Supply chains are often overlooked when it comes to biodiversity, yet they offer one of the clearest opportunities for sport to make meaningful progress.
That’s the key message from this latest BENCHES report, which examines how five sports partners – World Sailing, the Italian Canoe and Kayak Federation, World Athletics, Sport Lisboa e Benfica and the International Biathlon Union – are approaching biodiversity across their procurement activities.
Read the full report here.
While sustainability is becoming a more familiar topic within sport, its integration into supply chains is still in the early stages. Biodiversity, in particular, tends not to be explicitly addressed in procurement policies, supplier engagement or sourcing decisions – but the potential to do so is significant.
The research combined interviews with procurement teams at both federation and event level, alongside a review of procurement documents and supply chain procedures.
Across all five case studies, there was a general absence of formal processes for assessing suppliers based on biodiversity-related criteria. Sustainability policies existed in several cases, but biodiversity was rarely singled out. Most suppliers were selected based on cost, availability or long-standing relationships, and while some sustainability clauses appeared in contracts, these were often not followed up with structured monitoring or data collection.
Event-level procurement often sits with local organising committees or municipal partners, which can limit the ability of sports organisations to implement specific environmental standards.
In some cases, materials such as tents, stages or furniture were provided by local authorities, with limited traceability over where these items came from or how they were produced. For example, at the Kontiolahti Biathlon World Cup, temporary infrastructure arrived from several parts of Finland, but information on sourcing and potential ecological risks wasn’t available. At the World Sailing regatta in Hyères, procurement was also managed by the local municipality, with no specific biodiversity criteria in place.
Even where infrastructure and materials are designed for reuse – as was the case at the mountain running event in Canfranc or the canoe slalom in Ivrea – the origin of materials is not always tracked.
Certifications such as FSC for wood or recycled content for plastic were not consistently requested, and practices like assessing the risk of introducing invasive species through shipping or planting were not common.
That said, there are encouraging developments. World Athletics has produced guidance to help event organisers embed sustainability into procurement, including suggestions around reusability and waste reduction. Benfica is working to include sustainability clauses in its merchandise licensing contracts, and a new circular design initiative has already reused tens of thousands of scarves collected during the pandemic. In Ivrea, organisers sourced materials and food locally and adopted a plastic-free approach across all suppliers, highlighting how smaller events can take action even with limited resources.
One consistent theme across the research is that procurement teams, both at federation and event level, are open to strengthening their sustainability performance, but often lack dedicated tools or support to do so in a biodiversity-specific way.
That’s where the BENCHES project sees an opportunity. By aligning with existing frameworks such as the EU Deforestation Regulation or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), sport can begin to prioritise the most relevant materials – wood, paper, certain textiles, food and packaging – and set clear expectations for traceability or certification. This doesn’t require assessing every product or supplier at once; it can begin with a focused set of materials and gradually expand.
Rather than seeing biodiversity as a complex or separate issue, the report suggests integrating it into existing procurement discussions. A simple checklist of biodiversity risks associated with key materials, combined with clear language in supplier contracts and a few well-chosen certifications, could lay the foundations for much wider impact.
In parallel, federations and clubs can support event organisers, especially those working with municipalities, by offering template clauses or recommended practices that reflect biodiversity priorities.
While the current picture shows room for growth, the potential is clear. Supply chains touch every aspect of sport – from catering and merchandising to infrastructure and waste – and each of these areas presents an opportunity to reduce pressure on ecosystems. By gradually embedding biodiversity thinking into procurement decisions, sport can extend its sustainability ambition and make a practical contribution to nature conservation.
Get the full ‘Deliverable 2.3: Report on Supply Chain Pressures on Biodiversity’ here.