using the power of sport for global transformation
The clock is ticking and progress remains far too slow. 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record and may become the first to breach the 1.5 °C global warming threshold. The SDGs show us the way towards sustainability, but we continue to fall short. We will never reach our goals if we carry on as we are.
The world of sport has the power to drive sustainable transformation. Sport evokes emotions and creates a unique enthusiasm that reaches people across borders.
SPORTS20 aims to harness this powerful energy to jointly address global crises, strengthen and accelerate sustainable transformation, and promote sustainable living and action in all parts of the world. Achieving this transformation in sport will also inspire and trigger sustainable development across other sectors. It is time to turn the decade of action into reality.
The world of sport is unlike any other sector. Its influence extends far beyond the field of play, carrying a unique power to inspire and engage people and society as a whole. But sport cannot solve these challenges on its own.
We need to get everyone moving:
by addressing infrastructure, energy, mobility and food systems;
by raising our voices and making political demands;
by increasing pressure on regulators, governments and states;
country by country — and through multinational forums such as the G20.
We need to take sustainability out of the niche and make it a central part of everything we do. We are passionate about harnessing the incredible power of sport to create a better, more sustainable world. With our ambitious SPORTS20 framework and strong cooperation partners by our side, we can ignite a global movement.
The starting point was Sports for Future e.V., with its network of over 500 supporters committed to climate protection in sport. From this accessible, grassroots approach, the idea for an ambitious framework was born in cooperation with IMPCT gGmbH, aiming to approach change from the desired end state: what framework conditions need to be established to achieve our vision of a sustainable future?
Building on IMPCT’s experience and insights from developing licensing criteria for the DFL, the SPORTS20 framework for transformed sport was created, identifying the necessary political and institutional conditions for a sustainable sports industry.
From the outset, SPORTS20 has operated as a global initiative with international partners, first presented at COP28 in Dubai at the German Pavilion and WWF Panda Hub, showcasing sport as a driver of climate action and sustainable development.
our dna
“Net-Zero is a race against the time. SPORTS20 has the framework and the roadmap to help winning it.”
Tanja Ferkau
Founder and MD IMPCT gGmbH & Founder SPORTS20 gGmbH
“We approach change by first defining the desired end state. That means: What framework conditions must be created to achieve our vision of a sustainable future? From the concrete action fields we have defined, we derive the overarching political and institutional framework conditions that are necessary for this.”
Stefan Wagner
Founder Sports for Future e.V. & Founder SPORTS20 gGmbH
