The EOC EU Office, coordinator of the OCEAN Project, proudly announces a significant milestone: the 18 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) involved in the project have measured their carbon footprint for the baseline year 2022 and committed to reducing their impact on climate change. Supported by the Öko-Institut, this marks the first step in a collective effort to tackle the challenges of climate change within sports.
The comparative analysis of the NOCs’ footprint, available here, highlights the primary sources of emission for the 18 NOCs, from transport, event organisation or energy consumption to procurement or commuting.
This process is more than a measurement, it is a commitment to action. Each NOC is now working toward adopting a carbon footprint reduction strategy by April 2025, aligned with the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CA), supported by the International Olympic Committee. The process has included specialised training for the ‘Climate Action Officers’ of each NOC on climate change; measures to reduce the impact of transport or procurement; or communication about sustainability.
As the OCEAN project enters its final phase, project partners want to ensure that the knowledge extends beyond NOCs and organise regular workshops and presentations in local sport organisations, but also schools and communities across Europe. To empower all sport organisations, the OCEAN Project is developing free tools and resources designed with and tested by the 18 NOCs. These include:
These resources will be freely available through the OCEAN Toolbox platform, making it easier for sport organisations to measure, reduce, and act on their carbon footprints.
The results and upcoming tools were presented during the webinar “Reducing Sport Organisations’ Carbon Footprint: Understanding Our Starting Point and Getting Ready for Climate Action” on 26 November. The OCEAN Project invites all sport organisations to join the movement, access the resources, and become agents of change.
On 17 September, the OCEAN Consortium gathered for the second Peer-to-Peer roundtable on their carbon footprint reduction strategies, followed by Module 4 of the Training Course, with sessions taking place on 19, 23 and 24 September.
On 17 September, the OCEAN Consortium convened online for the second Peer-to-Peer roundtable. Once again, the session proved to provide a valuable platform for Climate Action Officers to exchange ideas and gather peer feedback. It commenced with an overview of NOCs’ state progress in drafting their carbon footprint reduction strategies, followed by the presentation from 6 Climate Action Officers (from NOC Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Romania). The roundtable highlighted common challenges faced by NOCs, primarily related to transport, events, procurement and the energy consumption of their facilities. Another widely shared concern was the challenge of persuading leadership and colleagues of the importance of sustainable actions and motivating them to implement behavioural changes to effectively reduce their carbon footprint.
Module 4 of the Training Course, delivered in a three-session format, addressed two of the most critical challenges identified by Climate Action Officers during the Peer-to-Peer Roundtable, focusing on sustainable transport and procurement policies.
The first two sessions, held on 19 and 23 September, delved into sustainable transport policy. These sessions featured presentations on key initiatives undertaken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and NOC Denmark aimed at implementing efficient travel policies, followed by an inspiring presentation from the International Biathlon Union (IBU) on their transport policy implementation. These insights helped Climate Action Officers gain a clear understanding of the essential steps required to establish a transport policy, including the identification of key stakeholders and the formulation of guiding principles. Through individual and group reflection, they also identified practical measures to reduce transport-related emissions without disrupting the operations of their NOC. Alongside discussions on travel policies, participants were introduced to Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), with an in-depth analysis of the significant challenges that must be addressed for SAF to become a viable sustainable alternative in aviation. The complexity of transitioning to SAF underlined the importance of even the smallest actions taken in the present moment in contributing to the reduction of the carbon footprint.
On 24 September, the focus shifted towards sustainable procurement policy. An insightful presentation by Ben Barrett, sustainability consultant, revealed positive social, ethical and economic outcomes of sustainable procurement sourcing. Through workshops, Climate Action Officers were provided with the tools and frameworks necessary to design an effective procurement strategy, with an emphasis on establishing guiding principles aligned with their sustainability goals.
NOCs are now expected to continue developing their carbon reduction strategies, with adoption scheduled for Spring 2025. The Consortium’s collaborative efforts will resume in November with the next Peer-to-Peer Roundtable, concluding 2024 with the second Project Meeting and Module 5 of the Training Course in Prague.
The 4th Consortium Call took place on 2nd July. The EOC EU Office organised this online conference to set up a feedback session on the various actions that have been implemented since the third Consortium Call in January and to give a summary of the tasks that would be coming up.
The 18 NOCs received feedback from the Öko-Institut on the carbon footprint results and the upcoming tool. The OCEAN management team presented its approach to help Climate Action Officers obtain support from their leadership and NOC president in implementing their carbon footprint reduction strategy.
The Consortium will meet again after the Games with many meetings planned before the end of 2024. The second peer to peer roundtable on reduction strategies will be held online on 17September, followed by the Module 4 of the Training Course and the EOC Seminar. The consortium will meet again in Prague for the second Project Meeting and Module 5 of the Training Course in December. A webinar for NOCs Presidents, a workshop on the Pool of Actions and bilateral calls will also be organised before the end of 2024.
In the meantime, Climate Action Officers have been asked to continue drafting their carbon footprint reduction strategies, the adoption of which is scheduled for Spring 2025.
On 18 June, the OCEAN Project Consortium gathered online for the first peer-to-peer roundtable.
Climate Action Officers presented the state of their carbon footprint reduction strategy. This collaborative opportunity aimed to draw inspiration from others and get feedback from peers to move forward in this process. This session highlighted the common challenges faced by the NOCs and raised awareness of the range of measures that can be implemented at national level.
Congratulations to the 18 NOCs for their progress and commitment to reducing sport's carbon footprint. A second roundtable will be held in September.
On 13 May, the 4th seminar on carbon footprint measurement was held online by the Öko-Institut to discuss advancements and challenges in measuring the carbon emissions of NOCs. In addition to discussions on the scope and results of footprint measurement, valuable inputs on carbon compensation and offsetting were presented, helping NOCs work on their reduction strategies.
Tobias Wagner from the Öko-Institut kicked off the seminar with an overview of the project's phases over the past months. Two months after the meeting in Lausanne, Climate Action Officers have had the opportunity to raise any remaining questions on the scope and results of their carbon footprint measurement. Tobias Wagner presented updates to the Excel tool, which has been improved to fit better with users’ feedback. The updated tool will be available for NOCs in the Autumn, while the online tool will be ready by the end of the year.
As the NOCs started to draft their carbon reduction strategies, the inputs on carbon compensation and offsetting presented by Martin Cames from the Öko-Institut have been valuable information to help the Climate Action Officer in this process. He discussed the broader context of climate responsibility versus climate compensation and highlighted the challenges involved in purchasing offset credits and the risk of greenwashing. In fact, he warned the Climate Action Officers about the reliability of re-forestation projects in terms of offsetting and advised that these kinds of projects should be approached with caution when used as offsetting mechanisms.
The NOCs are now expected to develop their reduction strategies, the adoption of which is scheduled for Spring 2025. Seminar 5 will be held online in Autumn 2024, followed by Module 5 and a project meeting in Prague in December.
The OCEAN project is moving forward after completing the second module of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers, organised by Lina Taylor, Olympian and Founder of Climate Executive Coaching. Climate Action Officers from each partner NOC had the opportunity to receive advice on leadership in sustainability from Climate Executive Coaching professionals as well as distinguished visitors over four weeks. OCEAN was honoured to have Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, Julie Duffus, IOC Sustainability Senior Manager, and Jon Wyatt, Sport and Sustainability Director of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Week 1 – Leading for Sustainability in Sport
Climate Action Officers shared their wishes regarding their NOC's environmental future as well as the difficulties they are facing when working on their NOC’s footprint. Coaches presented the "leadership value chain" to discover viable choices for a more sustainable sports governance. Climate Action Officers were given coaching tips that included key leadership qualities on how to get everyone on board.
Week 2 – Change Management Skills – Building Opportunities
OCEAN welcomed Jon Wyatt, Sport and Sustainability Director of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), who shared its management expertise and emphasised on the importance of effective communication across different levels of sports organisations, particularly between athletes and leadership boards. Furthermore, Climate Action Officers were presented with various personality types and how to use different communication techniques according to the interlocutor through practical exercises.
Week 3 – Culture Change Skills – Transformation Through Storytelling
The third session of the Training Course aimed to provide Climate Action Officers with information on how to implement a cultural shift towards greener sports. OCEAN had the privilege of hosting Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, whose role is to strengthen collaboration and drive action from businesses, investors, organisations, cities and regions on climate change, and coordinate this work with governments and parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nigel Topping stressed the significance of good narrative and alignment of interests among many stakeholders when tackling sustainability strategy in sports.
Week 4 – Business Case for Sustainability in the Olympic Movement
Climate Action Officers had the opportunity to interact with Julie Duffus, IOC Sustainability Senior Manager, who discussed the business aspects of sustainability in sports with Manuel Parga, NOC of Spain, and Climate Executive Coaching experts. Climate Action Officers identified the beneficial impact that investing in sustainability can have on sports organisations.
The OCEAN project is thankful for the involvement of Climate Executive Coaching in this Module 2, whose specialists will continue coaching Climate Action Officers in the following weeks, this time in the format of individual meetings. The journey of OCEAN Climate Action Officers throughout the OCEAN project will continue with Module 3 in March 2023, when the consortium will assemble in Lausanne at the IOC and ANOC headquarters. Meanwhile, the Öko Institute will host Seminar 2 on carbon footprint measuring in December.
The OCEAN project is moving forward with the organization of a 2nd Seminar and the 1st Consortium Call. These two events were designed to bring further knowledge about the Carbon measurement process to the partners, but also to gather their feedback on it. Moreover, the members received additional information about external project binding together sport and environmental issue.
On the 19th of September the 2nd Online Seminar of the Ocean project dedicated to the Carbon Footprint measurement took place. This meeting led by the Öko Institut had the objective to refine and precise the criteria which will be used in the measurement of the NOCs’ carbon footprint and collect feedback on potential difficulties Climate Action Officers are facing during the data collection phase.
The project is now entering a new phase with the full completion of the measurement tool by the NOCs. The Öko Institut presented the tool they are currently designing and collected the partners’ views on potential supplementary criteria to define with precision their carbon consumption.
Additionally, partners received a presentation from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and CNOSF team. The emphasis was purposefully oriented toward the sustainability axe of the forthcoming games and the reflection which takes place months in advance to organize a sustainable event. With that objective in mind the French Ministry of sport, in collaboration with ADEME (Environmental and Energy Control Agency), the CNOSF and the Organizing Committee Paris 2024, developed an instrument able to easily estimate the carbon footprint of manifestations: The Climate Coach for Events.
Another event punctuated the OCEAN project agenda as on the 20th of September was held the first consortium call. This online meeting was led by the EOC EU office in order to establish a first feedback session on the different actions already initiated and provide an overview of upcoming tasks. The date and speaker of the October sessions was shared. Lina Taylor, a former Olympian and currently Climate Coach will be in charge of this session.
Afterwards, the discussion moved to the expectations and challenges faced by the consortium members in the implementation of the carbon footprint measurement (time required and specific methodology applied). The next step of the OCEAN project is scheduled to take place during the month of October with the beginning of the Module 2.2. Climate Action Officers will now start the complete carbon footprint measurement of their organization.
Another event punctuated the OCEAN project agenda as on the 20th of September was held the first consortium call. This online meeting was led by the EOC EU office in order to establish a first feedback session on the different actions already initiated and provide an overview of upcoming tasks.
Looking forward to the next training courses and the future module provided to the Climate Action Officers, the date and speaker of the October sessions was shared. Lina Taylor, a former Olympian and currently Climate Coach will be in charge of this session.
Afterwards, the discussion moved to the expectations and challenges faced by the consortium members in the implementation of the carbon footprint measurement. Potential obstacles expressed revolved around the comprehensive approach of measurement which requires time and a specific methodology. However, at the end of the OCEAN Project, the Climate Action Officers will have sufficient knowledge and expertise to calculate the carbon footprint of their organization on their own.
The next step of the OCEAN project is scheduled to take place during the month of October with the beginning of the Module 2.2. In the meantime, Climate Action Officers will start the complete carbon footprint measurement of their organization, following the recommendations established during the 2nd Seminar by the Öko Institut.
On 31 May, the first online Seminar on carbon footprint measurement of the OCEAN project was held. Measuring the carbon footprint of all 18 partner NOCs is one of the key objectives of the project. The process will last until 2024 and is accompanied by the Öko-Institut that provides know-how and experience in measuring carbon footprints for sport entities.
The first Seminar focused on the preparation of the measurement. In anticipation of the Seminar, all partner NOCs filled in a questionnaire about the structure of their respective organisations (e.g., number of staff, existence of subsidiary entities). After a short introduction to the basic principles of carbon footprint measurement and the different types of greenhouse gases, the findings of this questionnaire were presented by the Öko-Institut. These findings indicate a high level of heterogeneity between the participating NOCs which is an important factor for the process of measuring the carbon footprint.
For the main part of the Seminar, the experts from Öko-Institut discussed the scope of the carbon footprint, i.e., the different kinds of sources for CO2-equivalent-emissions which are included in the calculation, with the participants. As the process of assessing an organisation’s carbon footprint and collecting data involves a consequent amount of work, the process is divided into smaller parts, namely emissions from headquarters, other locations, organisation of and participation to events and Olympic Games.
The participants engaged in an intensive and productive discussions about elements that should be considered for the measurement. As every NOC is unique, the questions also covered a variety of topics. At the end of the discussion, the project-team got an overview of all the open questions, that need to be clarified to conduct the measurement in the best and most accurate way.
This measurement process was further presented by the Öko-Institut after the first discussion. The spreadsheet for collecting a first portion of data on business travels and energy consumption had been distributed before the Seminar. NOCs used the Seminar to ask for clarifications and give feedback on the contents and the availability of the requested data within their organisations.
Next steps
Eva Rebmann (Project Manager OCEAN-project) concluded the meeting by giving an overview of next steps within the project regarding the carbon footprint measurement as well as the training course for Climate Action Officers.
The training course will continue online in October 2023, before Module 3 of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers takes place at the IOC and ANOC Headquarters in Lausanne in Spring 2024.
In the meantime, the data collection for the 18 partner NOCs’ carbon footprint measurement will continue before the first results can be analysed in 2024.
The OCEAN Management Team congratulates all 18 Climate Action Officers for their commitment to making our sport more sustainable!
Following the first Module that took place in February in Brussels,, the 18 Climate Action Officers attended the second Module of the ‘Climate Action in Sport’ Training Course of the OCEAN Project online, which focused on their role and empowerment within their respective organisations.
During the first session, the Climate Action Officers received feedback and advice from experienced sustainability officers in charge of the green transition of their sports organisations.
Among them:
🔹 Bianca Quardokus, Sport Facilities, Environment and Sustainability Officer at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB);
🔹 Trine Keinicke Sørensen and Lasse Lyck from the NOC and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF);
🔹 Marleen Wielemaker, Programme Manager Sustainability at the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF);
🔹 Warwick Waters, Head of Advocacy and Stakeholders Engagement at the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC);
🔹 Riikka Rakic, Head of Sustainability at the International Biathlon Union (IBU);
🔹 Jamie McKeown, Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion Manager at World Rugby.
In a panel discussion, the speakers first presented their academic and professional backgrounds and then addressed various topics relevant to the successful completion of their missions as Climate Action Officers, such as: staff and board engagement, dedicated budget for sustainability/climate, internal and external communication, and tips for accurate carbon footprint measurement.
Based on this feedback and their personal experience, the participants were able to draw up a detailed description of the role of the Climate Action Officers in working groups (see here). To conclude, participants had the opportunity to share the first actions they implemented within their NOCs since the end of Module 1 of the OCEAN project, based on the pledges made while in Brussels (see here).
The second session was led by Matthew Campelli, Sustainability Director of Touchline and seasoned consultant on sustainability for sport organisations. In a session on the do’s and don’ts of strategic communication on sustainability, Climate Actions Officers discussed in groups the right approach to internal and external stakeholders of the NOCs, whose engagement in climate action is necessary for a credible carbon footprint reduction strategy. Participants were also asked to draft a concrete communication plan for their NOC in the framework of the OCEAN project.
The third and last session was dedicated to staff engagement and empowerment activities, with general tips as to how to build and carry messages to convince internal stakeholders to engage in climate action. This was followed by an experience-sharing on concrete activities that can be implemented within the organisation.
🔹 Lise Van Long, Sustainability Manager at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave an overview of the IOC Sustainability Strategy implemented since 2017, and then presented some concrete activities put in place to engage IOC staff and board members (e.g. Green Week, carbon budget for travelling).
Partner NOCs (especially NOC Denmark, NOC Bosnia and Herzegovina, NOC Romania and NOC Slovakia) then presented the in-house trainings and presentations already done with their staff and directors since the beginning of the project.
Module 3 of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers will take place at the IOC and ANOC Headquarters in Lausanne in Spring 2024. Until then, the carbon footprint measurement process will start with the data collection and Seminars provided by the Öko-Institut to support Climate Action Officers.
The OCEAN Management Team congratulates all 18 Climate Action Officers for their commitment to making our sport more sustainable!
