Sustainability leaders gather for WSA Sustainability in Sport Conference 2025
The Welsh Sports Association was delighted to welcome colleagues from across the sector and beyond for the third edition of the WSA Sustainability in Sport Conference at Rodney Parade on Wednesday 5 November.
A room packed with people sharing the same passion to drive sustainable change witnessed insightful, captivating, and inspiring discussions throughout the day, as we were hosted by WSA Member Dragons RFC – a two-time winner of the Best Sustainability Initiative at the WSA Sports Industry Awards.
Also featuring at the Conference was a significant announcement from Admiral’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Michelle Leavesley, who broke the news of a second round of the Sustainability in Sport Fund.
The day’s panels were kicked off by the FAW’s Jason Webber, Wales Golf’s Hannah McAllister, BBC Sport’s Ella West and Maria Grandinetti-Milton from European Tour Golf, who talked about sustainability at the heart of events and their legacies.
Fascinating discussions around the multi-faceted and meticulous approach to ensuring that sustainability remained at the core of event and programme planning ensued, as well as how events such as the recent AIG Women’s Open in Porthcawl could be harnessed to create lasting, impactful change across grassroots golf.
Following this, Zero Fintech’s Lisa Stanley, Jenny Hughes from Nature Positive and FleetEV’s Jarrad Morris took to the stage to discuss the benefits of long-term, values-driven partnership that prioritise sustainability as much as anything.
The panel discussed how brands and businesses can leverage positive messaging to bring together audiences and communities, not only to expand commercial opportunities, but also to drive meaningful social change. A key takeaway from the session was the rising importance of engaging with younger audiences and maintaining authenticity.
With business-minded speakers on the panel, there were also discussions around the attraction of the sports sector to corporate names; with an unprecedented reach across the globe, the power and buy-in from fans in their respective sports is a significant force for good.
Next up, there was a first for the WSA Sustainability in Sport Conference as delegates enjoyed Lightning Sessions, consisting of 15-minute presentations from a variety of organisations.
Including in these was a talk from Cerys Porteous and Courtney Miles from Dwr Cymru Welsh Water on practical steps to saving energy and water usage to save money and boost sustainable practises both domestically and at sports clubs – like at Maesteg Golf Club, for example, where they’ve been saving 4,000 litres per day!
Sport Wales also took to the stage to discuss the commitment to sustainability within the Capability Framework and since the launch of the organisation’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy in 2020.
Owain Morris and Ellen Todd spoke about successes from initiatives such as the Energy Saving Grant, enabling sports clubs to reduce expenditure and develop their sustainability, as well as updates to the Capability Framework which will support funded partners to consider ESG throughout their organisations.
Also presenting to the Conference were two recipients from the inaugural edition of the Sustainability in Sport Fund.
The room first heard from Jamie Rewbridge from the West Wales Sports Partnership, alongside Loopeto’s Sean Gallagher and Phoebe Eaton from Sporting Giants. The trio discussed the REPLAY scheme, a collaborative initiative enabling clubs, players, and the public to pass unwanted sports kit on for free, ensuring every pair of boots, every jersey, and every racket, bat or stick gets reused.
Lily and Nika from the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales also presented to the room, delivering updates on the organisation’s work since receiving a grant from the Sustainability in Sport Fund earlier this year.
The teenagers blew the room away with their passion and drive to spread positive change.
BGC Wales’ Environmental Adventure Initiative, designed in collaboration with the BGC Wales Youth Forum to really project the voice of young people, is creating Young Eco-Leaders and young people increasingly passionate about making a personal impact and taking their learnings back into their communities.
Following lunch, delegates were treated to the result of another Sustainability in Sport Fund grant, as the Dragons’ Sustainability Lead, David Watts, led a tour of the Eco Hub at Rodney Parade.
Made from old shipping containers, the Dragons Eco Hub is a one-stop shop in the heart of Newport, a key area for local community groups to come together, and key resource area for those interested in making a difference.
With attendees reconvened, Jason Webber returned to the stage alongside Wales Golf’s Dilwyn Griffiths, Andy Karran from the Gwent Wildlife Trust and YourPact’s Bethan Pugh to discuss biodiversity in relation to sport.
The panel discussed the challenges of limiting sport’s impact on biodiversity while also accounting for the increase in postponements as a result of climate change, but also talked of power of community engagement and collaboration with young people to drive behavioural change more generally.
Recognising the stark depletion of biodiversity on a national level in the UK, the panel discussed how clubs and organisation can use their spaces to help turn the tide, for example planting wildflower seeds, building ‘bug hotels’, and engaging with local Wildlife Trusts.
Bringing a close to panel discussions, Paddle Cymru’s Jet Moore, British Rowing’s Rachel Dulai and Open Water Swimmer Dave Tonge took to the stage following an address from Swim Wales CEO Fergus Feeney.
Fergus talked about his organisation’s Ymlaen Strategy as well as the newly introduced Seneye technology, piloted by Hector Pardoe on his recently accomplished Three Lakes challenge.
Fergus’ passion about the innovation to test water quality and vision for its growth across Wales inspired the panellists into discussions around awareness in water quality and how we can enable our rivers and lakes to thrive.
Second round of Sustainability in Sport Fund announced
The event was subsequently concluded by Michelle Leavesley who, representing Admiral, delivered an exciting announcement for the Welsh sport and leisure sector.
Following the success of its inaugural year, the Sustainability in Sport Fund will be back for a second year, providing strategic partnership funding of up to £100,000 to enable WSA Members to support innovation and environmental action in sustainability across the sector.
The window for applications will open on Monday 17 November; all details can be found here.
The WSA would like to extend its gratitude to all of the speakers who provided such insight and inspiration throughout the day, as well as Lauren Salter, who once again hosted the event so brilliantly.
We would also like to thank Dragons RFC for such fantastic hospitality at Rodney Parade, and all of our partners who supported the event.
We hope all delegates found value in attending this year’s WSA Sustainability in Sport Conference, and we look forward to seeing you next year!
English