‘GreenCoach’, the international project in favor of environmental sustainability in sport

Sport and environmental sustainability are two closely related issues. Both from the point of view of the pollution produced by major sporting events and from that of the ability of sport to spread positive messages supporting environmental protection. Based on this assumption, the international project ‘Greencoach’, which enters its main operational phase this year, was developed.

Co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus + Sport Program, the project aims to promote efficient management, from the point of view of environmental impact, of the sports clubs and events created by them, promoting sustainability as a central element in the daily management of their activities.

Similarly, the project intends to encourage the development of tools capable of stimulating the awareness of sports organizations on pollution and the sustainability of sports centres. Finally, ‘Green Coach’ aims to raise awareness of sportspeople and spectators on the issue of the link between sport and the environment, while at the same time promoting responsible and aware behaviour.

A wide range of activities

The scheduled activities will include researches, studies, public campaigns and specific initiatives. These include:

• Monitoring the environmental impact of the activities of five sports organizations in order to create a good practice that can be replicated with other sports clubs;
• The creation of a quality brand (the GREENTEAM Seal) which will give visibility to sports clubs committed to improving their environmental impact;
• The creation of an online tool (the GREENCOACH TOOL) for the involvement and awareness of organizations, athletes, players, families, spectators on the importance of sustainable behaviour;
• The creation of educational modules for the training of managers, athletes and spectators aimed at promoting awareness of sustainability policies in clubs and sporting events.

The project, which will last 36 months, sees the participation of five football federations and both public and private organizations: Ecoserveis (Spain), project coordinator; TDM 2000 International and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) from Italy, Norwegian Football Association (NFF), Association des Clubs Francophones de Football (ACFF), Swedish Football Association (SFA), Lithuanian Grassroots Football Association (LGFA), French Football Federation (FFF).

Searching sport clubs and organizations

The GreenTool has already entered its phase of data collection, for this reason, they are looking for sport clubs and organizations who will be pioneering in the calculation of their ecological footprint.

If you want to take part in the first version of the GreenTool you can download it or write Ecoserveis for more information.