For the second year running, the IBU is nominated for the IOC Climate Action Awards - this time for working with TV broadcasters, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, to measure their carbon footprint during the 2023/24 World Cup season.

Supported by Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner Deloitte, the IOC Climate Action Awards encourage, recognise and reward innovative projects from National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations (IFs) and athletes aimed at reducing the environmental impact of sport, while inspiring the wider Olympic Movement to take action.

“Climate change is taking its toll on everyone, and sport is no exception,” said Marie Sallois, the IOC’s Director of Sustainability. “We all have the responsibility to reduce our impact. The IOC Climate Action Awards aim to celebrate those that are driving climate action within the wider Olympic Movement. The high number and quality of applications we have received this year illustrate the progress made in addressing climate change across the Olympic Movement.

This year’s finalists in the IF category are:

International Biathlon Union (IBU) – for working with TV broadcasters, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, to measure their carbon footprint during the 2023/24 World Cup season and identify initiatives they can implement to reduce emissions in the future, with the aim of providing learnings for other sports. The IBU is the first Olympic IF that has looked at systematically reducing its major events’ broadcasting emissions – an area that is often deemed difficult to address.

International Canoe Federation (ICF) – for creating, with the Italian Canoe Federation, a programme called “Developing Environmental Circular Knowledge” (DECK), which identified 50 environmental management and circular economy best practices for canoe competitions, and for creating a rating tool for evaluating any type of paddling event. The focus areas include recycling and redistribution of leftover food, switching to greener mobility options like car sharing, transitioning to digital tickets to minimise the use of paper, and managing spectator movement at events to ensure the protection of biodiversity.

International Hockey Federation (FIH) – for working with the artificial turf industry to develop a new technology – Dry Turf – that reduces the amount of water needed for hockey pitches, achieving a 40 per cent reduction from London 2012 to Tokyo 2020, and an anticipated further 30 per cent reduction for Paris 2024. The aim is to replace 2,000 water-based artificial hockey pitches globally, saving approximately 7.6 billion litres of water per year. The FIH has also introduced “wet balls” that release water at the point of contact between the ball, the surface and the stick, to ensure the sport can be played at the highest level on dry turf. The project is part of the FIH’s wide-ranging sustainability strategy and a comprehensive carbon reduction plan, which includes the first-ever carbon-zero artificial turf, which is currently being used at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

World Rowing – As one of the first signatories of both the Sports for Climate Action and Sports for Nature Frameworks, World Rowing has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for many years on the conservation of water. Their latest project, “The Water Wardens”, aims to create a global movement around the need to conserve water, engaging rowers as actors of change and providing educational resources for use by organisations, clubs and schools. Activities have included Water Protection Conferences and a mobile application for the rowing community to upload data on water issues, with 145 clubs actively engaged.

World Rugby – for collaboration with its partners to develop a Carbon Emissions Reporting Tool (CERT), which enables the forecasting and measurement of emissions across events such as tournaments, meetings and events, helping overcome the lack of one-size-fits-all reporting options currently available. CERT guides rugby event organisers in identifying actions that can be taken to reduce emissions and enable knowledge sharing between World Rugby, local organising committees, national federations, suppliers and other stakeholders. Read the full press release here.