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After only two years of preparations, the founders, Tanja Ferkau and Stefan Wagner, sign a groundbreaking agreement for the development of a global sustainability network with the Martial Arts Coalition for Sustainable Development (MCS). This new partnership is dedicated to connecting sustainable development and the everyday reality of martial artists and institutions all around the world. More than 40 organisations — including grassroots projects, state and national federations, clubs, and social institutions — will benefit from the partnership. They will reduce their ecological footprint and have a positive impact beyond sport. The implementation phase kicked off right after the signing.

SPORTS20 was invited to the Global Sports and Sustainability Forum on May 26, 2025, which took place in Cape Town and in collaboration with Foundations 20 and its Climate Solutions Forum. In collaboration with the Foundations 20 event at the G20 summit, we wanted to discuss how sport can be used as a driver for cross-sectoral developments to promote a more sustainable future. The aim was to identify the potential of sport to influence areas beyond sport, such as the economy, infrastructure, nutrition, education and social development. We focused in particular on incorporating regional perspectives. Representatives of regional organisations therefore shared their local experiences with us. In collaboration with these organisations from South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, we wanted to create a platform for concrete projects and link them to global approaches. The results of this event were directly incorporated into the development of a position paper. This paper contained conditions for promoting peace and sustainability through sport and was to be presented and discussed at various levels.

As co-host of the Foundations 20 “Climate Solutions Forum 2024”, we presented our SPORTS20 framework, demonstrating how sport can serve as a powerful driver of sustainability. The international foundation platform Foundations 20 brings people together each year ahead of the G20 summit to identify solutions to the climate crisis and to advocate for sustainable development. With a network of more than 80 of the world’s most influential foundations, Foundations 20 is the leading international platform for foundations. During the panel discussion, our partners from Ghana and Brazil highlighted the severe impacts of the climate crisis on their countries and on sport, citing extreme heatwaves and flooding as key issues. These conditions are destroying entire livelihoods. Despite facing numerous other social challenges, they place climate protection at the forefront. In collaboration with us, they have set ambitious goals and embraced the challenges required to advance sustainable transformation.

To explore this, we took part in inspiring future-focused workshops with experts, centred on innovative ideas for mobility, equality, human rights, diversity, sustainable construction and sports facilities. Rather than concentrating on the “low-hanging fruit”, we set our sights on the more challenging “high-hanging fruit” — the real issues that offer the greatest potential for impact.