World Athletics has released its inaugural year review of the Athletics for a Better World (ABW) Standard, a system that evaluates and scores an event’s achievement in sustainable delivery. It outlines ways to reduce an event’s environmental impact and to increase its social and local economic benefits.
Launched in December 2021 and piloted over the next two years, the system was then implemented in January 2024. Implementation means that events within World Athletics’ tour and label race series are required to report on their sustainability initiatives and practices. The ABW Standard includes 55 action areas that address all levels of event delivery.
The ABW Standard is a tiered system, with platinum, gold, silver, bronze and recognized event achievement levels. In 2024, 102 events from 36 countries across each of World Athletics’ six continental areas submitted sustainability reporting via a dedicated portal. Nearly half (48 events) reached one of those five achievement levels.
The report examines how events performed in alignment with the six pillars indicated by the World Athletics Sustainability Strategy, which are: Leadership in Sustainability; Sustainable Production & Consumption; Climate Change & Carbon; Local Environment & Air Quality; Global Equality; Diversity, Accessibility & Wellbeing.
The review highlights best practices, trends, as well as the key strengths and weaknesses in sustainable event delivery. It also suggests steps to address some of the challenges identified.
Among the key findings in the inaugural review:
- 62 events produced sustainability plans
- 42 events published post-event sustainability reports
- 42 events dedicated to sustainability pages on their websites
- 33 events considered zero waste targets in their planning
- 40 events used catering plans to lower carbon emissions
- 50 reported ways that their events engaged with, and directly drove added value to, the local community.
The inaugural review will serve as the ABW Standard’s baseline reference, explained World Athletics. Future annual reviews will chart the Standard’s impact on athletics events and in the communities that host them.
When fully adopted, the ABW standard will apply to around 500 in-stadium athletics and mass participation road running events. According to World Athletics, this will make it “the largest sustainability evaluation system in the sport industry.”
Download the World Athletic Report
