Why Life Cycle Assessment is important for sports organisations
Across the sports industry, there has been increasing pressure from governing bodies and fans to demonstrate commitment to environmental sustainability.
Measuring environmental performance is essential to achieve effective emissions reductions. An organisation’s carbon footprint is a widely understood and accepted form of measurement within sports and has been used by Formula 1 and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games.
An example of leading climate action within sport governance includes the UNFCC Sport for Climate Action requiring sporting organisations to develop clear strategies to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. In 2022, Silverstone became the first motor racing venue to join this programme and has been working collaboratively with the global sporting community on solutions to climate change.
Additionally, emissions reporting has historically focused on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, but has more frequently targeted Scope 3 emissions, indirect emissions that occur along the value chain. It is in the realm of Scope 3 emissions and impacts beyond carbon footprints that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has emerged.
What is a Life Cycle Assessment?
A LCA is a structured and standardised method of measuring emissions associated with a good or service. LCAs utilise life cycle thinking which considers each stage, from resource extraction to End-of-Life (EOL) treatment of a product and includes these in the calculations. By considering the full cycle, LCA avoids burden shifting - in which reducing environmental impact at one life cycle stage increases it during another.
Carbon footprinting is a type of LCA if all life cycle stages are included within the studied scope, but this does not maximise LCA’s potential as a tool. LCA has the capability of being much more holistic where multiple impact categories can be assessed together.
How does A Life Cycle Assessment work?
There are four main phases of a LCA as set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). These phases are: Goal and Scope Definition, Inventory Analysis, Impact Assessment, and Results Interpretation.
Goal and Scope Definition involves detailing the study goal, system boundaries, and model assumptions. The next step - Inventory Analysis, requires the collection and processing of inventory data, including all environmental inputs and outputs of the defined system.
The Impact Assessment step then takes the inventory data and specifies the environmental impacts using a specific assessment method. There are a variety of global and regional methods covering a range of impact categories from human health to resource depletion. Results of impact assessment are then interpreted relative to the original study goals.
Real Betis, one of Spain's most beloved football clubs worked with a social entrepreneur project - Gravity Wave, to turn plastic pollution from the ocean into stadium seating.
Benito Villamarin stadium’s seats are made with fishing nets recovered from seas and ports. Find out more about the project here.
Image: ©Gravity Wave.
How has Life Cycle Assessment been used within sport?
Most notably, LCAs have been used within Motorsport. Formula E has very publicly demonstrated how LCA learnings have been integrated within vehicle design. Season 7 saw new recycling solutions for various components, including chassis materials, batteries, and tyres. Gen3 cars racing this year will be the first formula car to align life cycle thinking.
Similarly, the S1-X racing scooter used in the eSC Championship has been developed with a LCA in which the scooter has a fully recyclable battery, natural flax fibre bodywork, and natural tyres.
Furthermore, Twickenham stadium have worked with Lyfecycle to turn plastic cups waste at its matches into benches which were then distributed to grassroots rugby clubs.
In the past decade or so, LCA has come to play a core role in global climate action. LCAs are only beginning to catch on in the sport industry but have already proved incredibly useful and an important step in helping supporting stakeholders to understand and make more well-informed decisions regarding carbon emissions.
Players sit on the benches created by recycled plastic cups.
Image: Twickenham Stadium
Enovation Consulting provides a holistic approach to guide sports organisations through the process of a Life Cycle Assessment.
Leveraging the power of data, we help our clients to understand their carbon footprint, working with them to calculate their baseline, and identify opportunities to reduce emissions. Our technical team provides life cycle assessments, identifying carbon footprint hot spots and recommending associated reduction strategies, including second life and end-of-life solutions for materials.
Get in touch to speak to our team of experts who will be happy to support.