On 6-7 June 2023, EuropeActive took part in the 9th meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on Green Sport. This group is composed of EU Member State experts and representatives of the European sport movement who are working together to draft a common framework for sustainable sport, with recommendations in the areas of sport infrastructure, events, good practices, innovative solutions, and the sport movement’s contribution to the European Climate Pact.
The first day of the meeting included voting on the adoption of the draft final text, brainstorming dissemination strategies and deciding on the future of the Expert Group Platform for continued good practice exchange. This included for activities until June 2024 and beyond, and how the topic of Green Sport should be tackled in the next EU Work Plan.
On the second day, the meeting continued with interesting presentations on sustainable sport practices across Europe. Riikka Rakic, Senior Sustainability Manager with International Biathlon Union (IBU), expanded on the IBU’s strategy to become climate neutral by 2030. Tiberio Diddi, Associate Professor at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy), then presented an Erasmus+ project called GOALS. This developed an open access environmental footprint calculator based on Life Cycle Assessment. Magdalena Jeckel, project manager at Eintracht Frankfurt AG in Germany, continued with an overview of their Environmental, Social and Governance strategy, which is based on an innovative data-driven approach. Finally, Christian Stamm, Sustainability manager at FIFA, gave insight into their environmental approach to the upcoming Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The meeting concluded with updates from the the European Commission on the recent EU Sport Forum and Sport Innovation Summit, and the possibility for Observers from Western Balkans and Neighbourhood East to join the Expert Group as of the autumn.
The next meeting of the Expert Group on Green Sport is expected to take place in October 2023.