Home Institution

University of Arkansas

Publication Date

Spring 2022

Program Name

Switzerland: Banking, Finance, and Social Responsibility

Abstract

For hundreds of years, sports have provided a platform of entertainment that serves its main core purpose of bringing groups of people together. Today it is a global tradition that promotes an inclusive society and allows an educational experience for the athlete and the fan. Sports are a possible catalyst in striving for global objectives. The United Nations created the Millenium Development Goals which were eight goals proposed in the year 2000. Aimed to work toward the biggest problems we as a global community face. Fast forward fifteen years and the new Sustainable Development Goals are created. They consist of seventeen goals that crave action by every country and cover a broad range of subjects. Sports can directly serve as a bridge in raising awareness of issues surrounding the goals. Athletes, sporting event staff, travel tourism companies, fans, and International Sports Federations have not always put the environment or social inclusion efforts first when it comes to sport. However, it has the power to change the world, once said by Nelson Mandela, a South African political icon who believed the power of sport can do the unimaginable. Sustainability is challenging for sporting events that host competitions with numerous crowds, or sports like biathlon, that previously used harmful wax for the skis and that are reliant on exact amounts of snow at the right time. Even though they have solved the issue by using artificial snow, the climate isn’t getting any better and those methods take up resources. International and local sports organizations deal with sustainability issues environmentally, socially, and economically. Practicing innovation in these three pillars of sustainability and implementing them into a sports organization or event creates value directly for the organization, the surrounding area, its fans, and the environment. Having sports entities use sustainability as a foundation in their practices is crucial to sports innovation.

Disciplines

Civic and Community Engagement | Development Studies | Sports Studies | Sustainability

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