By virtue of its prominence and influence, sport can become a powerful agent for change, leading society at large. It can lead by example, showing other sectors and the general public the road to and the benefits of sustainability.
Sports organizations can act as catalysts to protect and enhance the environment. They can work with government and industry to encourage them to bolster their attempts to improve environmental conditions.
Success stories |
| In Sydney, Homebush Bay, which was for decades an environmental liability as a toxic waste dump, was restored as a safe recreational site because it was chosen as the main site for the Olympic Games. |
| The 2008 Olympic bid in Beijing has been the impetus for a massive air quality campaign that has seen a significant reduction in air pollution due to the pressure from the bidding committee to provide a safe environment for competition. |
Sport has the power to unite people around common projects that benefit the natural environment and the community. An excellent example is the MathareYouth Sports Association (MYSA).
It
is perhaps a strange irony that this most powerful vision of sport’s
future should be born not in the wealthy cities of Europe and North America
but in seemingly desperate conditions of an African slum. The sporting
vision of MYSA is surely the closest thing yet to a working model of sustainable
sport: through shared responsibility and community participation the complementary
goals of better human and environmental health, greater recreational opportunities
and, personal and community growth are all achieved.
Using the popular appeal of sport, a group of kids from a slum in Nairobi,
Kenya, set about tackling the interrelated problems of pollution, disease,
crime, addictions and general lethargy from which they suffered.
What started out as a sport/environmental clean-up programme in 1987 has
expanded to include many other initiatives. More
about MYSA