Sustainability Huddle

Do we need to rethink — or even rebrand — how we communicate sustainability? In this episode of Sustainability Review, Matthew Campelli is joined by Franzisca Weder, Professor of International Organizational Communication and Sustainability Communication at Vienna University Business School. Together, they explore three distinct approaches to sustainability communication: communicating of, about, and for sustainability — and why the last of these might be the key to driving real change. The c...

Isabella Bertold is going on an adventure to show there’s a different way for athletes to communicate about sustainability and the importance of nature. The Canadian sailor and cyclist is preparing for an expedition that will take her by boat from the UK to Norway, and then across the Norwegian fjords by bike, joined by a handful of other intrepid explorers. She shares her belief that the most powerful sustainability stories are told through raw, visceral experiences that show athletes ...

In this episode, Nicola Barr talks about her work with FrontRunners — the athlete-led climate movement co-founded by Emma and David Pocock. She shares how the group mobilised more than 150 athletes to support the 'Duty of Care' campaign, calling for a law that would require politicians to consider climate impacts on young people. We also talk about the origins of the movement during the Black Summer bushfires, why athlete voices still matter, and how FrontRunners is now helping under-re...

Sport-related travel may only account for an estimated 1.5% of global carbon emissions, but its impact is significant – particularly in regions already affected by mass tourism and environmental stress. In this episode, we explore how sports organisations can engage with regenerative tourism, a model focused on restoring ecosystems, supporting local communities and improving resilience. Our guest is Ana Agostinho, sustainability lead at Westbrook Racing, part of the E1 electric powerboa...

When we think about the climate risks and consequences facing sport, we often think about elite sporting competition? But what about sport for good organisations and grassroots sport clubs? There’s not much of a focus on them even though, in most cases, they are even more vulnerable. However, Football For Future and Common Goal have teamed up to develop the Fields of Change Handbook, an environmental sustainability resource for sport for good organisations. In this episode, we speak Ell...

How can a “non-essential” sector like sport justify its existence on a planet with finite resources? It was a question posed by Damian Foxall, sustainability manager of the 11th Hour Racing Team, during episode 96 of the podcast that we try to unpack. Foxall reflects on a successful 2023, in which his team was crowned champions of The Ocean Race. At the end of the season, it also produced a sustainability report full of achievements and case studies. In addition, Kristen Fulmer, head of susta...

Collectively, more than three-quarters of the fans of Bohemian FC, Club Brugge KV, FC St Pauli, FC Twente, Ferencvárosi TC, Real Betis and SV Werder Bremen believe their clubs and football in general need to do more to support and accelerate the shift to a lower carbon society. But how can football clubs position themselves as the drivers of this transition – and crucially, how can they ensure that transition is just and beneficial for their local communities. That’s what we try to unpack in ...

Protecting humans, animals and plants. That’s what climate justice boils down to, says Jessica Murfree. In this edition of the podcast, Murfree (sport ecologist and assistant professor at the University of Cincinati) and Claire Poole look ahead to the Sport Positive Summit, exploring how the industry can position itself best to promote climate action and justice through thoughtful discourse. The episode focuses on the importance of diverse perspectives, risk management and using nuance ...

Dr. Maddy Orr, Bob Ramsak and Dr. Sheila Nguyen were the three guests as The Sustainability Report Podcast came back after a six month rest. While Ramsak (head of sustainability for World Athletics) and Nguyen (head of sustainability for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023) spoke about managing the environmental impact of two of the year’s biggest sporting events, Orr discussed the disruption sport had experienced as a result to extreme weather in recent months. All th...

Football fans are often treated as a problem. But, actually, when it comes to throwing their weight behind large societal issues – such as anti-racism and refugee support – they can be a significant part of the solution. That’s according to Jenny Amann and Mark Doidge, doctoral researcher and senior research fellow respectively at the University of Brighton. Their latest piece of research, titled ‘Mobilising Football Fans on Climate Change’, explores how this diverse group of people, brought ...

A focus on purpose and sustainability is shifting sports partnerships from traditional transactional deals to deeper, strategic, holistic relationships. That’s according to Mya Doelling, the global partnerships manager for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). And in this episode of the podcast, she explains how purposeful partnerships are gaining traction in sport, using the IOC’s Climate Action Awards partnership with Airbnb, Deloitte and P&G as cases in point. Together with her co...

“Part of the feast – not a spectator in it.” Using the words of the renowned Australian environmental philosopher and writer, Val Plumwood, Rebecca Olive reflects on the vulnerability she felt when swimming in the ocean, a few hundred metres away from the shore, with no one close enough to save her if something unexpected occurred. During episode 84 of The Sustainability Report Podcast, the senior research fellow at RMIT University talks about her research, which investigates the re...

Support and practical help, or lack of, is often the number one reason for inaction when it comes to sustainability. The will is there, but the fear persists that it won’t be done right, leading to a number of negative consequences. In episode #81 of the podcast, we explore the ASAP (As Sustainable As Possible) project, in which three National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with relatively mature approaches to sustainability (Finnish, Danish, German) support three mentee NOCs who want to reach a s...