Sky Sports' Summer of Sustainability
July 23, 2021
Sky Sports News kicked off its "Summer of Sustainability" campaign on 14 July with a day of live reporting from Sky News Presenter and environmentalist, David Garrido, who is leading the coverage. The initiative addresses issues affecting our planet, depicting the impact of climate change through stories of positive climate action by sports figures, clubs and organisations in the UK.
Ahead of the UK's hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November, it will also highlight situations where climate change has impacted sports venues and people, showcasing the severity of the situation and encouraging people to take their own climate action measures.
The launch broadcast ran from 7am to 8pm and every hour visited a different sporting story and featuring a sustainability angle. The reporting was the first live TV event of its kind, consisting of five stories, at three-hour intervals, using an EV (electric vehicle) to travel between the locations.
"Visiting the stories with an EV not only put e-mobility visibly front and centre of our output on the day, but also added a sense of adventure and jeopardy in fact - we had to charge at Williams HQ to make sure we could get to Forest Green with enough battery left!” said Garrido.
The summer-long campaign will broadcast from, among others, Tottenham Hot Spur Club (reported as the most sustainable Premier League club), McLaren, Royal St. George's, The Oval, Tokyo (for the Olympic Games), Leeds Rhinos and Forest Green Rovers, with every sport and club telling their own sustainable story.
Top names are involved in the coverage, such as former Tottenham Hotspur Football Club captain Ledley King, McLaren Group Racing CEO Zak Brown, Leeds United Football Club striker Patrick Bamford, Olympic champion rower Greg Searle MBE, Extreme E driver Catie Munnings, Rugby World Cup finalist Toby Flood, Forest Green Rovers Football Club chairman Dale Vince and head coach Rob Edwards.
With climate action at the forefront of people’s minds, the creativity of the sustainability campaigns from people and organisations stood out for Garrido. These include SailGP's recently launched ‘Impact League’, which brings a competitive edge to the on-water competition and links to the sustainability element, and Planet Super League, a fan-based competition.
“The gamification of [Planet Super League] is a brilliant tool to get people involved in planet-protecting activities. In addition, Toby Flood is involved with sustainable wine, which was another unique element about sports people as entrepreneurs. That for me is the key - be creative, be inventive, dare to be different and people will take notice,” Garrido noted.
Sky, through Sky Zero, has pledged to go net-zero carbon by 2030. It has committed to reducing its impact on the environment for 15 years, but is going further by helping its audience become sustainable too. Garrido agrees that the race to net zero and encouraging others to start their own sustainability journeys is important.
“The best way to do it is to knit it into our output, normalising the conversation and using sports athletes and clubs to champion the cause of climate action. Having incredible advocates like Patrick Bamford, McLaren Racing, Extreme E and Forest Green Rovers really helps push home the message and engage the fans at the same time.”
Viewers can also see how Sky, working with governing bodies at some of the biggest sporting events of the summer, are helping sports to run and broadcast sustainable events. In addition, several editorials on climate change aired during the British Open and Grand Prix, including a 30-minute golf documentary and lifestyle article with Nico Rosberg.
Later this summer, Sky Sports Cricket will present a documentary short, The Climate Crisis of Cricket, to bring to attention the conditions of climate change that is affecting and the sport. In addition, The British and Irish Lions rugby union team and The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament across England and Wales, will also achieve Albert Sustainable Production Certification and showcase some of the climate change initiatives taking place in these sports and their coverage.
There’s plenty more to come says Garrido, who is helping to illustrate the priority Sky has placed on sustainability, particularly in the run-up to COP26. “I’ll continue to hunt down these stories and in fact some have come to me off the back of the launch day itself, which is really encouraging to see. Things should move up a gear in September when we launch the latest customer-facing campaign for Sky Zero.”