Sport management can no longer ignore climate change

This paper introduces a special issue"Environmental Sustainability Matters in Sport“ published in European Sport Management Quarterly, that examines why climate change and ecological challenges must become central concerns within sport management research, education, and industry practice. Climate change increasingly threatens sport through extreme weather, rising temperatures, resource scarcity, and disruptions to participation and events, while sport itself contributes to environmental degradation through travel, infrastructure, and consumption. Sport management research has lagged behind broader sustainability scholarship and calls for a more systematic and interdisciplinary approach to studying sport and the natural environment.

Environmental sustainability research in sport remains fragmented and underdeveloped, particularly regarding grassroots sport, governance, climate adaptation, and organizational resistance to ecological responsibility. As the articles within the special issue argue, sport ecology should emerge as a central interdisciplinary framework for understanding the bidirectional relationship between sport and the natural environment, while emphasizing that sport organizations, researchers, and educators must become more proactive in addressing climate change and sustainability challenges.

The Editors of the special issue call for stronger integration of environmental sustainability into sport management research, teaching, governance, and professional practice through interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based decision-making, and greater engagement with climate action initiatives. They also encourage sport organizations and academic institutions to move beyond symbolic sustainability efforts and actively contribute to decarbonization, adaptation, and environmental education across the sport sector.

CITE: Breitbarth, T., McCullough, B. P., Collins, A., Gerke, A., & Herold, D. M. (2023). Environmental matters in sport: sustainable research in the academy. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(1), 5-12. DOI: 10.1080/16184742.2022.2159482