Partners of the Erasmus+ project Green Sports Hub Europe (GSHE) including the European University Sports Association met in Brussels on the 7th and 8th of June, reviewing the project progress, and planning the next steps. 

This transnational project partner meeting was organized during the European Green Week alongside a GSHE Multiplier event led by ACR+ ( Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management ) which is officially registered under the Green Week Partner events list.

The first day of the meeting started with a welcoming speech by Francesco Lembo, the Deputy Secretary General of the ACR+, and Lucie Segalas, the Sport Project Manager, of Surfrider Foundation Europe. 

After the welcoming words, all the partners presented their action plans in a round table session in order to promote Sustainability in European Sports - the recommendations for the policy and decision-makers. Other topics were also covered during the day such as the implementation and planned activities for the European Green Sports Charter. This Charter is an element of a broader project run by numerous European organizations in sports and the environment, including governing bodies for various sports, public agencies, sustainability specialists, andnon-governmental organizations (NGOs).

On the second day, The Multiplier event, the Public Debate took place with more than 50 participants, led by the facilitator Lawrie McLaren, who represented Burson Cohn & Wolfe.

After the short introduction of the GSHE project, Mr Iain Gulland, the President of ACR+ and founding Chief Executive, of Zero Waste Scotland presented “Cities and regions tapping into lifestyle choices for enhancing sustainable resource management”.

The next presenter was Mr Peter Fischer, the Policy Officer, DG EAC, Sport Unit, European Commission, and he shared his experience on the topic of The power of sports in contributing to more environmentally friendly communities. The last speech of this first session was about “In what ways do cities have the power to accompany the transition of the sport sector?” was retained by Adeline Plé, Plaidoyer for Sustainable Cities, Surfrider Foundation Europe.

In the second session of the day, various presentations were given on sustainability and the usage of green tools in the sports sector. 

Furthermore, Mr Francesco Lembo, Deputy Secretary General, ACR+ talked about “Taking advantage of solutions for sports and adapting them to tourism and culture”, followed by Ernest Kovacs, Project Manager, ACR+ “Sport entities and their local and regional authorities: friends or foes?” and the last presentation was done by Warren McIntyre, Partnership Manager, Zero Waste Scotland “Public authorities enhancing Sport organisations’ environmental performances”.

The Discussion Panel: Enabling Actions and Skills for Improving Environmental Management in sports was moderated by Ernest Kovacs, ACR+. The participants of the panel discussion were Mr Raphaelle Moeremans; Head of the Sustainability Department OR Alex Muzio; President, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (TBC), Ms Katrina Reuter; Development Manager, European Volleyball Federation (CEV), MrThomas Rem, Founder, Green Cycling Nordic Norway, Warren McIntyre/Iain Gulland/FA Scotland; Zero Waste Scotland, Ms Laska Nenova, Managing Director, BG Be Active (SportWithoutWaste Project) and Mr Bruno Van Pottelsberghe, Dean, Solvay Business School.

The event closing part consisted of the introduction of Sustainable sports and the necessary European framework: policy recommendations led by Gregor Grbec, Project Manager, Slovenian Olympic Committee, and Taking sports organizations on board for a joint effort and biggest impact possible led by David Baird-Smith, Corporate Affairs Manager, Rugby Europe.
The final words were delivered by Eva Rebmann, Acting Deputy Director and OCEAN Project Manager, and part of the European Olympic Committee. After the official part, an informal discussion and networking opportunities were accommodated.

The three-year project, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, is coordinated by Surfrider Foundation Europe (FRA), with project partners including the Association of Cities and Regions for the Sustainable Management of Resources (BEL), Sports Confederation of Portugal (POR), UKActive (GBR), Green Cycling Norway (NOR), Olympic Committee of Slovenia (SLO), European Volleyball Confederation (LUX), Rugby Europe (FRA), European Athletics Association (SUI) and the EUSA Institute (SLO).

For more information, please see https://greensportshub.eu.