Sport England / Going for Green Pledge

Stepping up the sports sector’s work in tackling climate change

Pedal for Paris

The challenge

Sport England aimed to galvanise the sport and physical activity sector to step up its work in tackling climate change.

The Insight

Research showed 40% of sports organisations were disrupted by climate change, and 80% of people wanted stronger sustainability efforts. This revealed an urgent need to mobilise grassroots clubs and large organisations to adopt greener practices and protect future participation in sports.

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The Solution to create Change

Pedal for Paris was an eight-day bike ride from Manchester to Paris in July 2024, to promote green action and innovation ahead of the Olympic Games in the French capital. It was led by Sport England chair Chris Boardman and aimed to galvanise the sport and physical activity sector to step up its work in tackling climate change.

To coincide with the ride, every club and community group in England was – and still is – invited to sign the Going for Green Pledge to become more sustainable.

Since the ride, Chris Boardman has been shortlisted for a BBC Green Sport Award 2024; the campaign is a finalist in the Broadcast Sport Awards 2024; and a Pedal for Paris showreel will be on display at Cop29 later this year in the UK Pavilion.

Group of cyclists holding a banner that reads 'Pedal for Paris', standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, with a partly cloudy sky in the background.
A man in a white T-shirt holding a piece of lettuce and smiling at the camera in a garden with various green plants and a brick building in the background.
Group of seven people holding a blue banner that reads "Pedal for Paris," with some wearing medals. They are outdoors, smiling, with greenery and a garden in the background.

Impact

753m

combined print and online
media reach

3.3bn

potential broadcast reach
(through syndication)

200+

organisations signed the Going For Green Pledge

Awards and Coverage

Black background with large white text reading 'PURPOSE' and smaller white text below reading 'AWARDS'.
Logo for COP29, environmental conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, featuring a circular design with leaves and patterns.
Logo for the Sport Broadcasting Awards with the words 'SPORT' and 'AWARDS' in large font and 'BROADCAST' in smaller font inside the letter 'O' of 'SPORT'.
The word "BIBLIC" stylized with three large black letters on white background, with squares behind the letters B, B, and C.
Logo of the Independent newspaper, featuring a stylized eagle in a circle next to the word 'INDEPENDENT' in capital letters
ITV News logo in black and white.
The logo of The Times newspaper with a crest featuring a lion and unicorn, and the Latin motto 'Dieu et Mon Droit' on a black background.

The campaign was a winner at the Purpose Awards, was featured at COP 29 and was a finalist at the Sport Broadcast Awards. It was widely covered by the media including features on the BBC, Independent, itv News and The Times, amongst others.

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