Sport and sustainability: Baden-Württemberg awarded innovative projects!

Sport and sustainability: Baden-Württemberg awarded innovative projects!

In Baden-Württemberg, a move to promote sustainability in sports is currently undertaken. The State Sports Association of Baden-Württemberg (LSVBW) has awarded projects as part of a competition that actively shape change into more sustainability. A total of 90,000 euros in prize money will be awarded to ten pioneering projects that deal with aspects such as climate protection, waste avoidance and recycling. This competition, which is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, took place for the sixth time. As SWR reports, an excellent project includes a sustainable beach volleyball camp for 60 children, among other things on environmentally friendly practices Set by bike.

In addition, the North Baden Volleyball Association is planning to make the camp sustainable, especially with regard to nutrition. The Volleyball Landesverband Württemberg was awarded for innovative upcycling ideas in which old volley balls are converted into new products. The prize money is also intended to produce do-it-yourself videos to avoid waste. Another example is the Feuerbach sports association, which was able to reduce its electricity consumption by 30 percent without having to make major investments. Over 11,000 clubs with a total of four million members in Baden-Württemberg show the potential for energy saving.

promotion of networking and sensitization

In May 2025, the third congress "Sport and Sustainability" takes place, which is organized by several ministries and the LSVBW. The aim of the congress is to raise awareness and network of sports clubs as well as climate protection officers and scientists. The leading topic of the congress is "climate protection and sustainability in sport". The event is intended to serve as a platform for exchange on important topics such as CO2 accounting, sustainable mobility and the effects of climate change on the health of athletes. Previous congresses took place in 2014 and 2019 and were well attended with 200 participants, such as Sport-nachticht-bw reported.

In the current landscape of sport, the challenge of sustainability is of particular importance. Large sporting events are often the focus of public criticism due to human rights violations and high CO₂ emissions. An example of this are the Olympic Games, the sustainability of which has decreased since 2012. The high amount of garbage when playing football is also surprising. According to CSR in Germany Football fans produce more garbage than the entire population of Liechtenstein in one year.

In order to counteract this, civil society and politics demand more responsibility for sports actors. Initiatives such as "Our Football" express the desire for CO₂ balance sheets and the disclosure of supply chains. In addition, programs such as the EU Life Program promote the improvement of environmental management in stadiums and support the development of sustainable sport.

Overall, the change towards more sustainability in sport shows that both professional and popular sports actors have great potential to raise awareness of environmental and climate issues. Some German clubs have already taken significant steps to integrate sustainable practices and thus promote responsible use of resources.