Shoreham FC and Sky Sports were among the inaugural winners of the Sustainable Sport Awards. Organised by The British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), the awards celebrate and recognise organisations which have introduced initiatives that reduce their environmental impact, while enhancing their social and economic influence.
The Sustainable Sport Awards 2021 saw winners being declared in four categories. SAPCA member TigerTurf (UK) Ltd was recognised as a runner up in the “Innovation, initiatives and products” category for its Tiger Up! range of environmentally friendly products.
The full list of winners is:
Club Strategy / Strategic Leadership Award
Winner: Shoreham FC – Net Zero by 2025
Runner up: Norwich City FC
Runner up: Southampton FC Halo Effect
Social Impact, Engagement and/or Education
Winner: People & Work – Play It Again Sport
Runner up: Planet Earth Games
Runner up: RYA Green Blue
Innovation: Initiatives and Products
Winner: Racing Foundation and Thoroughbred Breeders Association – Environment Impact Assessments and Carbon Calculations on Thoroughbred Racehorse Stud Farms
Runner up: Tiger Up!
Runner up: Planet Super League
Media and Outreach
Winner: Sky Sports – Summer of Sustainable Sport
Runner up: BBC Sport 2050
Runner up: Emergency on Planet Sport
In addition, BASIS awarded Steve Issac, recently retired as the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) Director of Sustainability, a lifetime honorary membership for his dedication to improving sustainability in golf over the past decade.
BASIS is a SAPCA partner and the two organisations have strengthened their ties over the past year. As part of this, BASIS CEO, Dr Russell Seymour, is a member of SAPCA’s technical committee and sat as one of the judges for the 2021 SAPCA Awards. Russell is also a member of SAPCA’s new Environmental Sustainability Working Group which will drive change, share best practice and set the requirements for environmental and sustainability matters within the sports and play construction industry.
The BASIS award event, held at The Oval Cricket Ground in London on 19 October, was attended by SAPCA CEO Chris Trickey, SAPCA Chair Jason Douglass and SAPCA Project Manager Colin Corline.
“These awards are a perfect reminder of all the great work done in different areas of sports to provide the sector with a more sustainable future,” said Chris Trickey, SAPCA CEO.
“It was great to see a SAPCA member recognised among the finalists too!”
“Environmental sustainability is only going to become more important for our industry and it is also at the heart of SAPCA operations going forward. Earlier this year, we set up the Environmental Sustainability Working Group, which will steer our work in this area – and we’re delighted to have Dr Russell Seymour on that team as part of our ongoing partnership with BASIS.”
Commenting on the winners and the high quality of the entries, Dr Russell Seymour said: “Our panel of judges were impressed by the calibre of entries, it was an incredibly hard process to select the winners.
“What delighted us most was how this competition provided a level playing field. We had entries from small, grassroots clubs, we had entries from Premier League football teams, but what mattered most was the amount of thought and effort each organisation put in, and the proportionate effect that it had within its community.
“With this event we have brought together organisations from all over the UK, all of which have similar planetary goals in mind. We have been able to share experiences and lessons learned, so we see this as the start of a great journey of collaboration and innovation within the UK sports industry”.
For more about BASIS, please click here.
For more about TigerTurf (UK), please click here.