Team GB could face lengthy train journey to Winter Olympics after sustainability initiative

UK Sport has stressed the importance of sustainability as the climate crisis continues to threaten the future of sport

Team GB could travel sustainably to the Milan-Cortina Olympics after the example set at the Paris Games last year (Getty Images)

Team GB’s Winter Olympic contingent could travel by train to Milan-Cortina next year, as a result of a major new sustainability initiative by UK Sport and multiple sport governing bodies.

Both the British Olympic and Paralympic squads for the Summer Games last year travelled to and from Paris on the Eurostar, rather than flying, amid widespread concern over the environmental impact of air travel.

Team GB, who attend each Olympics under the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations rather than UK Sport, may now feel motivated to go by rail as a result of the latter’s Sustainability Accelerator Programme, which aims to radically change how governing bodies approach sustainability.

UK Sport chief executive Sally Munday spoke to The Independent on the importance of sustainability to the governing body, and its approach to future-proofing Olympic and Paralympic sport in the UK in the face of the climate crisis.

Part of that involves more sustainable travel and reducing emissions. Referring to the Paris Olympics, Munday said: “There were quite a lot of other nations that probably could have travelled by other means [than flying] but didn’t. The British Olympic and Paralympic Associations were very clear about the opportunity to demonstrate our collective commitment to this.

“The travel arrangements for Milan-Cortina are in planning now. What I think you can be confident of is the conversations that were had around Paris are not going away about how to get there. Particularly when we think about the next Summer Games, how far away they are [in Los Angeles in 2028], we’ve got to make the most of opportunities when they’re on European soil.”

UK Sport’s Sustainability Accelerator Programme launched in 2023 and has ploughed more than £300,000 into 30 British sports organisations over the last two years, funding carbon footprint measurements and workshops with the aim of making sustainability a core part of their policies.

The chief executive was enthusiastic about the success of the programme, pointing to how 80% of the 21 bodies surveyed now view sustainability as a pillar of long-term success, and how all of them felt better placed to take action on sustainability.

Munday described the initiative as a “bold step by us to tackle climate change,” and said it had been “transformative” for the governing bodies involved, which encompassed sports as widespread as rowing, swimming, wheelchair rugby and snowsport.

The Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 entirely relied on huge amounts of artificial snow, which required millions of gallons of water (Getty Images)

She described a move by British Ice Skating and British Hockey to pool resources on how to reduce emissions from their energy-intensive venues, as well as the British Paralympic Association and Loughborough University’s mass recycling of plastic when kitting out Paralympians for the Paris Games, as examples of positive action as sporting governing bodies look to make a difference.

With one report suggesting that only ten of 19 former Winter Olympic hosts will still be viable winter sports destinations by 2050, Munday stressed how important it was that sports do their bit to combat the effects of climate change.

Other sustainability efforts are taking place closer to home.

Sunday’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was marred by concerns over water pollution in the Thames. E Coli levels were a major talking point in the 2024 edition as athletes fell ill, blaming water pollution, and were banned from throwing their coxes in the river on health grounds.

Struggling water company Thames Water, which discharges raw and treated sewage into the river, was spared a special administration regime by the court of appeal last month, instead receiving a £3bn bailout.

The Boat Race was marred by concerns over water pollution in the Thames (Getty Images)

Eleven UK water sports bodies including British Triathlon have formed the Clean Water Sports Alliance, which has called for action on improving the standard of Britain’s waterways and imposing tougher penalties on polluters.

Their campaign has attracted the government’s attention, with Environment Minister Emma Hardy thanking the Alliance for their “tireless advocacy” in a letter, saying, “we value the important role you play in holding governments to account”.

Munday said: “Governing bodies and the partners that we’re working with are looking at everything they do to try to reduce their own impact, but also to use their platform to educate and advocate for change to be made.

“This is why the letter that the sports have had from the minister is so important, because it’s saying, your voice is working, we are hearing what you’re saying.

“If that changes legislation, or it changes how the government holds these organisations [like Thames Water] to account, that can only be a positive thing.”