Sport relies on equipment, kit, catering, signage, fit-out, facilities, maintenance, packaging and constant purchasing. Often, those things follow a linear pattern: buy, use, throw away, replace. That creates unnecessary waste, drives up costs, increases dependence on virgin materials and leaves organisations exposed to supply chain disruption.
A circular economy offers a better model. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines it through three principles: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials at their highest value, and regenerate nature.
For sport, that means asking better questions:
- Do we need this at all?
- Can we buy less?
- Can we buy something that lasts longer?
- Can it be reused, repaired, refilled or redistributed?
- Can we avoid waste rather than just manage it better?