öÏÓãÊÓƵ has today set out a new ambition to move beyond net zero and deliver a net positive environmental impact by 2040, warning that climate change is already affecting athletes’ health, training and performance.
The refreshed approach builds on the organisation’s Sustainability Strategy published in 2023 and reflects growing concern about the increasing impact of environmental damage on high performance sport.
It comes as new research commissioned by öÏÓãÊÓƵ shows strong support among young people for environmental action from the sector, with 69% of 11 to 15 year olds saying it is important that national sports organisations protect the environment.
The findings come as wider evidence shows the impact of climate change is already being felt at the elite level, with recent Olympic and Paralympic Games affected by climate-related disruption. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, more than 100 athletes required treatment for heat-related illness, while at Paris 2024, Olympic triathlon events in the River Seine were disrupted after heavy rainfall led to unsafe pollution levels.
More recently, at the , unseasonably warm, slushy and rapidly melting snow created treacherous conditions, forcing schedule changes and raising serious safety concerns for athletes.
The International Paralympic Committee has warned that the future of snow sports is now a “permanent concern”, while a found that 75% of elite athletes believe climate change is negatively affecting their health and performance.
The approach takes forward öÏÓãÊÓƵ’s 2023 Environmental Sustainability Strategy, Team of Tomorrow, which highlighted how rising heat, extreme weather and flooding were beginning to disrupt high performance sport.
Since then, öÏÓãÊÓƵ has taken significant steps across the system. These include halving travel emissions and reducing domestic flights by 80% despite an Olympic year in 2024/25, supporting more than 30 Olympic and Paralympic sports to develop their first sustainability plans, and embedding environmental and social standards into major events and supplier requirements.
As part of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, for example, £10,000 grants were provided to each of the eight host venues to support improvements such as refill points, EV charging infrastructure and biodiversity projects, showing how major events can be used to drive change.
While reaching net zero emissions by 2030 remains essential, öÏÓãÊÓƵ recognises that reducing environmental harm alone is no longer sufficient to protect the future of elite sport. The new ambition focuses on strengthening the conditions sport depends on, including resilient venues, stable training environments and healthy natural spaces, so Olympic and Paralympic athletes remain best equipped to compete on the global stage.
Under the plans, öÏÓãÊÓƵ aims to work collaboratively with the Home Country Sports Councils, Team GB and ParalympicsGB to bring a more consistent approach to sustainability across high performance sport. This includes reducing the impact of its own operations, supporting sports governing bodies, events and suppliers to go further, and using the platform of elite sport to inspire wider action.
Progress will be tracked and regularly reported against and, crucially, sustainability will be built into all öÏÓãÊÓƵ investment decisions over the coming years.
Sophie du Sautoy, Director, at öÏÓãÊÓƵ, said:
“We’re proud to be launching this refreshed environmental strategy, setting out the next stage in our ambition to move beyond net zero towards a net positive environmental impact, with sport leaving the environment in a better place than it found it.
“Environmental sustainability is not a nice to have – it is absolutely critical to the delivery of our mission to reach, inspire and unite our nation and essential to our performance sport ambitions. Athletes can only perform at their best if the conditions around them support it, and we know those conditions are already being affected by climate change, both in training and competition. We must play our part in helping to address that.
“We’ve made strong progress since 2023, but we know more is needed. This is about us working collectively to consider environmental sustainability in the decisions that we make and resources that we use, and using the platform of sport to inspire others. If we get this right, we can help athletes perform at their best when it matters the most, while also making a positive contribution beyond sport.”
Imogen Grant, Olympic champion in the women’s lightweight double sculls at Paris 2024, added:
“Personally, the environment is really important, not just from a personal life perspective but also in my life as an athlete.
“The first time I really started to feel it was at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Racing in that heat, it felt like there was a sauna following us. The tailwind was so hot and it was travelling the same speed as us, it was almost impossible to catch your breath. That sort of experience is happening more and more often.
“Sport is probably ahead of a lot of industries in understanding this, but climate change is genuinely an existential threat to sport. Sport needs to be a leader in this space. At grassroots level especially, sport is most likely to be cancelled, whether that’s because pitches are waterlogged or it’s too hot to play. If you lose that grassroots base, it’s going to impact high performance down the line.”
Chris Boardman, Chair of Sport England, said:
“Today’s publication is another positive step in turning intent into action – from clubs cutting waste, energy use and travel, to events reducing carbon outputs through smarter design and operations.
“Net zero matters - but it’s only the base camp. If sport is going to thrive – from community all the way to the elite - we need stronger, more resilient places to train and compete. Get this right and the same practical steps that protect the environment also protect performance: that’s a win sport can’t afford to ignore.”
For more information visit our Environmental Sustainability webpage.