Powering sustainable wins in the sports arena: tech breakthroughs
· 10 min read
In an era marked by a collective push toward environmental sustainability, responsible consumption, and a rapidly changing climate, the sports and entertainment industries are not exempt from the evolutionary wave.
Sports are and have a powerful platform to create net positive social change. By embracing, fostering, and advocating sustainability, accelerated and powered by tech, sports organizations can engage fans, athletes, and communities in conscientization and actionable initiatives, promoting diversity and inclusion, supporting local economies, and addressing social issues of invaluable impact and scale.
Immediate measures include the sports sector to stop and mend the degradation of biodiversity and the environment through essential resources like clean air, water, and food. The Sports for Nature Framework, created by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), IOC (International Olympic Committee), and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), with input from the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) Secretariat and sports groups, inspire nature-positive initiatives within sports by 2030, encouraging the industry to lead in safeguarding and rejuvenating nature. This Framework and the United Nations Sports for Climate actions are strategic approaches for sports entities in the race to net zero.
The sports sector is deeply connected with climate change, playing roles as both a contributor and a mitigator. Contributing factors of sports footprint are widely spread among stakeholders – from fandom to talent and event organizers. Thus, a multimodal approach toward zeroing can significantly impact the global annual carbon budget.
In addition, shifting societal demands drive sports entities to embrace novel strategies, marking a shift from merely considering sustainability to actively implementing it. Increasingly, consumers are gaining awareness of the sports’ carbon footprint. In 2022, 48% of sports fans worldwide expressed they would be willing to pay more for sustainable energy.
Technologies are essential in transforming processes, predicting impacts, and validating sports organizations’ roadmaps toward carbon neutrality and ESG impact. Globant sheds light on crucial technologies permeating sustainability in the sports industry in this whitepaper as this becomes a global movement.
A staggering 85% of emissions from major sports events come from fan-related travel and lodging. During the 2018 football WorldCup, fans made their way to stadiums, producing around 1.6 million tonnes of CO2.
Fans do emphasize today the importance of environmentally advanced venues, where leagues and stadiums push and implement unique solutions, becoming, in turn, sustainability supporters. According to Civic Science for Sports Business, data show that nearly two-thirds of fans who attended a sporting event in the past year feel the need for a change in favor of environmentally friendly venues.
Sports infrastructure and events have significant scale; hence, their sustainability impact can be huge. A shift is underway, with key sports venues seeking environmental certifications from green building councils and eco-conscious initiatives through specific commitments, policies, tangible targets, performance indicators, and long-term action plans.
Sports organizations around the globe - NFL Green - have been actively installing photovoltaic systems at various sports venues, hunting for renewable energy credits. In 2007, collaborating with sponsors and local entities, the NFL planted 3,000 trees during the Super Bowl in Miami. The San Francisco 49ers followed a similar path, installing solar panels at Levi’s Stadium, and the Philadelphia Eagles achieved a 99% waste recycling rate with fan engagement initiatives. Minor League Baseball teams like Lake Elsinore Storm are exploring methods to decrease water usage through the Evapotranspiration Technology Irrigation System, providing an exact measurement of necessary water dispersion, saving 25 million gallons of water and around $100,000 in costs in two years.
World Athletics crafted a Sustainable Event Management System accredited with global standard certification. With new ISOs endorsing SEMs, a systematic approach to monitoring and managing sustainability-related risks and prospects is ready to be capitalized. This system, created for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, focused on cost efficiency, environmental impact, conserving biodiversity at venues, upholding human rights, and fostering a diverse workforce.
Promoting public transportation, offering incentives for carpooling or cycling, cutting down on single-use plastics, and prioritizing renewable energy are all becoming mainstream measures. Some iconic stadiums, like the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, are flagged for their conservation efforts.
Any process or product has an associated carbon budget that can be mapped and modeled step by step and end to end, regardless of its value or supply chain complexity. Digital Twin Technologies allow real-time monitoring and analysis of these step-by-step mimics, becoming pivotal in integrating sustainability within sports.
The ESG Digital Twining concept amalgamates through hyper-automation, AI, and digital footprints sustainability metrics with digital technology providing immediate insights and predictions on energy consumption, waste generation, resource utilization, or any parameter we wish to model for measuring ESG and Agenda 2030 impact and that comes with a digital footprint-or not. How?
If we want to measure the D&I parameters associated with the manufacturing of a baseball bat or a football, an ESG-driven digital twin will replicate the process, including the metrics we want to emphasize, and will not only calculate it but also compare to find the best sustainability practices to be improved or adopted.
So, by integrating advanced analytics, machine learning, and process mining, the sports world gains comprehensive insights and predictions about overall business operations. These combined bits of intelligence allow sports organizations to analyze patterns, predict outcomes, and make informed decisions driven by updated sustainability efforts, energy consumption metrics, Agenda 2030, waste management, sustainable mobility, carbon and water footprints, new materials, etc.
Through its navigational multilevel models (MLMs), machine learning enables the analysis of vast data sets to detect patterns and trends that, for example, can be used in water conservation efforts by analyzing data from sensors and weather information. By monitoring water usage patterns, detecting leaks, and predicting water demands in real-time, ML algorithms can help optimize irrigation systems, reduce water consumption, and improve water resource management in sports premises.
Event Management Systems (EMS) serve as a structured approach, allowing event coordinators with essential resources to monitor, diminish, and communicate environmental footprints and promote eco-friendly practices among employees and participants. It grants access to real-time transparency of sustainability indicators and data-driven insights for responsible decision-making.
EMS can support social initiatives and community engagement programs associated with sports events, facilitating public communication, ticketing, volunteer management, and sponsorship tracking. EMS can amplify sustainability messages by integrating social media platforms and encouraging community involvement in ESG-related activities.
EMS can also shed a sustainable light on all procurement processes, aligning them with ESG screening criteria, as seen as one of the most dominant current trends in the industry. Incorporating advanced technological solutions into EMSs can significantly augment their effectiveness beyond data tracking. Linear programming techniques can streamline energy utilization within sports venues, meticulously calibrating air conditioning, lighting, and other power-intensive installations. At Globant, we have the technology, expertise, and knowledge to allow us to adopt Green IT for streaming practices to double down on the sustainability impact of broadcasting.
New low-carbon systems for seamless and efficient connectivity in crowded event spaces are currently being implemented in stadiums, where software-based wireless connectivity delivers high capacity. These high performance wireless networks accommodate the high volume of users and data traffic at less than 50% of the previous footprint, a revolutionary impact for telcos in sports events.
This technology proposes new sustainability-based robust mechanisms for systematically generating, monitoring validation, and analyzing ESG data to reinvent strategies for 2030 and 2050 decarbonization and social impact roadmaps.
By adopting a cross-pollinated sustainability mapping, community outreach, sustainable operations, and sustainable brand development, Globant aims to involve every stakeholder in this transformative sustainable sports-tech journey. It’s not merely about integrating new practices; it’s about instigating a paradigm shift in perceptions and behaviors, fostering a new dynamic social culture where sustainability is on all of us during our healthy sports and entertainment collective pursuit.
“Globant envisions a new era where sustainability and sports coexist and synergize; an era where a holistic and impactful sports ecosystem is accountable for a 360-degree approach to sustainability, where sports reimagine themselves through all aspects of ESG, by design. That’s thrilling! I am dreaming of a Sustainable Sports Leader in every league of every sport to accelerate visible and tangible commitment through tech at every end!” - Elena Morettini, Global Head of Sustainable Business at Globant
Globant’s sustainability mapping focuses on creating a data-driven approach to measure and monitor key sustainability metrics across the entire value chain of sports organizations.
This initiative focuses on the comprehensive measurement of carbon emissions, encompassing Scope 1, 2, and 3. Incorporating ESG Digital Twins allows for the seamless synchronization of physical and virtual worlds, offering valuable insights across merchandise, mobility, venues, food, and behavior. This holistic approach facilitates real-time cross-monitoring and analysis, where integrated data via consumable dashboards habilitate understanding and learning to facilitate sustainable decision-making, allowing proactive mitigation of environmental, social, and economic impacts.
Globant’s SustAIn is a module of Navigate, a process mapping platform for data-driven companies, which creates Digital Twins of organizations, assets, processes, and systems. SustAIn enables the displaying and mapping of a wide array of parameters, from CO2 budget - Digital Carbon Twin - to financial budget to time and resources, leveraging process mining and Machine Learning technology.
Globant emphasizes community involvement in embedding sustainability practices. Fan engagement is part of this community outreach through sustainability awareness and campaigns.
By placing sustainability at the center of the fan experience, sports organizations can align with net zero goals, enhance brand identity, attract talent, and involve partners in meaningful ways.
“Integrating sustainable practices in sports events is transforming the fan experience. From retail and merchandising to food and beverages at events and transportation options, every aspect of the fan engagement journey is witnessing the infusion of sustainability” - Tania Macri Badessich, Sustainable Business Sr. Manager at Globant
Some sports are more affected by climate change and need technological solutions and support. Wildfires, for example, have become an increasing threat to events, especially in regions like California, where the size and intensity of fires have grown significantly since the 1980s. Fifteen of the 20 largest wildfires in the state’s history occurred since 2000, with ten of the most destructive fires since 2015. During the 2018 Camp Fire, smoke reached as far as Sacramento, disrupting sports events like the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings game. This issue extends beyond the West Coast, as severe wildfires in Canada also contributed. In the 2023 season, Major League Baseball rescheduled games, such as the New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Detroit Tigers, due to unsafe air conditions. These examples show the increasing challenges posed by extreme weather, highlighting the need for event planners to adapt in order to keep things safe and running smoothly.
Nature always has the final say, and climate change is a significant part of this reality. It’s our hope that technology can help develop more sustainable methods for producing synthetic snow, reducing carbon and water usage.
The present sports industry includes the integration of sustainability, marking a transformative journey toward environmental stewardship and social responsibility in a way we have not seen before. By embedding sustainable practices into the core of sports organizations, from fan experiences to operations, the industry is taking strides toward net zero and relevant social and community impact, redefining its relationship with fans, communities, and stakeholders. This commitment to sustainability unlocks new and fairer revenue streams, strengthens brand equity, and attracts talent and partners dedicated to a more equitable future in leisure and entertainment. As we move forward, it is clear that sports entities that embrace sustainability will win the game, setting new standards for engaging with our planet and its communities. Globant focuses on disruptive strategies to guide sports organizations’ reimagination, always powered by exponential tech to fly at scale.
This article is based on this Globant's report. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
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