Sustainable Sport Events

Sport events inspire millions of people and are important events for the host cities, spectators, and athletes alike. They are also a major challenge to environmental policy.

Sustainable planning and execution is an important aspect of sport events. This way, they can be catalysts for the sustainable development of both urban centres and athletics, while at the same time establishing eco-political models within society at large. Along with over 120 other UNESCO member countries, the German Federal Government committed to the sustainability of major sport events at the 2013 World Conference of Sport Ministers (MINEPS). It called on all stakeholders to ensure that investments in infrastructure and sport venues meet social, economic, cultural and ecological sustainability requirements.

The “Environment and Sports” advisory council of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) considers it necessary to aim for the highest standards in the area of “sport events and sustainability”. The council has therefore adopted the following positions and made the following demands based on many years of practical experience, research results and current societal challenges.