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1 An introduction to sport and sustainable development
Brian P. McCullough, Timothy Kellison, and E. Nicole Melton
DOI: 10.4324/9781003023968-1
Together, technological advances and today’s global economy have connected humankind like never before. There is a degree of interdependence on all societies to survive and more profound importance and reliance on humanity’s connection to thrive. Such relationships may seem utopian—but the reality of sustainable development is within grasp. Sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 8). Sustainable development is achieved through inclusive, sustainable, and resilient effort, which is at the core of humanitarian values.
Despite the well-intentioned nature of humankind, some obstacles prevent collaborative behaviors to ensure the well-being and survival of all. Undoubtedly, there are exploitations of people, governmental systems, and the natural environment that subjugate communities. In essence, there are functions within our global society that see people as a means to an end of personal profit. Regardless of its name—capitalism, crony capitalism, envy, greed, or any other particular name—profits, personal financial gains, and the pursuit of power reign preeminent among too few without empowering all. Strong institutions are needed to promote sustainable industry and infrastructure for cities and communities worldwide. Without these strong institutions, there are no guardians for fundamental human rights, much less support for all people to thrive.
Individual people and organizations hold the power to make significant changes in light of so much oppression and obstacles to self-fulfillment. We do not need to look much further than examples of the present-day exploitation of human labor in forced labor camps and sweatshops, global poverty rates, rampant unemployment, and underemployment. Additionally, women and girls are the most impacted across societies regardless of the degree of national freedoms they are afforded. Women and girls have less access to education, earn less, and are more likely to suffer from poverty, malnutrition, and starvation when compared to men and boys. Thus, it is necessary to engage and elevate half of the world’s population to be recognized as equals. Additionally, all humankind is impacted by the prioritization of profits over the protection of the natural environment.
The planet’s health is an essential consideration to the well-being of all life on Earth. Without an environmentally sustainable future that balances profits concerning people and the Earth, humankind suffers. The delicate balance of economic security and sustainable development should be a priority among all organizations and individuals to protect the natural environment. Weak organizational structures and governance systems that ignore people and the planet in favor of profit have detrimental impacts on two essential elements of human survival—air and water quality. The current lack of concern or immediacy among governments and corporations to protect the natural environment is exponentially magnified. This lack of concern then extends into unjust food systems where crops are unsustainably harvested, and polluted waters strangle wildlife in oceans.
This grim picture is not intended to suggest that the problems of development are insurmountable. Instead, it provides a snapshot of systems that have failed to equitably balance growth with humankind’s welfare and the natural world. These dire situations are the inspiration for human action that led to the United Nations’ creation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through these goals, the UN strives to accelerate a global effort to support people, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership (General Assembly, 2015).
At the core of the goals is the need for strong institutions, which require all institutional agents (e.g., governments, business sectors, corporations, and individuals) to fulfill their responsibility. The sport sector is no different. Sport has contributed and, to some extent, contributes to the exploitation discussed above. Still, the sector as a whole has the potential (and responsibility) to reduce harm and use its platform for good both within and through itself. A sport federation or organization has to fulfill the relevant SDGs within its organization and subsequently through its interactions with external stakeholders and its surrounding community. The purpose of this handbook is to advance the global conversation on how sport can reduce its negative impacts while contributing to the fulfillment of the SDGs.
1.1 The sustainable development goals and early efforts to integrate sport
The SDGs first gained traction during a group of meetings in advance of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. Viewed by many as a corollary of the Millennium Development Goals, which focused on eradicating global poverty, the SDGs were intended to “produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental political and economic challenges facing our world” (United Nations, 2021, para. 1). Following several years of work, the 17 SDGs were unveiled and ratified by the UN General Assembly at the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York (Sengupta, 2015). These goals are listed in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Sustainable Development Goals Goal 1 | End poverty in all its forms everywhere |
Goal 2 | End hunger, achieve food security, and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture |
Goal 3 | Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages |
Goal 4 | Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all |
Goal 5 | Achieve gender equality and empower all women and goals |
Goal 6 | Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all |
Goal 7 | Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all |
Goal 8 | Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all |
Goal 9 | Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation |
Goal 10 | Reduce inequality within and among countries |
Goal 11 | Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable |
Goal 12 | Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns |
Goal 13 | Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts |
Goal 14 | Conserve and sustainably used the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development |
Goal 15 | Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss |
Goal 16 | Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels |
Goal 17 | Strengthen the mean of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development |
Source: General Assembly (2015).
Each goal includes multiple targets designed to guide more specific, measurable actions. These targets were introduced in 2017. The targets include specific years that it is expected that a target should be fulfilled. However, these targets are specifically designed for national and global metrics, making it challenging for business sectors or individual organizations to track and report their direct contribution to the SDGs. Yet, additional policies have been created to provide frameworks to shepherd the sport sector and respective organizations toward sustainable development.
From the onset, the UN has linked sport to the SDGs. As noted throughout this book, the UN explicitly called upon sport to champion the goals introduced in their guiding proclamation, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development. We recognize the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. (General Assembly, 2015, p. 10)
The above statement indicates the importance and role that the global sport sector has to contribute to the fulfillment of sustainable development through each of the 17 SDGs. ...
