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England Athletics launches new sustainability strategy

England Athletics’ new sustainability strategy and vision aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is built around the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) principles of sustainability framework.

The strategy will also be utilised to engage and inspire across the England Athletics family of clubs, RunTogether groups, athletes and runners, as well as event providers and facilities, to consider the impacts of their own activities and services. Importantly, this strategy will provide methods of measuring and tracking sustainability impact and progress across social, economic, and environmental impact areas so that any progress can be accurately measured.

Commenting on the Sustainability Strategy; England Athletics CEO, Chris Jones said:

“Our new sustainability strategy recognises the importance of embedding the principles of environmental, social, and economic sustainability as an integral part of ensuring the success and longevity of England Athletics’ long-term strategy for athletics and running.

“Whilst as a sport we have made a significant contribution to social sustainability, supporting the health and wellbeing of communities, we have made less progress on environmental sustainability.  This strategy sets out a road map for what we will do across the three sustainability areas both in our own operations, as well as support across our networks of clubs, RunTogether groups, competition providers, road race organisers and facilities.”

The full strategy (PDF 3MB) is complemented by a summary version (PDF 2MB) and an update to the England Athletics long term strategy which has been updated to embed sustainability principles.

England Athletics recognises that whilst improving the sustainability of our central operations, procurement and event delivery is important, we can have an even bigger impact through advocacy and support for the wider athletics and running community. We will be issuing guidance for clubs, RunTogether groups, facilities, race directors and competition providers early next year to help them on their sustainability journey. This will be supported by regular webinars, additional content and sustainability campaigns. We are also expanding the role of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager to include sustainability to provide an ongoing dedicated supporting resource.

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