Millions of people engage in sports, recreation, and physical activities on a weekly basis. Together, we bear a significant responsibility, not only in altering our practices but also in leveraging our collective voice to effect change.
British Fencing has several initiatives to promote sustainability, including an Environmental Working Group. In December 2023 BF has opened an Environmental Survey which it invites all members to complete. We’re looking for the best ideas from the fencing community, and we are particularly working to make the upcoming events in 2024 under our control as sustainable as possible.
In September 2023, GB foilist and Olympian Marcus Mepstead won an IOC award in the Sustainable Travel category of the IOC Climate Action awards. Mepstead, a long-time environmental advocate who has done work for the Trees For The Future charity, was shortlisted in both the Athlete Advocacy and Sustainable Travel categories. He won the latter award along with World Sailing and the Spanish Olympic Committee.
In addition to selling his car and opting to commute to training on foot and by bike, Mepstead implemented a seasonal travel plan that minimises emissions. “After my World Championship result in 2019 I was then in a position where I could really focus a little bit more on the sustainability side of being an athlete, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. I guess I’ve always been very conscious of of climate change. What’s been going on the world around us, then the individual and the large scale impact on on the world that everyone has.”
“I work out my carbon contribution from all the flights I take to compete, and offset it, and also then promote working with the charity and giving them a platform using my social media to basically advocate and promote what they do. We don’t get to choose which competitions we go to, because we have to go everywhere to collect points for Olympic qualification. So for me, the biggest thing I could do was was offset my carbon from my travel. When the end of the season comes, because we’ve had so many changes recently, I can recalibrate if I need to add more on on that. As well as that, I promote working with the charity and giving them a platform using my social media to basically advocate and promote what they do.”
While not everyone is an internationally travelling athlete, there are always ways to implement ideas based on your own – or your club’s – personal circumstances. For some ideas, Sport England have some excellent resources on sustainability, summarised in this PDF: Becoming more environmentally sustainable ⚔️