Overview
Sydney Marathon partnered with Clima to analyse their environmental impact, inspired by a commitment to sustainability and the requirements of the World Athletics’ ‘Athletics for a Better World’ standard certification.
This initiative aligned with the organisation’s position on addressing the implications of climate change, particularly in the context of large outdoor sporting events.
| Location: | Sydney, Australia | Service: | GHG Assessment & Reduction Strategy |
Impact
Our Challenge
Prior to collaborating with Clima, Sydney Marathon faced challenges in calculating its carbon footprint due to the complexity of the event’s operations and the involvement of numerous stakeholders.
Identifying the biggest contributors to the environmental footprint, such as attendee travel and resource use, required expert knowledge and a structured approach.
Our Goal
The primary goal was to establish a reliable benchmark for carbon emissions, enabling Sydney Marathon to set realistic reduction targets and align with its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. This included tackling Scope 1 and 2 emissions through operational innovations and addressing Scope 3 emissions, such as attendee travel, through offsetting projects and participant education.
The Clima Solution
Clima played a pivotal role in guiding Sydney Marathon through the process of measuring, analysing, and strategising for emission reduction.
Process
The initiative followed a structured approach to establish a clear sustainability roadmap:
Outcome
The analysis revealed several key insights:
- Attendee travel accounted for 97% of total carbon emissions, highlighting the challenge of addressing Scope 3 emissions.
- Operational areas like food and energy use were identified as focus areas for improvement.
- Positive outcomes included a 71.2% waste diversion rate and 67% of suppliers already implementing sustainability measures.
These findings informed Sydney Marathon’s strategic plans for 2025 and beyond, including:
- Developing operational innovations to reduce emissions.
- Enhancing participant education on sustainability.
- Exploring offset programs to mitigate attendee travel emissions.
By leveraging Clima’s expertise, Sydney Marathon has positioned itself as a leader in event sustainability, setting a benchmark for others in the industry to follow. Future plans include sharing findings through a post-event report, collaborating with other major marathons, and creating a dedicated sustainability page on the event website.
