Call for applications: NTN Innovation Booster on “Data for Sustainability”

Experts in operational event management, data analysis, and in sustainability, as well as any other interested parties, are invited to apply now for participation in the Swiss Innovation Booster on the theme of “Data for Sustainability”. Powered by Innosuisse, the first session will take place face-to-face on 24 November 2022, from 9am to 4:30pm, in Lausanne. Theme leader THE SHIFT aims to find innovative solutions to the following questions:

What are the difficulties encountered in collecting, processing and visualising data to monitor and assess the sustainability of a sports event?

How to apply indicators for sustainability in concrete cases to support standardised, clear and dynamic decision-making?

Submit your application to participate here until 4 November!

Context

For several years now, the sports event sector has been showing a desire to reduce its environmental impact and increase its positive legacy. To achieve this, it has looked at several tools and indicators. However, the reality on the ground is complex. Indeed, the data required for a proper sustainability impact assessment is often non-existent, or difficult to gather, poorly stored, and not contextualised.

Moreover, while the environmental pillar is increasingly addressed through tools such as carbon footprints and economic factors are analysed with the support of impact assessments, social and governance aspects remain difficult to quantify and assess. Similarly, on the environmental front, the material footprint is not always known yet.

New indicators are now available to implement a proper evaluation based on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also allowing to assess the impact of sports events and organisations from a sustainable and a global point of view. In addition, more and more data is becoming available. However, considerable work remains to be done to collect this data in a consistent and strategic manner, organise it and thereby make it meaningful which often has not been the case in the past.