"Sustainability in sports is much more than just using clean energy": Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President of Corporate Services at Tata Steel
In various industries, like sports, there's a big focus on ESG, which stands for environmental, social, and governance issues. This is shaping how things will work in the future. Sports have a big impact on society, and when groups decide to make changes, they can be really successful. We've seen this with how football has supported equality, working with organizations like "Show Racism The Red Card."
But now, let's think about sustainability in the same way. When we look at sports events, we often see them in separate parts – the players, the groups, the fans, the suppliers. This makes it hard to understand the whole picture. So, what if we start looking at the entire process from the very beginning to the end? That's the real solution.
Just as football's efforts have made progress against racism, sports can also make a big difference for the environment. The catch is that we need to stop thinking about sports as separate pieces and start seeing how everything fits together.
This article by Chanakya Chaudhary, the Vice President of Corporate Services at Tata Steel, embarks on a journey through the realms of sports and sustainability. It reveals how this fusion could not only reshape the playing field, but also inspire a holistic shift in our way of life.
"Sports are much more than just entertainment": Mr Chanakya Chaudhary, VP of Corporate Services at Tata Steel
The industrialization of leisure was among the many remarkable changes that were ushered in the 20th century. Think about this a bit. Today music, movies, and sports are multi-billion-dollar industries with an audience (or consumers) in practically every corner of the world. This has created stars who have made their way into elite billionaire and millionaire clubs.
Among these many leisure activities, sports in my opinion stand out as a prime candidate to understand how recreational pursuits can be made sustainable as well.
Let me first acknowledge that sports are much more than just entertainment. Additional reasons for their universal appeal are that they promote good physical and mental health, and have always been a great medium to motivate the youth to cultivate and imbibe good values like team spirit, sportsmanship, leadership etc.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. Sport has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there was only despair.”
But sports in the 21st century can deliver a lot more, one of the aspects being environmental sustainability. While most fans may not associate their favorite leisure activity with climate change or carbon footprint, the fact is that sports are no different from any industrial or commercial ventures that impact our environment. Of the approximately 150 sports stadiums in India, a third of which are for cricket, only a handful use clean energy like solar power.
Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium became the world’s first solar-powered cricket stadium in 2015, as part of its preparation for the Indian Premier League.
Others have also followed suit since then, including the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad which was inaugurated in 2020. Not only is it the world’s largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of more than 130,000, but it is also powered by solar rooftops. Globally, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the first major sporting event in the world that made headlines with its green message – “Be Better, Together.”
From convenience to consciousness: Tata Steel Corporate Services' VP Chanakya Chaudhary rethinks sports environmental impact
Sustainability in sports is much more than just using clean energy. From rainwater harvesting and waste treatment plants to using green cement and steel in construction, the scope for building sustainable sports infrastructure is quite vast. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, for example, showed us how to use recycled material. This included athletes’ beds being made from cardboard, podiums made from recycled plastic, and medals that were made from recycled electronic devices – all adding up to an amazing “circular sports economy.”
To appreciate the value of sports in achieving our sustainability goals, we must first look at the big picture, not just the event i.e., a game or a tournament. Sports present a huge ecosystem, much like any industrial activity that heralded our modern civilization.
Vast quantities of natural resources go into sports, from making equipment and merchandize to organizing events that put an enormous pressure on the environment. For example, day and night games have managed to draw huge crowds because of the convenience factor, particularly from the working population.
The least we can do to counter the environmental impact of lighting up stadiums is to use renewable energy as the source of electricity. Since 2020-21, we even have a Formula E championship (electric racing cars). It is organized by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), which made Formula One championship a sport that is patronized by millions around the world.
If we can shift our perspective a little bit and look at sports infrastructure as any other commercial or industrial equivalent, we will find ample ways to make the sector more sustainable. Apart from choosing clean energy, we can create shining examples of how far we can go by recycling water and waste, and reusing concrete and steel from demolition sites to replace new materials, at least partly.
Sustainable or green sports have a huge scope in a country like India. Not only are we a sports-loving nation, but the sheer variety that we host and play is quite impressive. We are not just a cricket country anymore. Recent successes in international sporting platforms like Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games or Asian, in terms of medal hauls, have made many more sports popular in India. As such, sustainable sports can be the gateway to living a sustainable life too.