To mark World Environment Day today (5 June), the organisers of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships have published the event’s Sustainability Report. The report is available on the UCI website.
The inaugural edition of the UCI Cycling World Championships, bringing 13 individual UCI World Championships into one event, took place in Glasgow and across Scotland (United Kingdom) from 3 to 13 August last year.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships used the UCI’s Sustainability Impact Tracker to undertake an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment mapped against the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This benchmark data, which will benefit organisers of future combined UCI Cycling World Championships, showed that the event:
contributed to 14 out of 17 UN SDGs, highlighting the commitment to a sustainable approach to event delivery ;
produced a carbon footprint of 61.1ktCO2e; most of these emissions fall within Scope 3 “other indirect emissions” with the biggest contributing factors being in the ‘travel’ category.
Also highlighted in the report was:
the appointment of EDP (Event Delivery Partners) Sustainability Champions to implement and drive sustainability measures within each individual event;
the creation of an EDP Sustainability Champions network to share knowledge and best practice between each event;
the establishment of a Sustainable Procurement Code raising awareness of the minimum standards expected to support sustainability, EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and low carbon emissions ambitions;
the development of a ‘Good Food Charter’ and a network between the event’s delivery partners.
The Championships’ commitment to sustainability also included social responsibility, with the report revealing:
97% of people who attended the event felt it was inclusive;
93% of spectators with a disability found the event to be accessible;
over 90% of attendance at events were non-ticketed, facilitating greater access to watch and take part.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships’ ambition to drive awareness and highlight the importance of EDI have already been recognised: the event won the Diversity in Sport Award and Diversity by Design Award at the Herald & Gen Analytics Diversity Awards, as well as the Access All Areas Diversity and Inclusion Award.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “Tackling climate change is one of the priorities of the UCI’s Agenda 2030, with one of our aims being to make our UCI World Championships carbon neutral or negative. To do this, we need a base to work from, and I am delighted that we have a solid Sustainability Report from the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. The local organisers of last year’s inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships made great headway when it comes to sustainability and social responsibility, and I look forward to this momentum being continued at future UCI events.”
UCI Cycling World Championships Chairman, Paul Bush OBE said: “The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships aimed to champion sustainability in the world of sport, and we are proud of the effort we have made to drive meaningful change. The Sustainability Report provides useful insight, learnings and recommendations that will help deliver sustainable events and encourage innovation in the future.
“Collaboration and partnership working were vital to achieving our sustainability objectives and I thank everyone, from our funding partners, event delivery partners and local authority hosts to the athletes and spectators, for all their help in delivering on our ambitions.”
The Sustainability Report published today builds on the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships socio-economic impact evaluation produced by professional services firm EY earlier this year, which highlighted the extremely positive economic impact of the event for hosts Glasgow, Scotland and the United Kingdom.