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The carbon footprint of active sport participants

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  • Pamela Wicker

Abstract

•Estimation of active sport participants’ annual carbon footprint and influencing factors.•Average carbon footprint is 844.0 kg of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.•Income is positively associated with annual carbon footprint.•Environmentally conscious participants have a lower footprint, but only in individual sports.•‘Environmental value-action gap’ exists in nature and team/racket sports.Researchers examining carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions (carbon footprint) in sport have focused on sport events and, to a lesser extent, sport teams, but provided only average or aggregate values. The author takes the perspective of active sport participants and considers the heterogeneity of individual sport participation behavior. Using online surveys, adult active sport participants (n = 6537) in 20 different sports with main residence in Germany were asked to report their sport-travel behavior in 2015, including traveling in the context of regular (weekly) activity, sport competitions/tournaments, league games, day trips, and training camps/vacations. Annual carbon footprints were estimated using information about travel distances and transportation means. The results revealed an average annual carbon footprint of 844 kg of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, with individual sports producing more emissions than team/racket sports. Participants in nature sports had the highest emission levels. Regression analyses revealed that environmental consciousness significantly reduced carbon footprint in individual sports, but not in team/racket and nature sports, supporting the existence of an environmental value-action gap. Activity years, club membership, weekly exercise hours, performance level, and income were mainly positively associated with annual carbon footprint, while gender was insignificant. The findings have implications for policy makers and managers in sport associations and clubs.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Wicker, 2019. "The carbon footprint of active sport participants," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 513-526, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:22:y:2019:i:4:p:513-526
    DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2018.07.001
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tim F. Thormann & Pamela Wicker, 2024. "Environmentally-Friendly Stadium Travel of Football Fans: A Stated Preferences Study," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(1), pages 3-29, January.
    2. George Cunningham & Brian P. McCullough & Shelby Hohensee, 2020. "Physical activity and climate change attitudes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 61-74, March.
    3. Julia Lohmann & Jennifer Breithecker & Ulrike Ohl & Petra Gieß-Stüber & Hans Peter Brandl-Bredenbeck, 2021. "Teachers’ Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Physical Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-26, December.
    4. Tim F. Thormann & Pamela Wicker & Michael Braksiek, 2022. "Stadium Travel and Subjective Well-Being of Football Spectators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Tim Breitbarth & Brian P Mccullough & Andrea Collins & Anna Gerke & David M Herold, 2023. "Environmental matters in sport: sustainable research in the academy," Post-Print hal-03969307, HAL.
    6. Tim F. Thormann & Pamela Wicker, 2021. "Willingness-to-Pay for Environmental Measures in Non-Profit Sport Clubs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Laurent Castaignède & Frederic Veny & Johnathan Edwards & Véronique Billat, 2021. "The Carbon Footprint of Marathon Runners: Training and Racing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-10, March.
    8. Ricardo Roseira Cayolla & Teresa Santos & Joana A. Quintela, 2021. "Sustainable Initiatives in Sports Organizations—Analysis of a Group of Stakeholders in Pandemic Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    9. Ricardo Roseira Cayolla & Joana A. Quintela & Teresa Santos, 2022. "“If You Don’t Know Me by Now”—The Importance of Sustainability Initiative Awareness for Stakeholders of Professional Sports Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Gianluca Gionfriddo & Francesco Rizzi & Tiberio Daddi & Fabio Iraldo, 2023. "The impact of green marketing on collective behaviour: Experimental evidence from the sports industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5349-5367, December.
    11. Jakub Ryszard Stempień & Magdalena Dąbkowska-Dworniak & Małgorzata Stańczyk & Marcin Tkaczyk & Bartłomiej Przybylski, 2022. "Particular Dimensions of the Social Impact of Leisure Running: Study of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Aron Laxdal & Bjørn Tore Johansen & Elling Bere & Bård Erlend Solstad, 2022. "Towards More Sustainable Sports: Analyzing the Travel Behavior of Adolescent Soccer Players in Southern Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-7, July.

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