Active Sussex

Active Sussex's environmental sustainability statement

At Active Sussex we are currently working on our Environmental Social Governance policy, which will be added here in due course.

Active Sussex is acutely aware of the impact climate change is having on the sport and physical activity sector and that effective action is needed now.

Since January 2023, we have joined BASIS – the British Association for Sustainable Sport – and have agreed to support its 12 principles for sustainability in sport, which you can read here.

We are also keen to promote the six R’s of sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, Rethink and Repair.

Although we are at the start of our environmental journey, we are committed to show leadership, ambition and set a high standard in environmental governance in the hope we inspire others and create a ‘multiplier effect’ across the sector.

We know that by making our clubs and activities more environmentally sustainable we can protect our sports for future generations.

However, to do this we need to work with our partners to help make important changes. After all, every small change can make a big difference.

With this in mind, each month we will highlight the good work going on around Sussex and share inspirational stories to help other organisations develop their environmental sustainability credentials and learn from each other.

We would also like our partners to think about these questions:

What small change can you do that could make a big impact?

What does an environmentally-friendly sports club look like?

What would you like your organisation or group to look like in a year’s time?

If you would like to share your good environmental practices with us and further afield, please email Alex Bunce at abunce@activesussex.org

Let’s work together in Getting Sussex Moving while helping protect our planet.

What actions can you take?

Urge participants to use refillable bottles rather than one use plastic bottles.
Provide a kit swap facility so that new members don’t need to buy new kit.
Encourage people to actively travel to your activity by walking, cycling, rolling.
Set up a car share system for away games.
Delete emails – this is the easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint on the computer (storing them requires energy)
Unsubscribe from emails or newsletters you don’t actually intend to read, or delete those emails once you’ve read them
Clean out your spam inbox
Consider if sending short emails such as “thank you” are needed
Use hyperlinks and store information online to reduce attachments
Use email carbon calculators to understand your impact
Check emails before sending them to ensure they contain all the information need to help reduce follow up emails
Only cc in people that really need to see it
Do not ‘reply to all’ unless really needed