Supporting its healthy living and sustainability credentials, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was represented at the Global Forum for Sports and the Environment (G-ForSE) in October. According to a release from ITU, Enrique Quesada, co-Technical Delegate for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games triathlon competition and ITU Director of Results and Rankings, attended the 3 day conference held in Alicante, Spain from 4-6 October.
Quesada met with the Global Sport Alliance (GSA) President Mr Tatsuo Okada to formally include ITU inside the GSA, a global network of sports enthusiasts that wish to leave a healthy environment for future generations.
“(President Okada) was very happy to include ITU,” said Quesada. “While our full calendar is not yet confirmed, I committed to include all ITU’s world championships inside the movement as an opportunity to identify ourselves with the green movement.”
Claimed to be the largest database on environmental action in sports, G-ForSE is a platform for sports federations, sporting goods manufacturers, event organisers and sports enthusiasts to take a stand in sports environmental action and awareness.
The October G-ForSE event in October focused specifically on environmental care and climate change as key issues affecting the global sports industry. All speakers at the event pointed to transportation as the most important factor in pollution in sport events. It is estimated that transportation is responsible for up to 80% of the carbon emissions related to a sports event.
According to the ITU, as the organisation moves forward in staging world class events globally, it remains committed to reducing and eliminating its carbon footprint. ITU is committed to the ‘reduce, re-use and recycle’ mantra with composting, recycling, waste reduction and energy saving initiatives.
