Sustainable Initiatives in Sports Organizations—Analysis of a Group of Stakeholders in Pandemic Times

Abstract

This study explores the importance of environmentally sustainable initiatives in sport (ESIS) for stakeholders in pandemic times. Three topics—climate changes and energy consumption, environmental impact of sports events, and health and well-being—were considered and analysed under three sustainability forms: organisational, community, and individual. A total of 5917 stakeholders (sponsors, employees, and members) of a sports organization realised one online survey. The data gathering process occurred during pandemic times, when every kind of collective sport event was suspended to the general public. The descriptive analysis of the results is provided, and the findings reveal that health and well-being is the most valorised topic by members and employees, in a sustainable individual form. On the other hand, sponsors manifest their interest mainly in a sustainability organisational and community forms.

Fans' perceptions of pro-environmental sustainability initiatives in sport and triple bottom line benefits

“…Indeed, recent contributions start highlighting the role of environmentally sustainable initiatives in sport (e.g. Cayolla et al, 2021), even proposing a new concept for sustainability in sport studies: sport ecology (McCullough et al, 2020a). However, further developments regarding its valid and reliable measurement were needed (McCullough et al, 2020b).…”

“…Indeed, recent contributions start highlighting the role of environmentally sustainable initiatives in sport (e.g. Cayolla et al. , 2021), even proposing a new concept for sustainability in sport studies: sport ecology (McCullough et al.…”

Case Study: Marketing Communication of a Sports Organization Helping it Move towards its Sustainability

“…Advertising in sports can be associated with people's positive attitude, as reported by Cheong et al (2019) They rather see it as a part of a CSR strategy. (Cayolla et al, 2021) From a cost perspective, sponsorship is a two-tier way of advertising. It is not only about promotion itself but also about obtaining sponsorship rights.…”

“If You Don’t Know Me by Now”—The Importance of Sustainability Initiative Awareness for Stakeholders of Professional Sports Organizations

“…The International Olympic Committee, with its work entitled "Manual of Sport and Environment" [26], clarifies key concepts about sport and the environment, provides recommendations and suggests policy and concrete actions. Another study, focused on the awareness of stakeholders concerning sustainable environmental initiatives in sport (ESIS) [27] carried out by a PSO, stresses the importance of these initiatives being more publicized in order to obtain better sustainable behaviors by consumers. The study of websites of professional clubs and leagues has been used by researchers over the years [28][29][30][31].…”