OVER 70 SPORTING ORGANISATIONS PLEDGE TO ‘GO FOR GREEN’
The Football Association, England Athletics and Paddle UK are amongst some of the big names signing up to
Sport
England’s Going for Green
To shine a light on some of the best climate
innovators in the sport and physical activity
sector, Sport England Chair, Chris Boardman will cycle from Manchester to Paris from July 16 – 23
Over 70 organisations
from across the sport and physical activity sector have already committed to becoming greener by signing the
Going for Green pledge. Now, Sport England is urging every organisation, to sign the pledge and commit to finding new ways to become greener in their work.
Every signatory of the pledge agrees to:
reduce energy and water usage
champion walking, cycling and lift sharing when travelling to activities
drastically reducing reliance on single use plastics
recycle waste and increase the reuse of sports equipment and kit
boost activity to nurture nature and wildlife.
Sport England Chair, Chris Boardman said:
“From ferocious heatwaves becoming more frequent, making it hard for children to simply run around outside, to tens of thousands of grassroots football
matches being cancelled every year due to severely flooded pitches, climate change is already impacting our ability to be active.
In fact, 3 in 5 people in England are saying severe weather is now negatively affecting their sport and physical activity levels.”
“Without action, we will lose even more opportunities to be active, to look after our health, to play with our friends, so we have a duty to act now to
protect these things that we love.”
“It’s fantastic to see the first 70 organisations step-up and pledge their commitment to tacking this global threat. They are the pioneers of what must
become a national movement.”
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it, the status-quo cannot be an
option.”
To collect more pledges and highlight some of the sporting world’s green innovators, Chris Boardman will
lead an epic, eight-day bike ride from the home of cycling in Manchester to the French capital, where the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics are to be hosted.
The self-propelled trip was christened ‘Pedal
for Paris’
to capture the zero emissions mode of travel and to acknowledge the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate accord.
Setting out from the National Cycling Centre on 16th July, the team – which will include multiple Olympic medalist Dame Katherine Grainger, and a host of
other guests –will cover 550 miles before arriving in Paris on the 23 July.
16 July: Manchester to Ashbourne
17 July: Ashbourne to Loughborough
18 July: Loughborough to Milton
Keynes
19 July: Milton Keynes to Bisham
Abbey
20 July: Bisham Abbey to St
Pancras
21 July: St Pancras to Dieppe,
France
22 July: Dieppe, France to Gisors,
France
23 July: Gisors, France to Paris,
France
Pedal for Paris follows the
launch of Sport England’s first-ever environmental and sustainability strategy,
Every Move, which was published earlier this year. The strategy, backed with £45m of funding, will
help clubs and organisations to take action.
All 130 of Sport England’s funded partners will
be required to have a credible environmental strategy and delivery plan by March 2027 as a condition of funding. Grassroots clubs and organisations can learn more about the funding available – including how to apply –
here
on the Sport England website.