PEOPLE POWER: BUILDING REGENERATIVE COMMUNITIES THROUGH SPORTS
PEOPLE
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Inspired by Paul Hawken's vision in Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation, we've launched "Regeneration Revolution: Sport’s Solutions to Helping End the Climate Crisis." This series highlights how sports can be a dynamic force in addressing the climate crisis, with a keen focus on the nine core areas explored in Hawken's book: Cities, Food, People, Energy, Industry, Forests, Land, Wilding, and Oceans.
One of the areas Hawken emphasized was the role individuals and communities play in addressing the climate crisis. He defines this crisis as not just an environmental problem, but also a social and economic one that requires the creation of a more just and equitable society.
Hawken believes that for humanity to come together to take action on climate change, we must:
Empower people with control over their own lives and communities.
Enhance our sense of connectedness to others.
Amplify the voices of indigenous people who have lived on their lands sustainably for millennia with a deep understanding of the natural environment.
To create a more sustainable future, humans need to take an active role in the planet, their societies, and their attentiveness to diverse voices that have been drowned in the discussions addressing the climate crisis.
HOW IS THE SPORTS
INDUSTRY RESPONDING?
There are many inequities and human rights concerns within the sports industry that can be confronted to have a positive impact on people, society, and the planet.
Valuing and respecting local knowledge while remaining humble and cognizant of bias are key to paving the way to inclusive solutions. This starts with addressing the harmful narratives the sports industry has perpetuated and taking active responsibility in correcting them.
17 SPORT’S COLLABORATION WITH ZOOMPH - BIGGER THAN SPORTS
Our 2021 Bigger Than Sports report in partnership with Zoomph looked at how sports leagues, teams, and brands are driving change through social media – using the power of their platforms to open the dialogue about human-centric causes.
The report was conducted by collecting team-owned data from several major sports leagues, using an automated AI to identify posts that regarded social and environmental responsibility. The automation used a number of keywords, including the following sampling, to tag posts:
Community
Social impact
Black Lives Matter
Education
Gender
Equality
Our analysis found promising evidence that purpose can indeed fuel engagement if properly employed. We saw overarching uplifts in engagement of brand-sponsored content with a purpose-themed message, as opposed to content without this messaging, across the major sports leagues and teams analyzed.
This further demonstrates that fans – now more than ever – want their teams to have a purpose and to play a role in addressing social inequities.
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WASHINGTON COMMANDERS NAME CHANGE
After 87 years of carrying the name Washington Redskins, the NFL franchise finally changed its name to the Washington Commanders in February 2022. This was done to address the offensive stereotype represented in the original name, grounded in America’s history of violence and oppression against Native Americans.
This positive step was no doubt accelerated by the racial reckoning in America over the murder of George Floyd, but it took the team’s title sponsor FedEx threatening to sever ties with the team to make the change happen.
With many teams across various sports codes still using disparaging names, we are likely to see similar name changes taking place in the coming years as sponsors and fans use their influence to help drive progress.
As part of the 2022 AFL Sir Doug Nicholls round, the Melbourne FC was renamed the Narrm FC to embrace and understand Australia’s indigenous history and to stimulate more conversations on the topic.
Narrm is the traditional Aboriginal name for Melbourne. The club consulted with the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, who gave permission to use the Woiwurrung word and bring it to life through the team.
A limited edition range of merchandise was also released, with all profits going toward the club’s indigenous programs.
VERMONT GREEN FC ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MISSION
The Vermont Green FC is committed to building a football club that embeds environmental and social justice in its strategy, operations, and culture.
The club has mapped out five goals in this regard:
Become net zero.
To donate 1% of its annual sales to nonprofits working to address environmental justice.
To build a merchandise program that satisfies the highest standards of environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
To fight systemic racism in football.
To educate its supporters on how to influence change through the lens of environmental justice.
With these goals and the continued education of the club’s staff, players, and supporters, Vermont Green FC hopes to influence change and pave the way to a brighter future.
© adidas MFTP
In addition to addressing social inequities, sports also have the power to build communities and empower people to take action, creating impact at scale. An excellent illustration of this is the adidas Move for the Planet global activation. 17 Sport is proud to have supported the European activation of this project!
Move for the Planet harnessed the collective activity of sports communities across the world by encouraging people to turn activity into action to help save the planet. From June 1st-12th 2023, every 10 minutes of activity logged across 34 sports in the adidas running app provided a €1 donation to Common Goal. This money helped contribute to initiatives that educated and engaged communities on sustainability through sport, and turned recycled materials into sports infrastructure for underserved communities.
More than 1.2 million people supported Move for the Planet, showing how powerful sports can be in energizing people to support positive action.
THE GLOBAL SPORT AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACADEMY
In December 2022, the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) and the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) launched the Global Sport and Human Rights Academy, a series of online courses and bespoke content to democratize, disseminate, and demystify human rights for all stakeholders in sports.
This learning platform should go a long way toward strengthening the capacity of sports organizations to operate in alignment with international human rights principles and standards.
WHAT CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS?
Sports are an influential social force. With historic and current participation in human rights inequities, the industry is uniquely positioned to inspire cultural change by taking public accountability and showing real change – as well as motivating communities to take collective action.
Here are five key takeaways for how you can take the first steps toward building a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future for all:
Empowerment and Connection:
Addressing the climate crisis requires empowering individuals and communities with control over their lives, fostering a sense of connectedness among people, and amplifying the voices of indigenous communities who have lived sustainably. Sports leaders can play a key role in encouraging a sense of empowerment, connectedness, and inclusivity among their stakeholders.
Social and Environmental Justice:
Recognize the climate crisis as an environmental, social, and economic problem, emphasizing the importance of creating a more just and equitable society. Sports organizations can work toward greater social and environmental justice within their own operations and beyond.
Respect for Local Knowledge:
Valuing and respecting local knowledge is crucial in promoting just and inclusive solutions. Sports industry leaders can actively work to address and correct harmful narratives and biases, as well as respecting the diverse voices often sidelined in climate discussions.
Purpose-Driven Engagement:
Sports organizations can leverage their influence to drive positive change through purpose-driven initiatives. Engaging with social and environmental responsibility can boost fan and stakeholder engagement, as evidenced in the 17 Sport and Zoomph’s Bigger Than Sports report and Move for the Planet.
Support for Human Rights and Indigenous Culture:
Promote human rights, inclusivity, and indigenous culture within sports. Examples like the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Melbourne FC demonstrate the influence of sponsors and fans in driving progress. Additionally, initiatives such as Vermont Green FC's environmental justice mission and the Global Sport and Human Rights Academy can inspire sports organizations to prioritize human rights and environmental responsibility in their strategies, operations, and culture.
Opening a dialogue about humanity's role in the world's most pressing challenges is the first step to achieving a more sustainable, equitable future for everyone. At 17 Sport, we believe the sports industry has the power to lead the conversation.
ABOUT 17 SPORT
17 Sport exists to help businesses use the power of sport to build a more positive future for the world whilst accomplishing commercial goals.
Founded in 2020, our name is inspired by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and is anchored to SDG 17 and our profound belief in the power of partnerships. Based in 7 different countries on 3 continents, our global team of experts comprises individuals who have been at the forefront of the purpose revolution in sports and business for the last 15 years.
To find out how 17 Sport can help you activate your purpose through sports to help address the climate crisis, reach out to info@17-sport.com for a one on one consultation with one of our experts.