By Adam Livshits
The place of professional sports in our society has long been a point of contention in public discourse. In the past, many have argued that the sports world should only be concerned with entertainment. This view has become increasingly outdated as climate awareness, and other transparency requirements grow. Sports’ responsibility to our society is becoming a much more complicated and pressing issue.
CO2 Emissions in Formula 1 Racing
Formula 1 has faced heavy backlash in the past few years for the emissions its racing season creates. According to a report published by the F1 governing body, the FIA, the operation of an F1 season produces an enormous 256,000 tonnes of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions per year. Of this figure, a whopping 45% comes from logistical operations, travel, and freighting between races. In response to the demand for more sustainability in the sport, the FIA created a sustainability strategy in 2020, which detailed a plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. This plan targeted sustainably-fuelled power units, efficient logistics and travel, 100% renewable powered facilities, and breakthrough carbon sequestration techniques as key actions to achieve their goal.
The FIA has taken some measures to adhere to this plan, recently introducing 10% sustainable fuels into their current cars. Nonetheless, as power unit emissions make up only 0.7% of F1’s total emitted CO2, the actual effect of this change is relatively small. Other aspects of the plan also call for questioning. For example, this past September, the FIA released their 24-race schedule for 2023. Despite their commitment to lowering travel and logistics emissions, the most harmful component of their operations, this year’s schedule features some bizarre race turnarounds. For example, from April 30th to May 21st, 2023, F1 teams will travel from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Miami and then to Imola, Italy. If F1 wants to lower logistics emissions, these counter-intuitive schedules should be the first issue to be amended.
ESG Issues in the Qatar World Cup
As the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar approaches, many issues have been raised about the country’s preparation for the event. Most publicly, Qatar has been criticized for mistreating migrant workers in its construction of new stadiums. According to a 2021 report by the Guardian, over 6500 migrant workers have died building World Cup stadiums in Qatar since the country won the right to host the tournament in 2010. Perhaps unsurprisingly, FIFA faced allegations of corrupt governance after their executives voted for the 2022 World Cup to be held in Qatar. Specifically, many believed that the Qatari government bribed members of the FIFA board to pick their nation over other bids from countries like South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the USA. While they were exonerated of these accusations after a two-year investigation, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter admitted that Qatar may have been the wrong choice for the 2022 World Cup. Finally, Qatar has stated that the 2022 World Cup will be a completely carbon-neutral event, a claim that climate experts have heavily criticized globally. The tournament will feature closely located stadiums to eliminate excessive travel and has outlined carbon credit offset and carbon sequestration plans. However, not only will Qatar require 3.6 million carbon credits to offset emissions, but their carbon sequestration programs are estimated to need 200 to 300 years to sequester significant quantities of carbon. The Qatari government has denied all allegations of ESG issue violations, but it remains unclear whether they have the grounds to do so.
The Difficulties of Accountability
So why is it so hard for sports organizations to be held accountable for the problems they create? Firstly, competitions like the World Cup and F1 season have substantial fan bases with very inelastic demands. The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sporting event globally, not by a close margin. Due to its unique nature and the fact that it only happens every four years, most fans will probably still tune in to the event, even if the tournament is highly unethical. F1 comes with its own set of complications. Exotic locations and travel are an integral part of the sport’s culture. Fuel, specifically fossil fuels, are crucial to the unmatched speed and ingenuity of F1 cars, which make races so exciting and unique. Decoupling these aspects is no easy task. Further, past the court of public opinion, there currently exists no governing bodies that can truly hold organizations like FIFA or the FIA accountable.
Nonetheless, some action is being taken. For example, Danish sportswear company Hummel recently released their “toned down” logo kit design for the Danish National Soccer team to distance themselves from the World Cup and protest the host nation. While it’s a nice touch, at the end of the day, this kit doesn’t do anything to address the issues we’ve seen in Qatar. Moving forward, real accountability must come from the fans. As long as sports organizations rake in supporters’ money, they’ll also continue to operate with indifference towards important ESG issues. Actual change will need to begin with widespread, coordinated, and forceful action from the millions around the world who watch.
