and climate adaptation in facilities

MANAGING “SUSTAINABILITY” AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN FACILITIES

A MATTER OF SURVIVAL

Commentary by Dr Walker J. Ross, The Sport Ecology Group, www.sportecology.org

More than just a buzzword, “sustainability” captures exactly what is needed at this moment: an economy which co-exists with the environment. Far too often, “sustainability” only implies an understanding of how sport impacts the environment. However, sport has a bidirectional relationship with the environment: environment is also impacting sport. The author advocates for adjusting our thinking to consider both directions in addressing environment and climate.

Management’s approach to sustainability Based on my own research into the perspectives that facility managers have on sustainability, there is a recognition of the importance of the topic and the need to address it. But many are prevented from adopting environmentally sustainable practices for a variety of reasons: budget, time between events, physical infrastructure capacity, person power, and lack of knowledge on the topic.

Some of these are easy to understand: new technologies can be expensive, too many events leave little time to make wholesale changes, and older buildings were not designed to accommodate current infrastructure needs. Each building also comes with its own challenges depending upon the sports and leisure activities it accommodates.

Management might recognize the need for sustainability but lacks the first-hand knowledge to do something with it – especially if people in charge have been in the industry since before sustainability was a concern. In response, often one of these two actions is undertaken: create a sustainability team or assign sustainability to one individual.

Sustainability teams have varying degrees of success but are highly dependent upon their power to make change versus recommend change. Recommendations are easy to dismiss, but we are often afraid to assign an ad hoc team (or committee) any real power. It can be difficult to strike a balance between upper-level decision-makers, lower-level employees who are responsible for carrying out these tasks, and other organisational and community members you might wish to include. Rethinking the whole organisation and beyond Sustainability is not some task that can be compartmentalized and managed by a single unit. It requires buy-in from everyone: top to bottom, laterally, inside and outside of the organisation. Stakeholders from teams, tour operators, events, governments, suppliers, environmental organisations and the community should all be involved in the process.

Adding climate to the mix Now, to address the other direction in this bidirectional relationship, you should be asking yourself the question: “Is my facility ready to cope with climate change?”

This needs to be part of your facility’s sustainability management strategy. Will you have access to the resources you need, or do you need to change your patterns of work? Will the space your facility occupies be viable for this purpose long-term?

Globally, sport is already having to adjust to warmer temperatures. FIFA has imposed water-break rules. Ski resorts are reliant upon artificial snow to stay open. Facilities are part of these efforts since they are where sport takes place: from the community level to the Olympic Games.

Concluding thoughts Managing these bidirectional environmental relationships with sport and leisure facilities is essential to the discussion of sustainability in facilities today. Know that it is a complex topic requiring complex solutions. My hope is that we can build more resilient venues that not only address the climate challenges of today but are better prepared to meet those needs of the future.

You see variations in success for individuals who get assigned sustainability too. Often sustainability becomes the responsibility of people in operations or finance. Some hire an individual whose full-time responsibility is managing sustainability, but their success depends upon their level in the hierarchy and how their work is received by others. Sometimes a single passionate individual champions sustainability, but this momentum is lost when that individual leaves or retires. About the author

Dr Walker J. Ross is a lecturer in sport management and digital marketing in the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. His main research interests are focused on sport ecology and sustainability in sport – particularly in venue management and mega-events.