DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY FOR THE 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP - IF Sustainability Project

IF Sustainability Project
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
FOR THE 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP

IF SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT
The world faces important challenges           sourcing & resource management; mobility;
across a wide spectrum of economic,            workforce; and climate. These focus
social and environmental issues, and the       areas were selected through an extensive
sport community is not immune from their       stakeholder engagement process, taking
impacts. The Olympic Movement has              into consideration today’s key sustainability
both an opportunity and a duty to actively     challenges and the manner in which the
contribute to the global sustainability        IOC believes the Olympic Movement
debate in line with its vision of “Building    can most significantly contribute to
a better world through sport”.                 addressing them.
    With this in mind, and in response to         The case studies are also aligned with
recommendation 5 of Olympic Agenda             the United Nations’ (UN) framework of 17
2020 (“Include sustainability within                    Sustainable Development Goals
the Olympic Movement’s                                   (SDGs). This framework is pivotal
daily operations”), the                                    for the Olympic Movement:
IOC conducted the                                            in September 2015, the UN
International Federation                                       General Assembly confirmed
(IF) Sustainability Project                                     the important role that
throughout 2016. The                                            sport can play in supporting
IOC carried out the project                                    the UN’s 2030 Agenda for
with three objectives:                                         Sustainable Development
obtaining an overview of                                       and its SDGs.
IFs’ sustainability initiatives;
identifying common topics,                            “Sport is also an important enabler
good practices and shared challenges;          of sustainable development. We recognise
and sharing information among the IFs.         the growing contribution of sport to the
As part of this project, the IOC               realisation of development and peace in its
collaborated with the IFs to compile           promotion of tolerance and respect and the
a series of case studies reflecting how        contributions it makes to the empowerment
IFs are contributing towards a more            of women and of young people, individuals
sustainable world.                             and communities as well as to health,
    Each case study is aligned with one        education and social inclusion objectives.”
or more of the IOC’s five sustainability       Paragraph 37, UN 2030 Agenda
focus areas: infrastructure & natural sites;   for Sustainable Development

FIFA HAS DEVISED A
SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME
FOR THE 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP.

H
          ighlighting its commitment to       the analysis of FWC requirements, bid
          sustainability, FIFA made the       commitments and regulatory documents;          OBJECTIVES
          decision in 2009 to include it in   the analysis of the 2018 FWC sustainability
its future bidding agreements, starting       context; materiality and level-of-influence    In order to identify material
with the 2018 FWC bidding process. This       analysis; and the validation of strategy       issues and develop
required each bidding country to provide      through stakeholder consultations.             effective measures to
comprehensive information on activities          Through this process, nine key issues       organise and stage a
aimed at social development, economic         and 25 objectives were defined for the         more sustainable event in
sustainability and environmental protection   Sustainability Strategy in three categories:   Russia, FIFA and the 2018
as part of the staging of the FWC.                                                           FIFA World Cup Local
   In December 2010, the Russian              •S
                                                ocial – Contributing to human               Organising Committee
Federation was selected to host the            and social development: ​Health &             (LOC) have developed
2018 FWC. Then, in late 2013, FIFA             safety; Decent work & capacity building;      a sustainability strategy
began working with the LOC to create           Inclusivity & equality; Social development,   for the 2018 FIFA World
a sustainability strategy for the event.       healthy living & sport legacy                 Cup (FWC).
The 2018 FWC in Russia was planned in
close connection with long-term national      •E
                                                nvironmental – Protecting the
development strategies and programmes,         environment: Green-building standards
with the ultimate goals of creating social,    for stadiums; Transport, carbon, energy
environmental and economic benefits            & waste management; Risk mitigation
for host cities and regions and creating       & biodiversity
a new standard for large events within
the country.                                  •E
                                                conomic – Enhancing local
   Between October 2013 and April 2015,        economic development: Ethical
FIFA and the LOC completed a four-             business practices; Local economic
stage process to develop the strategy:         development

Each project                                     IOC FOCUS AREAS
contributes to
one or more of the
IOC’s sustainability
focus areas and
all 17 of the UN’s     INFRASTRUCTURE     SOURCING    MOBILITY   WORKFORCE    CLIMATE
                       & NATURAL SITES   & RESOURCE
SDGs:                                    MANAGEMENT

FIFA and the LOC have implemented               it accessible to a wide range of           more challenging but can have a major    process with both desk research and
a Sustainability Management System              stakeholders.                              impact; for example, counteracting       the moderation of some training and
(SMS) in accordance with the ISO                                                           ticket-holders’ carbon emissions or      educational workshops. These external
20121:2012 standard on event                    COMMUNICATION                              ensuring stadium accessibility. This     providers offer additional resources to
sustainability management. Compliance           The final report will be sent to FIFA      change has made FIFA’s approach          do time-consuming research; provide
requires formal processes to ensure             media contacts using various channels.     much more grounded, and much more        expertise that is not available within the
senior management’s commitment to               Copies will also be sent to stakeholders   effective at focusing resources where    LOC or FIFA; and offer stakeholders a
developing objectives and action plans          within the sustainability field.           FIFA and the LOC can have the largest    comfortable environment in which to
that address key sustainability issues;                                                    impact.                                  speak.
providing adequate implementation               EVALUATION                                    FIFA has consistently used external     As of late 2016, FIFA was on track to
resources; embedding sustainability             A similar approach had previously          service providers to support the         deliver its objectives for the 2018 FWC.
in daily activities; communicating in           taken for FIFA’s sustainability strategy
a transparent manner; monitoring                at the 2014 FWC, predominantly based
progress; and addressing possible               on best practice and international
failures in a proactive manner with a           standards such as the ISO 26000 and
perspective of continual improvement.           ISO 20121.
Monitoring and reporting on the                    Perhaps the biggest improvement
implementation of the sustainability            since the 2010 FWC is the fact
strategy are requirements of both               that FIFA now takes a coordinated
ISO 20121:2012 and the AA1000                   and comprehensive approach to
Stakeholder Engagement Standard.                sustainability, looking at all possible
    Updates will be available in early          issues and selecting those most
2017. The final 2018 FWC sustainability         relevant both for the organisation and,
report will be published at the end             more importantly, for the stakeholders.
of 2018 in English, French, German,             Some solutions are easier to organise
Spanish and Russian, thus making                and implement than others, which are

                                                                                    FIFA CONTACT: FIFA Sustainability & Diversity Department (sustainability@fifa.org)