Change the course of the race.

Thought experiment: you’re organizing a marathon or a triathlon. What do you need to prepare?

First, a team of people just to keep everything straight. Thirsty participants would demand lots of water and a way to drink it quickly. Don’t forget signage and flagging so everyone stays on course. Remember all that registration paperwork ahead of time. And it would be nice to give out small ’awards’ to each participant afterward.

Multiply all that stuff by the hundreds of races held each summer and waste of marathon proportions may seem inevitable.

Fortunately, innovative and conscientious event organizers have the Council for Responsible Sport (CRS) to coach them through a comprehensive certification process for sustainable athletic events. Like a professional trainer, CRS defines realistic objectives and provides a framework for achieving them. Race organizers get guidance for reducing their events’ impact as well as a platform to promote their efforts.

“The ultimate goal is not simply to grade events on how well they’re doing, but to provide a holistic framework to measure sustainability strategies in the sports industry,” says Marisa McGilliard, Executive Director of CRS. “The greatest change will come when every member of the sports community becomes involved in a fundamental shift towards sustainability. Community partners and strong alliances are at the heart of systemic change in sports.”

Leading the way are events like the Marin County Triathlon in San Rafael, CA, which has roared out of the starting blocks with a host of innovative solutions.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers at the garbage/recycling stations, the entire event produced just 40 pounds of landfill waste in its first year. With roughly 500 participants, that’s less than 0.08 pounds per athlete; a fraction of the average 4.4 pounds/person Americans throw away every day.

The triathlon creatively minimized the pervasive problem of single-use water bottles. Before the race, athletes were encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles. At the finish line, participants were rewarded with metal, reusable Klean Kanteens®.

All paper-based materials created for the event used recycled paper and soy-based inks. Vendors were required to follow these guidelines with their promotional materials. Online registration eliminated excess paper waste.

Excitement has rippled across the country as racing events put their competitive nature to environmental good on many levels. First, athletes and spectators see what is possible and return home inspired to examine their own lifestyle choices and then become advocates. Second, other race event organizers wanting a slice of the publicity start to improve their own practices. Finally, the certified race can power up for CRS’s ultimate standard the next year – Evergreen!

The possibilities of the Council for Responsible Sport’s mission are bounded only by the enthusiastic support of athletes and spectators. Endurance races are just the beginning; think how your favorite sporting event could become more sustainable with some vision and encouragement. However you choose to participate, just know that small choices can add up to make a huge difference. You can help change the course…and the race is on!

Ready to green your local sporting events?

Visit http://resport.org and http://dswcollective.com for more ideas.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 05th, 2010 and is filed under Council for Responsible Sport, Klean Kanteens®, environmentally responsible, paper waste, sporting event, sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.