Sport, Climate, and the Environment

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government agency responsible for supporting and investing in sport at all levels.

Guidelines

• Position statement to reduce the risks of skin cancer in sport: Sun Safe Sports, The Australian Institute of Sport, Cancer Council, Paddle Australia, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and Melanoma Institute Australia, (December 2023). This position statement highlights the risk that UV radiation presents in Australia for athletes and support staff; current skin cancer epidemiology in athletic populations; the effectiveness of prevention strategies; and practical recommendations for how Australian sporting codes can act to safeguard their athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, spectators, and other personnel involved in sport.
• Exercise in Bushfire Smoke for High Performance Athletes (2023), Mathew Mooney, Nirmala Panagodage Perera, Richard Saw, et al., Australian Institute of Sport, endorsed by the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) and Sport Medicine Australia (SMA), (January 2023). The current position statement has evolved from the initial AIS 2020 guidelines and summarises empirical evidence relating to health and performance effects of bushfire smoke with a focus of acute to sub-acute health events during periods of poor air quality secondary to bushfire smoke. The current position statement aims to provide practical advice to high performance athletes and coaches needing to train or compete in environments impacted by short term bushfire smoke conditions. Long-term consequences of bushfire smoke exposure, and other sources of air pollution, are beyond the scope of this position statement.

Strategies

• Play Well: Australia’s Sport Participation Strategy (2023), developed by the Australian sport sector, led by the ASC, this strategy highlights that the sport sector "must understand and value the impact the sporting community has and can have on environmental sustainability and broader social impact issues". The plan includes "developing financial and environmental sustainability plans for the sport sector" as part of the horizon 1 activities.

Programs

• Game Plan helping clubs tackle environmental sustainability, ASC media release, (5 June 2023). To mark World Environment Day, new questions have been added to the ASC’s Game Plan platform to help educate and empower clubs and organisations to reduce their environmental footprint.

Research

• The Future of Australian Sport: The second report: Megatrends shaping the sport sector over the coming decades, Australian Sports Commission (ASC), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), (2022). Recognised as a significant trend current and into the future under both ‘sustainability’ and ‘climate change’.

The Australian Conservation Foundation, opens in a new tab was founded in 1965 as a dedicated Australian national environment organisation to help protect Australia's unique wildlife and environment. They have also produced a range of reports that look at how sport is impacted, and impacting, climate and the environment, including:

• Out of bounds: Coal, gas, and oil sponsorship in Australian sports, opens in a new tab, Swinburne University of Technology Sport Innovation Research Group for the Australian Conservation Foundation, (October 2022).
• Powering a sporting nation: Rooftop solar potential of Australian soccer, AFL and cricket stadia, opens in a new tab, Australian PV Institute and University of NSW for the Australian Conservation Foundation, (April 2021).
• Powering a sporting nation: Rooftop solar potential for AFL, opens in a new tab, Australian PV Institute and University of NSW for the Australian Conservation Foundation, (April 2021).
• Powering a sporting nation: Rooftop solar potential for Australian cricket, opens in a new tab, Australian PV Institute and University of NSW for the Australian Conservation Foundation, (April 2021).
• Powering a sporting nation: Rooftop solar potential for Australian soccer, opens in a new tab, Australian PV Institute and University of NSW for the Australian Conservation Foundation, (April 2021).
• Love 40 degrees? Australian Open may have to move to avoid being aced by climate change, opens in a new tab, Monash University and the Australian Conservation Foundation, (January 2020).
• Vicious cycle: Climate change, extreme heat and the tour down under, opens in a new tab, Australian Conservation Foundation, (2020).
• Caught behind: Climate change, extreme heat and the Boxing Day Test, opens in a new tab, Monash University and the Australian Conservation Foundation, (2019).

• Climate Action Plan, opens in a new tab, Australian Olympic Committee, (November 2022). The inaugural Climate Action Plan (CAP) lays out the organisation’s commitment to climate action and sustainability and its leadership role of the Olympic sports in Australia.

The Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA), opens in a new tab was formed in 1981 to support, nurture and advocate for Australia’s Sporting and Active Lifestyle Goods Industry.

• TreadLightly, opens in a new tab is a national recycling initiative from ASGA that takes unwanted sport and active lifestyle footwear and sports balls and responsibly recycles them to give them new life.

The Climate Council, opens in a new tab was founded in 2013 as an independent, community-funded organisation to inform, persuade and champion solutions that help secure a safer and more prosperous future.

• Calling Time: How to Remove Fossil Fuel Sponsorships from Sports, Arts and Events, opens in a new tab, (2023). A voluntary code for organisations ready to lead industry efforts to combat climate change. The Code includes:
  • Information and evidence about how climate change is upending Australian sports, arts and public events.
  • An explanation of fossil fuel greenwashing and how these major multinational corporations use our favourite teams and events to buy social licence.
  • A step-by-step guide to assessing current sponsorships and achieving alignment with community, stakeholder and fan expectations of your organisation.
• Game, Set, Match: Calling time on climate inaction, opens in a new tab, Martin Rice, Ella Weisbrot, Simon Bradshaw, et al., Climate Council, (2021). The report describes the influence of climate change on extreme weather events, with a specific focus on how each type of event can affect specific sports. For example, heatwaves on tennis; drought on cricket; bushfire smoke on soccer/football; intense rainfall on community sport; sea-level rise and shifting storms on surfing. The report looks at climate projections and how summer sport might become unplayable without rapid emissions reductions and significant climate adaptations.

Frontrunners, opens in a new tab was co-founded in 2020 by Emma and David Pocock and Lachlan Crombie to provide advice and support across the sporting world—from athletes and associations to clubs and governing bodies—to address the climate crisis. Some of their programs and resources include:

• The Cool Down: protecting the future of the planet, the future of sport, opens in a new tab. Over 450 athletes from 40+ sports have signed the Cool Down climate pledge.
• Keeping score: how does your sport rank?, opens in a new tab FrontRunners teamed up with legal experts from the Environmental Defenders Office to take a closer look at the risks that climate change poses to sports. You can use the tool below to see how your sport stacks up when it comes to their climate policies, with rankings determined by seven key factors.
• Rings of Fire: Heat risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics report, opens in a new tab. The report urges the sporting community to address these concerns and implement changes to ensure athlete safety, well-being, and ability to continue to compete at the highest level.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), opens in a new tab is an environmental law practice in the Australia-Pacific region delivering legal solutions for people, nature and our climate. They have produced several legal resources designed to help the sport sector understand how the law applies to the environment and empower action.

• Making sport safe in a changing climate: A guide for grassroots sport, opens in a new tab, Environmental Defenders Office, (23 January 2025). If you’re a player, a parent, guardian, or coach, our guide can help you understand climate risks to sport and how we can all make sure summer sport is here to stay and safe to play.
• Climate change creates legal risks for sports organisations and directors: report, opens in a new tab, Environmental Defenders Office, (13 March 2024). Sports climate advocacy organisation, FrontRunners, partnered with the lawyers at the Environmental Defenders Office to understand the implications of climate change for sports governance.

Sports Environment Alliance (SEA), opens in a new tab. Founded in 2015, SEA is a not-for-profit organisation, with a purpose to lead, educate and empower the sport ecosystem to take action for and influence a sustainable and regenerative future. They work to share eco-stories, the latest opportunities to engage in the circular economy, and host a number of events to connect with national and international peers, community, commercial and other expert thought leaders. Resources include:

• Case study: Reducing community waste - a team sport, opens in a new tab, Sport Environment Alliance, (2025).
• Case study: Revolutionising Sustainable Strategy, opens in a new tab, Sports Environment Alliance and Bowls Australia, (2022).
• Future Proofing Community Sport and Recreation Facilities: A roadmap for climate change management for the sport and recreation facilities sector, opens in a new tab, Sports Environment Alliance/Victorian Government, (2020).

Sports Medicine Australia (SMA), opens in a new tab is the peak multidisciplinary body for sports medicine, sports science and physical activity in Australia.

• Heat and Sport, opens in a new tab, (accessed 8 January 2026). Provides information and access to resources to help understand how to prepare for, recognise and manage heat stress in sport environments.
• Sports Heat Tool, opens in a new tab, University of Sydney, (accessed 8 January 2026). Website provides a convenient and freely accessible tool for assessing heat stress risk during sport and physical activity in Australia. It is based on the SMA 'Extreme Heat Risk and Response Guidelines'.
• Extreme Heat Risk and Response Guidelines Webtool, opens in a new tab, Sports Medicine Australia, (September 2025). The updated 2025 SMA extreme heat risk and response guidelines, developed with the support of The University of Sydney Heat and Health Research Centre, build upon the policy issued in 2021 providing important improvements, including a freely accessible heat stress risk assessment webtool.
• The Sports Medicine Australia extreme heat risk and response guidelines and web tool, opens in a new tab, Federico Tartarini, James W. Smallcombe, Grant P. Lynch, et al., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Volume 28(9), pp.690-699, (September 2025). Intended users are sporting administrators, coaches, and sport medical teams responsible for the safety and well-being of healthy adults engaging in recreational and community sports and physical activity in hot weather.