Many sporting and cultural events are held in natural environments rather than man-made facilities, giving them additional responsibility to protect their host ecosystems and minimise negative impacts on the surrounding landscape and its biodiversity. They should, in fact, go further still and seek to enhance the environment wherever they can. Sustainable events have potential to do so in everything from creating accessible new open spaces and mitigating against urban heat island effects to alleviating flood risks and impacts, supporting food production and improving soil stability, air quality and soundscapes.
What to measure
The OECD recommends using the following indicators as measures of environmental protection and positive ecosystem impact:
- Event-related spending on maintaining or improving areas of land
- Percentage use of green vs brownfield sites
- Areas of protected land disrupted/developed - m²
- Number of ecosystems disrupted/developed
- Percentage biodiversity Net Gain or Loss
- Number of initiatives addressing local environments and biodiversity (ASOIF reference EN-LB2.1)
- Noise pollution - dB(A) level
- Air pollution
The OECD considers these impacts to contribute towards the UN SDG Good Health and Well-Being (Target 3.9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Targets 11.4 and 11.6), and Life on Land (Targets 15.5 and 15.a).
Protecting ecosystems and promoting biodiversity: How to measure it
Event organisers can design activities that address local or national environmental issues or support the achievement of objectives around them, and measure the impact of their delivery.
Alternatively, they may be able to contribute to pre-existing initiatives to maintain (or increase) local biodiversity and preserve the ecological landscape. Again, by defining their contribution to these programmes, event organisers can measure their impact.