British Triathlon has furthered their commitment to sustainability across the sport by signing up to the Race to Zero campaign and the UN Sports for Climate Action Declaration, driving down carbon emissions to zero by 2040.

Earlier this year, British Triathlon made its intentions for reducing the negative impact on the environment by setting up its Sustainability Commission, which saw leading industry experts come together for the first-time last month to begin building the sport’s sustainability agenda to safeguard the future of swim, bike and run in the country.

One of the first actions has been to sign up for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sports for Climate Action Declaration. British Triathlon have then extended their commitment by signing up for Race to Zero which was launched in June 2020.

In the build up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which is taking place in Glasgow from 31 October – 12 November, almost 300 sports organisations committed to the objectives and goals of the Paris Agreement.

British Triathlon is one of only a handful of British sports bodies that has signed the Sports for Climate Action Declaration which aims to support and guide sports in achieving global climate change goals.

The objectives of the declaration are achieving a clear trajectory for the global sports community in order to reduce and report greenhouse gas emissions and using sport as a unifying tool to federate and create solidarity for climate action.

The Race to Zero campaign, which is backed by the UN, is a global campaign which rallies all parts of society to act now and drive down emissions across the world by 2030 to deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world. 

By signing up for Race to Zero, British Triathlon must meet stringent criteria which include making the pledge, writing a plan, taking immediate action and committing to publishing the sport’s progress.

Andy Salmon, British Triathlon CEO, said: “I am incredibly proud of the steps we are taking as a sport to protect the environment we so heavily rely on. Signing the Revised Sports for Climate Declaration and signing up for Race to Zero are clear indications of our commitments to sustainability and protecting all aspects of our sport for the future. By signing the declaration, we are committed to lowering our emissions by 50% by 2030 and increasing our commitment to getting to zero emissions in 2040.

“We’re proud to be one of the only national triathlon federations to sign up for the declaration and hope that more follow suit to support and protect our sport around the world.”

Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said at the launch of Framework targets at COP26, said: “Four years since we launched the Sports for Climate Action Framework, more than 280 sports organisations have committed to the overarching objectives of aligning sport with the goals of the Paris Agreement,”

“The sector eagerly took up the challenge, but also told us that they want to do more and to do it faster. These organisations are now being challenged to reduce emissions 50 per cent by 2030 at the latest and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040,” she added.

Find out more about Sports for Climate Action HERE