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Academically, there are several leading research initiatives linked to sustainability and sports in Canada, such as:
University of British Columbia’s Centre for Sport and Sustainability
serves as a multidisciplinary hub dedicated to exploring the intersections
of sport with ecological well-being, social development, and cultural
identity.
Wilfrid Laurier University’s RinkWatch is a climate research project
that engages thousands of Canadians in tracking backyard rink conditions
as a measure of climate change and has many years of collaborative ties
with NHL Green.
University of New Brunswick’s Sustainability and Sports module is a
course designed to explore the intersection of sports and sustainability,
particularly in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).
A growing number of athletes and advocates have also been taking up the
cause. For the 2024 Green Sports Day Canada campaign, a dedicated committee of sports professionals, academics, and athletes convened to build
o昀昀 the momentum of the 昀椀rst Green Sports Day in Canada back in 2021.
This committee includes: Philippe Marquis, Coach at Freestyle Canada, 2x
Olympian in Freestyle Ski; Dr. Maddy Orr, Founder of The Sport Ecology Group,
Assistant Professor at University of Toronto; and, Oliver Schol昀椀eld, Operations
Lead, Racing to Zero, Olympian in Men’s Field Hockey.
Additional athletes who have been vocal advocates for integrating sustainability
into the national sports agenda include: former NHL defenseman Andrew
Ference, Director of Youth Strategy; retired Canadian soccer player, Christine
Sinclair; and, Canadian MP and Olympic gold medalist Adam van Koeverden.
Unifying the e昀昀orts of this growing list of leaders could serve as a starting point
to advancing a climate-smart sport policy, built on a foundation of community
engagement and national coordination.
To follow-up this introductory piece, we’ll introduce a national framework to
align Canada’s playbook and outline themes for future columns. Together, let’s
make sustainability part of Canada’s game plan.
Eric Meliton is a principal consultant at Echion Group, which
provides strategic research and publications on corporate
social responsibility, sustainability, infrastructure investment,
regulatory impacts, and emerging treatment technologies.
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