ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a foundation on the origins of sport environmental initiatives and the leaders that follow. The chapter discusses the importance for sport employees at all levels to recognize and act on ways to reduce environmental impacts. The need to consider the environmental footprint among sport venues, events, and organizations began with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1994. The Leadership in Greening the Sports Industry Conference was hosted by the Wharton Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (Wharton IGEL), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Wharton Sports Business Initiative (WSBI). With sustainability and environmental operations not having a final destination or a final finish line, executive actions and strategic planning will ebb and flow with changing leadership, current and long-term issues, and needs within sport organization. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (VANOC) and the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) co-developed a Sustainable Sports and Events Toolkit (SSET) online.
