, Perth 2011 and the Drug Aware Pro, some of WA’s leading sporting groups, to help them become leaders in sustainable events and operations. We are working with them on everything from sustainable event management, education and awareness, energy efficient buildings and organising green team initiatives.
The key things Professor Sackett suggested a sporting event must take into account are:
– the greenhouse costs of building the stadium or venue,
– the transportation of tens of thousands of spectators,
– stadium lighting
– and even the cost of old Bob sitting at home watching the game on his voracious plasma TV.
A key suggestion related to transportation as one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, where encouraging and subsidising public transport would assist in reducing the number of cars on the road and CO2 in the air. Another key area is development in sustainable architecture. According to research conducted by CSIRO, energy use in buildings accounts for 26 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
We’re already working with some of Western Australian’s top sporting events to help make sport more sustainable, including the Perth 2011 Sailing Regatta, Drug Aware Pro, TriWA and the Bussleton Half-Ironman, and, the Western Australian Football Commission.
We’re passionate about Sustainable Sport. We’d love to help you make your sport or sporting event more sustainable. You can read more about our sustainable event management services or contact us for more information.
