Part 1: Sustainable Technologies Shaping Sport
© Tom Fisk
How can sustainable technology contribute to making sport more sustainable?
Author: Sönke Schadwinkel
We have reached a point where technology is so deeply embedded in society that we would collapse without it. Viewed neutrally, this development is fascinating at first. Technology - brought to the fore at the start of the Industrial Revolution and ever since progressing exponentially - simplifies and automates processes and changes the standard of living and lifestyle with each new generation.
In line with this, it is primarily due to commercialization and mediatisation that professional sport has developed into the global mega-industry it is today. And these two aspects are induced and favoured by technological progress.
For example, what do the immense sums of player transfers and player salaries have to do with technologization? Well, these are a by-product of high broadcasting and commercial sponsorship revenues that Clubs receive, thanks to terrific live sports broadcasting; this in turn creates demand, from which user behaviour data is collected and subsequently converted into profit. Think of the Olympic Games, an event already bursting with gigantism, how could such an event be organised without technology?
However, there is also a downside to all of this technology-influenced development of sport: white elephants, gigantic electricity consumption, mountains of waste after sporting events, resource-wasting processes for the production of sporting goods, to name but a few.
The sports industry has focused on quick profits for too long. However, the trend towards a more sustainable use of nature, its resources and human capital is beginning to emerge in the sports sector. A moment of self-reflection has arisen, from which we must ask the question: How can sustainable technology contribute to making sport more sustainable? Can sports leaders harness this understanding to change sport for the better?
To answer this, let us take a look at different areas in the sport industry that are influenced by technology to varying degrees.
Sportswear and sports equipment
When you last bought some sports clothing, what did you consider when choosing what to buy - Brand? Quality? Price? How was it produced?
While all these questions are valid when purchasing new sport clothing there is a strong indication that irrespective of what question you are asking yourself at the point of purchase, people are tending to spend more of their income, and more regularly, on sport clothing. Even the casual runner now owns a running watch, specialised accessories, shoes for every terrain, and the list goes on.
Furthermore, while the trends indicate that people are spending more, more frequently on sport clothing, they are also increasingly demanding sustainable products. A 2019 study by Deloitte found that over half the customers surveyed in Central Europe are willing to pay between €8 and €20 more for a product of equal quality but produced in a sustainable manner. While this can only be good for society at large, this particular consumer desire will create a new level of competition between sporting goods companies to see who can develop the most sustainable products; a development that could negatively impact a move to a more sustainable sporting future.
It is in this context, that we want to highlight the principle of the circular economy, an economic model where we take nature's cyclical nature as a model and attempt to replicate this in the sport industry by achieving cascading uses of materials without waste (zero waste) or emissions (zero emission). We must come to realise that only production processes with a true material loop can continue indefinitely in a world with finite resources. In a few decades, non-renewable raw materials will be exhausted as sources and the available landfill sites for waste and residue will be gone.
As such, it is important to realise that technology can facilitate the implementation of a circular economy. For example, 3D printing is a disruptive technology that could help transform the sports industry’s supply chain. Think of the fact that this technology could be used to locally manufacture new goods from recycled plastic waste, and ultimately bring benefits to the materials cycle's efficiency and effectiveness. Many sports manufacturers have dealt with the circular economy, and for a more in-depth analysis, you can read the second part of this article in a couple weeks’ time.
While the introduction of a circular economy would allow us to use resources efficiently and effectively, sports like motor racing and sailing have highlighted that sustainability can be cheaper too. By developing vehicles and sailboats that are built to last longer, consume less fuel or energy, are easier to maintain or contain developmental, new technologies are showing that sport can be sustainable, whilst also being an incubator for technology that could positively impact society at large.
As such, while there is still a long way to go, the sporting goods industry is starting to move in lockstep with other, non-sports-related sectors on the sustainable product and development front. And with market leaders also addressing sustainability, the shift in people's minds is not to be underestimated. For sports entities to remain relevant (and profitable), they will have to continue designing environmentally friendly products that use resources efficiently and are designed for long-term use.
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Published in two weeks, the second part of this article will look at technological development driving sustainable pioneer work in sports facilities and infrastructure; as well as explore how technology can make the sport more sustainable based on communication processes and draw attention to sustainability. In addition, we will look at best practice examples showcasing innovative approaches of individual companies that benefit sport through sustainable technology.