Sport Tag

We’re Heading to Dallas: ISM Conference 2013

This week Reeve Consulting will be in Dallas, Texas presenting at the 98th Annual Institute for Supply Management Conference. The theme for this year’s conference is “Be the Solution”. Reeve’s presentation will be providing insight on some of our strategies and leading work on building innovative supply chains to add value to a company’s brand and strengthen its bottom line.

Professional sports organizations are establishing emerging trends and industry standards with regards to incorporating sustainable principles within their business model. Reeve will be highlighting leading players in sustainability in sports. For example, NASCAR is in its 5th year of conducting substantial green campaign called NASCAR GREEN. Through this initiative NASCAR is changing the way that the sport interacts with the environment; by leading one of the largest recycling programs in the United States, leading tree planting campaigns to capture all the carbon produced on race day, and running all race vehicles on renewable fuel. Not only have these initiatives added value to the brand of NASCAR, they have also helped increase the sport’s popularity; capturing lucrative television contracts and sponsorship deals.

Reeve Consulting looks forward to the opportunity to facilitate more companies in bolstering their supply chains through sustainability.

Reeve Consulting attending the Green Sport Summit 2012, Seattle

This week, Amanda Mungal from Reeve Consulting will be attending the Green Sport Alliance Summit in Seattle. Designed for leaders from the sports community, this three-day executive summit will use a mixture of formats to introduce attendees to sustainability best practices that produce bottom line benefits while demonstrating responsible corporate and community citizenship.

Building off our work with the 2010 Bid Committee, VANOC and Sochi2014, Reeve Consulting recognizes the impact of large-scale sporting initiatives.

We’re looking forward to hearing firsthand how teams and venues are saving money and improving their environmental performance.  We hope to see you there.

View the video below for the 2011 Green Sports Alliance Summit Highlights:

 

Sports, Legacy and Sustainability Dialogue with Bruce Kidd

Are the Olympics worth it?  That was the question posed to the Sports, Legacy and Sustainability panel on March 13, 2010.  Bruce Kidd, former Olympic athlete and guru of sports and sustainability, anchored the panel with an opening reflection on sustainability in Olympics past.  He seemed encouraged by the progress, yet hesitant to answer yes to his question.

Bruce gave credit where credit is due:  VANOC did build some of the greenest buildings in the world to host athletes; it was the first Olympics to embrace Aboriginal participation at the organizing level; and, VANOC’s Buy Smart program broke ground in the area of sustainable purchasing.

The most important legacy of the Games is athleticism, before the environment, before anything according to Kidd.  And although Canada has proudly hosted three Olympic Games, we were disappointed to hear that participation of children and youth in sports in this country is plummeting.

Flickr / adrian8_8

Kidd was joined by Derek Wyatt, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Group and James Tansey of Offsetters.  Wyatt talked candidly about the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) lack of commitment to ensuring a sustainable legacy in Host Cities.  In his opinion, Host Cities carry the sustainability agenda with little support from the IOC.

Wyatt is advocating for the IOC to support the creation of an “Olympic University” in London that would provide training and education to disenfranchised inner-city East Londoners.  Wyatt believes this is a missed opportunity.  The Organizing Committee for London 2012 could hire more of the so called “underemployed” inner-City folks from East London if training was provided amongst this population.

James Tansey was more positive and sited the sustainability wins of VANOC including their commitments to offsetting the carbon footprint, the green building designs and the training legacy of the Buy Smart program.

Despite having different priorities, the panellists agreed that Host Cities and those who live there feel a deep sense of human spirit and pride, which in itself is a large legacy.  Human’s need food for the body as well as the heart, said Kidd.  To paraphrase James Tansey:  ‘on that gold medal Sunday, Canadians had so much pride they didn’t know what to do with it’.

This is a debate that will continue.  We see many benefits – but are waiting to learn more about the real results before making a final decision.   What do you think?  “Is it worth it?”  Please post your comments as you begin to reflect on your Olympic legacy.