Seare Weldezghi of the Athlete Refugee Team visits the biodiversity map in Copenhagen (© World Athletics)
World Athletics is proud to announce it has become signatory to the Sports for Nature Framework, a global initiative aiming to deliver transformative action for nature through sports.
Launched in 2022, the framework sets out four key principles to help sport organisations protect and restore biodiversity and reverse nature loss:
· to protect nature and avoid damage to natural habitats and species;
· restore and regenerate nature wherever possible;
· understand and reduce risks to nature in their supply chains; and
· educate and inspire positive action for nature across and beyond sport.
‘Protecting nature helps to protect the long-term future of our sport’
Speaking at a signing ceremony today in the Danish capital on the eve of the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: "Doing what we can to protect nature helps to protect the long-term future of our sport. Our sport, all sport, depends on healthy ecosystems, clear air and clean water.”
"This is an issue that our athletes care deeply about," Coe continued. "Nature is where they train, where they compete, where they relax and reflect. We must take steps where we can to act on those concerns."
Athletics Kenya joined World Athletics as a signatory of the Framework, which now includes more than 150 federations, leagues and clubs as members.
"Environmental changes are affecting athletics significantly in Kenya and the African Region,” said Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei, who also attended the ceremony. “It is important that Athletics Kenya is committed to restoring and preserving nature for the benefit of our athletes and the sport."
To mark the occasion, World Athletics released a video comprised of messages from several of its Champions for a Better World, a group of athletes who are lending their voices to sustainability campaigning within the sport.
"Signing this framework is really important for World Athletics, and for all sports, because we depend on nature to do our sport," said reigning Commonwealth pole vault champion Eliza McCartney, one of athletes who participated in the video. "It's something that's integral to our lives as athletes so it means a lot to us to be a part of that. And I'm very proud to be part of this.”
Olympians Elena Vallortigara, Sam Mattis, Ajla Del Ponte and Rhydian Cowley also contributed messages.
Biodiversity assessments for all championship hosts
As part of its commitment to the Framework, World Athletics will:
· further embed biodiversity consideration in event delivery through the Athletics for a Better World (ABW) Standard by strengthening tools and guidance so it becomes a practical, measurable part of sustainable event delivery
· incorporate biodiversity considerations into the ABW Impact Standard for Federations (to be launched in 2027), to encourage its 214 member federations to drive positive change for nature,
· continue to provide athletes, those at both the professional and grassroots levels, with platforms to voice their environment concerns and to champion solutions through a dedicated newsletter and annual campaigns, and
· require all hosts of World Athletics Championship events from 2027 to undertake a biodiversity assessment pre-event to help with mitigation and risk management planning, and post-event for accountability, future benchmarking and event legacy.
Hosts will use the BENCHES Biodiversity Assessment Tool to identify, measure and mitigate biodiversity impacts across their value chains and ecosystems. The groundbreaking tool was developed by the BENCHES (Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Nature Conservation Helped and Enhanced by Sports) consortium, an Erasmus+ funded project on biodiversity management in sport, of which World Athletics is a partner.
Addressing the triple planetary crisis
Together, these actions commit World Athletics to addressing all three elements of the UN’s triple planetary crisis framework: climate change through the Sport for Climate Action Framework, pollution through air quality work conducted by its Health and Science Department, and biodiversity loss through the Sports for Nature Framework. All three are also covered in its 10-year Sustainability Strategy, whose midway review was published in June.
Sports for Nature is a joint initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Olympic Committee (IOC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy.
Susan Gardner, Director of Ecosystems Division at UNEP, said: "As a runner, I know personally how closely sport connects us to the natural world. Athletes everywhere depend on healthy nature to train, compete and thrive — and many of those places are under growing pressure. World Athletics and Athletics Kenya have an extraordinary reach, and with it an opportunity to inspire millions of people to protect and restore nature. I am delighted they are joining Sports for Nature and look forward to seeing their commitment turned into action.”
As part of its sustainability activations in Copenhagen, World Athletics produced a Copenhagen urban biodiversity map, illustrating some of the hundreds of plant and animal species that live along the half marathon course at different times of the year. On display at the race expo, which is expected to attract more than 130,000 visitors in the lead-in to this weekend’s races, the map includes a call to action inviting runners to help preserve the city’s biodiversity during their training and competition. The map also highlights the work of the BENCHES project.
Susanne Pedersen, Director of the IUCN Centre for Science and Knowledge, who attended the ceremony, said: “It is fantastic to see World Athletics and Copenhagen Zoo, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, joining forces to celebrate Copenhagen’s remarkable biodiversity and share it with such a broad audience. This is sport at its best: using its reach to connect people with nature and showing what can be achieved when the sport and nature communities work together - exactly the spirit of the Sports for Nature initiative!”
Sports for Nature aims to deliver transformative action for nature through sports, by 2030 and beyond, enabling sports to champion nature and contribute to its protection and restoration. It provides a game plan for sports --at all levels-- to accelerate and inspire others to take action for nature.
BENCHES consortium partners include World Athletics, the International Biathlon Union, World Sailing, Benfica, the Italian Canoe and Kayak Federation and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies.
