World Athletics releases sustainability strategy midway report
by 24th June 2026
World Athletics has released ‘From Commitment to Impact: 2026 Sustainability Report and Strategy Review’, a comprehensive look back at the impacts of its sustainability strategy since its release in 2020.
The review, published on Wednesday (24), charts the progress in how sustainability has been integrated into all aspects of World Athletics operations since the release of the ‘World Athletics Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030’, from decision-making, event delivery, athlete welfare, organisational governance and support for the wider athletics community. Building on that progress and the systems and standards built over the strategy’s first five years, the review highlights how the next phase will be defined by consistency, scale and impact to ensure that the systems now in place continue to drive measurable change across our sport.
“At the halfway point of this strategy, this review provides an important opportunity to reflect on the progress made between 2020 and 2025, and to look honestly at the work still ahead,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
“In that period, sustainability has moved from being a standalone commitment to becoming a more embedded part of how we plan events, support our Member Federations, work with partners and safeguard athletes.
“The urgency has only increased. With global temperatures continuing to rise, climate change should increasingly be viewed as an existential threat to sport. For athletics, that threat is not theoretical. It affects training environments, competition conditions, event planning and, above all, athlete safety.”
The achievements outlined in the review illustrate the important progress made between 2020 and 2025. The development of the Athletics for a Better World (ABW) Standard, the strengthening of our sustainable event management systems, the evolution of our climate and air quality work, and our continued focus on gender equity, safeguarding and athlete protection all point to a more mature and structured approach, and international recognition.
Much of the progress has been driven by the ABW Standard, a system developed by World Athletics and implemented in 2024 that evaluates, measures and scores an event’s achievement in sustainable delivery.
In 2024, 104 events submitted sustainability reporting. Nearly half achieved one of the designated achievement levels, including two Platinum, two Gold, four Silver and five Bronze events. In 2025, 121 events reported with three achieving Platinum, five Gold, 10 Silver and nine Bronze. From 2026, all World Athletics Series events will be contractually required to meet minimum achievement thresholds.
Looking ahead to the next five years
Much has also changed since 2020 when World Athletics became just the second Olympic sport federation to release a sustainability strategy.
Climate change is creating more direct risk for athletes, event organisers and host communities, from extreme heat and poor air quality to flooding, storms and disruption to infrastructure.
At the same time, expectations around safeguarding, inclusion, human rights, transparency and responsible event delivery have continued to rise. For a global sport practised in every region of the world, these issues are not separate from the future of athletics. They are part of its long-term resilience and will help inform the strategy’s second half.
An updated roadmap is included in the report, taking into account the World Athletics Climate Transition plan that was developed in 2025, a climate risk and opportunity assessment, requirements of the updated ISO 20121:2024 event sustainability management system and evolving commitments and collaborations.
The World Athletics Climate Transition builds on six years of climate action, bringing together a structured, time-bound roadmap for reducing emissions, managing climate risks and supporting the wider athletics ecosystem.
It is built around two foundations: a carbon reduction plan, including a net zero pathway, and a climate adaptation strategy. Together, they provide a practical framework to reduce and balance greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen resilience to physical and transitional climate risks and identify opportunities to support fair, inclusive and equitable outcomes across our sport.
Our first climate risk and opportunity assessment, which was also conducted in 2025, considers physical acute risks, physical chronic risks and transitional risks across short, medium and long-term time horizons through to 2050. The assessment explored both a 2°C warming scenario, reflecting a more orderly transition to a low-carbon economy, and a 4°C scenario, representing a higher-risk pathway in which global emissions continue to rise.
Several material risks were identified for athletics, including extreme heat, increasing air pollution, extreme storms and flooding, and the challenge of transitioning to low-carbon transport. These risks will be monitored over time to understand how their nature and severity may evolve, and to identify practical adaptation measures for World Athletics, event organisers, host cities, Member Federations, athletes, fans and technical officials.