WBSC partners with Alibaba Cloud for sustainability drive

(L_R): Beng Choo Low, secretary general of the WBSC; Riccardo Fraccari, president of the WBSC; William Xiong, vice president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group and general manager of Enterprise Service Cloud

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the international governing body for baseball and softball, has chosen Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, as its dedicated sustainability partner for Baseball5.

Under the collaboration, both parties will work together to develop tailor-made sustainable products, services and solutions, aiming to make WBSC events more eco-friendly. This co-operative effort is part of the WBSC’s ongoing commitment to achieve its sustainability targets, a key component of the Confederation’s Strategic Plan 2022-2028 that aims to utilise baseball/softball as a catalyst for sustainability and social development.

The WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup, which took place in Turkey from 10-15 October, was the first event to implement Alibaba Cloud’s sustainability initiatives. These measures calculated the carbon footprint generated from various sources, including venue operation, temporary structure materials, accommodation and catering, participants’ business flights and local commute, as well as the transportation of sport materials and equipment.

The carbon footprint computation, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s AI-driven sustainability solution Energy Expert, will provide valuable data for enhancing the operations of WBSC events. This could involve increasing the use of diverse types of renewable energy and minimising power consumption during venue construction in the game’s preparation phase.

“The WBSC, as the international governing body for baseball and softball, is proud to be able to continue to evolve our events and organisation to adapt towards a better and more sustainable future,” said Marco Ienna, WBSC chief operating officer. “We are proud to partner with such an innovative and dynamic company such as Alibaba Cloud to help us achieve our objectives in the area of sustainability to ensure our forever increasing global fanbase will continue to enjoy our beautiful game all around the world.”

“We are thrilled to collaborate with the WBSC, applying our cloud-based, AI-driven sustainability solutions to their sports events,” said Selina Yuan, president of international business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group. “As sustainability becomes increasingly critical in the global sports industry, we are committed to offering sports organisations like the WBSC timely data, actionable insights and optimisation recommendations. Together, we can generate significant and positive impacts on the global sports community and foster a more sustainable future for sports.”

In 2021, the WBSC joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a call to action for sports organisations to take responsibility in combating climate change. The Confederation has since been actively working to minimise the climate impact of its operations and events, promote sustainable and responsible consumption, and advocate for more climate actions within the sports community.

Alibaba Cloud’s Energy Expert platform has been utilised to enhance the sustainability of global events like the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore. The platform has been employed by around 3,000 organisations worldwide to measure and mitigate the carbon footprint of their business activities to meet their sustainability targets.