Sustainable Events Management:

 

Sustainable Events Communications:  Best Practice Guidance & Examples

 

 

 

This page includes:

• Best practice examples from events
• Best practice guidance for organisers from the World Athletics Sustainable Events Management System, and
• additional resources

 

Attention event organisers: 

- Did you know that our Sustainable Events Resource Centre has 13 templates available to help with your sustainability planning and reporting? 

- What are some of the ways that you have communicated your event's sustainability ambitions, activations and achievements? Let us know so we can share them here with others. Get in touch at sustainability@worldathletics.org.

 

Last updated: 19 October 2025

 

 

Sustainability Communications - Recent Best Practice Examples

 

 

 

18 October 2025

Making sustainability engaging at the Berlin Half Marathon 

 

Organisers of the Generali Berliner Halbmarathon have made protecting nature as the basis of human life a “top priority” of organising the event, committing to three dimensions of sustainability in economic development, social justice and environmental protection.

 

A dedicated sustainability section on the event website breaks down organisers’ commitments, including working with Berliner Stadtmission to collect used but good condition running shoes and clothes to donate to people in need, and behaviour changes that runners can make to be more sustainable, such as compensating for flight emissions if travelling to the half marathon by plane.  

 

With environmental behaviours at the event in mind, take a look at the event organiser's animated video below.

 

 

 

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02 August 2024

Transportation signage and messaging at Paris 24 venues in Marseille

 

Encouraging spectators to use public transportation was a key delivery element of the Paris 24 Olympic organisers, including at their smaller or satellite venues. Here are a few examples from Marseille, host to the Olympic Sailing competition and several women's and men's football matches.

 

The first is at a major intersection about a ten minute walk from the main train station, St. Charles, listing several option and an estimate of the time needed to reach the venues - including active options such as bicycling or walking. (Given the 30-35 degree Celsius conditions, I wonder how many walked the roughly 60 minutes.) 

 

The next two are in the station, making it very clear, through very bright and clearly (by now!) identifiable branding.

 

 

 

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24 July 2024

Holistic internal communication at the Istanbul Half Marathon

 

At the 2024 Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon, volunteers were taught about the historical and cultural significance of the course and the city’s iconic landmarks. 

 

This is an environmentally conscious and inclusive approach to event management, valuing the contributions of volunteers and enabling them to subsequently teach race participants and spectators about Istanbul’s landmarks. 

 

 

 

 

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15 July 2024

Web page example: Vienna City Marathon

 

The Vienna City Marathon launched its website's sustainability page in the lead-in to their 2024 edition, one that serves as a really nice example of a starting point for events looking to add one of their own.

 

 

It's got everything you need to set the stage: an extensive list of some of VCM's key sustainability initiatives, both at the organisational level and HQ level, and those organised for the event itself. And there are several, which include careful waste separation and management, the use of no-emission vehicles during the event, and a heavy focus on using reusability or products made of 100% recycled materials.

 

Vienna City Marathon has also produced a 12-page sustainability guide which can be downloaded from the sustainability page.

 

 

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24 October 2023

Communicating and engaging with fans: the Green Goal initiative at the 2022 World Floorball Championships

 

Organisers of the 2022 World Floorball Championships, which were held in Zurich, set a target of cutting in half the CO2 emissions per person from the previous edition of the championships, held in Prague in 2018. It was an ambitious target, one they met. A full report is here.

 

One of the communication tools the LOC used was to include key messaging in the event's Fan Guide, which provided practical ways that fans coming to the event could contribute to that 50% reduction target. This one included the goals of the project, information about a partnership with local public transportation providers and some information about the food and catering available.

 

This is a good example of a tool that can easily replicated at any event and distributed to spectators via the event website, ticketing outlets or pre-event communications. 

 

 

 

 

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27 June 2023

Athletes 'Leave no Trace' pledge at the WMTRC Innsbruck-Stubai 23 

 

Organisers of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships Innsbruck-Stubai asked all participating athletes to sign and adhere to a 'Leave no Trace' pledge which was incorporated into the event's opening ceremony whose theme was about water with the message: trail runners and mountain runners are like water, they make their way through nature without hurting it and instead become one with it. 

 

Here, athletes Johanna Hiemer of Austria and Stian Angermund of Norway recite the pledge at the opening ceremony on behalf of the athletes.

 

Athletes also signed a pledge wall which was on public display throughout the championships.

 

 

 

 

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Sustainability Communications - Best Practice Guidance

 

 

 

All event personnel have a responsibility to lead by example by understanding and delivering the best practice approach. This requires the ability to communicate the sustainability commitment amongst colleagues as well as to partners, suppliers and fans.

 

If there is any uncertainty as to proposed courses of action, that ideas presented are not practical, that additional support is needed to look into alternatives, or if there are ideas about what more can be done, then please flag this up with the event director/ sustainability team..

 

Communication aims

 

The aims around communicating the sustainability commitment and best practice are as follows:

 

 

 

This best practice is implemented across the event planning cycle as follows:

 

1. During event planning

 

- Integrate sustainability messaging into and throughout the event communication plan to drive awareness and action around the events’ sustainability commitments and achievements.

 

- Create a communication plan that engages stakeholders, delivering against the sustainability communication aims.

 

- Distribute information to inform and empower stakeholders to make sustainable decisions to reduce their impact throughout their engagement with the event. Their travel choices, for example, and their food choices.

 

- Media monitoring and reporting established.

 

2. During event planning

 

- Onsite assets are utilised to reinforce opportunities to minimise impact.

 

- Digital campaign engages stakeholders and provides platform for sharing individual sustainability actions and achievements whilst at the event.

 

- Media monitoring and reporting established.

 

3. During event wash up and post-event review

 

- Post event media report evaluates effectiveness of the communication strategy and achievement against the sustainability communication aims.

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Resources

 

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Videos

 

October 2023

Behind the Scenes at the World Athletics Green Zone

A video highlighting some of the activities that took place in Green Zone, a dedicated sustainability area at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. Produced for the ERASMUS-GAMES Project.

 

 

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World Athletics Sustainable Event Best Practice Guidance

 

[Sustainability Leadership] [Developing Your Sustainability Plan] [Sustainable Procurement] [Waste Management] [Energy Management] [Food Management] [Water Management] [Travel Planning] [Accommodation] [Carbon Neutrality] [Air Quality] [Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion] [Health Safety Wellbeing] [Monitoring and Reporting] [Communications]