Albert convenes Sports Consortium to help broadcasters tackle their environmental impact

New group to sit alongside the albert consortium, supported by SVG Europe and Sport Positive

A new industry-wide working group has been set up by the BAFTA albert project to specifically explore and act upon the impact sports broadcasting has on the environment.

The albert Sports Consortium brings together key broadcasters and self-producing sports federations including: BT Sport, Sky Sports, BBC, ITV, Sunset & Vine, IMG, Premier League Productions, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), Formula 1, Aurora Media and Channel 4.

The Sports Consortium is working alongside SVG Europe, the industry association which supports sports content producers and distributors, and Sport Positive in collaboration with UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework.

The consortium aims to align with the broader goals of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, to which AELTC, Formula 1 and Sky Sports are signatories together with some 135 sports teams, organisations and governing bodies around the world.

Together the group will explore some of the key challenges and opportunities posed in live sports broadcast particularly energy use and travel. They will also share best practice on the steps which have already been taken such as the on-site power-sharing agreement between Premier League Productions, Sky Sports and BT Sport – which led to a carbon saving of around 50 tonnes in 6 months.

The group’s formation is the latest move by albert to support the Film and TV industry as it transitions to net zero carbon by 2050.

Aaron Matthews, albert’s head of industry sustainability explained the reason behind the group’s creation: “The challenges faced by the television sports community are quite unique when compared to those of our core Consortium members, not least because sports producers are at the behest of the sporting calendar and have to broadcast events from all over the world. We wanted to create a separate group that could discuss the challenges they face and work on tailored solutions that can help them achieve net-zero carbon emissions.”

“It is encouraging to see such a strong and influential group of organisations coming together and we are really looking forward to working collectively to share best practice and find ways to raise the bar for the sports broadcasting industry.”

Sustainability in sport has rapidly moved up the agenda for all the organisations joining the Consortium who see the group as a way to galvanise their collective efforts and bring about change.

Bethan Evans, broadcast manager at the AELTC added: “We believe that the AELTC and The Championships has a meaningful role to play in helping to protect and enhance the environment, today and for the future.

“It is encouraging to see such a strong and influential group of organisations coming together and we are really looking forward to working collectively to share best practice and find ways to raise the bar for the sports broadcasting industry through the formation of the albert Sports Consortium.”

To aid sports broadcasters, the albert Calculator and Certification tools will be available for the sports industry to help them to measure their impact more effectively. Modules will also be created to complement albert’s free training programme to help inspire and alert sports presenters and commentators to the huge potential they have to continue albert’s planet placement work, inspiring audiences to act for a sustainable future by incorporating climate focussed conversations into their punditry and on screen work.

To further support the Sports Consortium, albert will also include sport-specific events in its year-round free events programme to bring larger sections of the sports industry together to tackle specific issues and agree on solutions.

Jake Humphrey, BT Sport’s lead football presenter, said: “Sports broadcasting, like every industry, has a part to play in climate change and today’s news is a positive step. I know how important this is as part of BT’s ongoing efforts to become a net-zero carbon business by 2045 and for BT Sport to become the greenest broadcaster in the UK.”

Steve Smith, executive director of content at Sky Sports added: “At Sky, we’ve set the ambition to be net-zero carbon by 2030, two decades ahead of government legislation, because the world can’t wait. The BAFTA albert Sports Consortium gives sports broadcasters a forum to work together collectively and share best practices that will help us #GoZero together.”

The group’s inaugural meeting will take place on 7 July.

Albert is a collaborative BAFTA, indie and broadcaster backed project that brings the screen industries together to tackle their environmental impact and inspire sustainable living.