It’s holiday time (unless you are hard at work preparing for season two of ILT20…) and the Desert Vipers would like to wish all of our fans, followers, players, staff, and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope you enjoy spending time with your loved ones whether you are celebrating or just enjoying some time away from your desk. For many of us, that might mean travelling long distances to be with family and friends, so what better opportunity is there to talk about air travel and its environmental impacts than at Christmas? While this topic may not be top of the list when it comes to sitting down to share a plate of turkey or a more environmentally friendly vegan alternative, it is eye-opening to understand just how carbon heavy an activity flying is. At Desert Vipers we have developed a keen awareness of our own air travel’s impact through our work on calculating our carbon footprint, so we thought we'd share some of our newfound insight in today’s blog. Here’s hoping that your meal of choice and associated chat are not so dry that this comes up as a topic of discussion for you before January, but ahead of the big day, here is some of what we learnt.
In 2018, air travel accounted for 2.5% of all global CO2 emissions – more than the carbon footprints of the UAE and Saudi Arabia combined. For the Desert Vipers, the contribution of air travel to our overall footprint is predominant, accounting for around two-thirds (64.9%) of our measured carbon emissions from ILT20 season one. While both of these statistics are alarming, sometimes there is no alternative to getting on a plane, whether it’s flying to visit family at Christmas, or flying to the UAE for your job. We have no choice but to fly our players and many of our staff members into Dubai for the tournament (disappointingly our player survey indicated that not many were prepared to row to Dubai from their home countries). Fortunately, there are things which we can all do to combat this meaty source of emissions. While choosing not to fly is always the best option (and the Desert Vipers and its peers in the ILT20 are lucky in that they do not need to fly domestically to play our matches - a rarity for major sporting franchises), that’s not feasible in some scenarios. Video calls are a great substitute a lot of the time. However, when we do need to fly, there are things which we can do to limit our impact, which we have grouped into three categories: individuals and businesses, airlines and airports.
Firstly, individuals and businesses (through policy) can make changes to reduce their carbon footprint when flying. The most obvious thing to do is to fly the most direct route, and to fly with less luggage, reducing the amount of fuel the plane needs to get from one location to another. Perhaps the most interesting thing that we learnt when calculating our own carbon footprint is that the class of travel is a crucial consideration. From an accounting perspective, travelling in a lower class (e.g., economy instead of business), reduces your emissions considerably, as you are responsible for less space in the plane, so you take a lower proportion of responsibility for the carbon footprint. However, there are material carbon benefits, too. In business and first class, you receive more goodies and gifts, as well as more food and drink options that are sourced from wider geographies. You have a larger luggage allowance which means you are accountable for more fuel being consumed. You also have access to a special departure lounge and everything in it. On some airlines, you are also provided with a private car to take you to and from the airport as part of the deal. So here’s the nugget to remember in case you really do run out of conversation at Christmas: a business class flight accounts for approximately three times the carbon emissions of an economy class flight. A first class flight accounts (approximately) for a whopping six times the emissions of an economy class flight. A premium economy class flight accounts for approximately one and a half times the emissions of an economy class flight (which seems like a reasonable middle ground comfort wise). This is the reason why at the Desert Vipers our executive team and staff no longer fly business class. Some of our players will join us in this initiative this season. When it comes to “easy wins” and reducing our teams’ carbon footprint, this was an easy decision for us to take. Maybe if more businesses can do the same it will signal to the plane manufacturers that we are happy to fly with more people on the plane, meaning future plane designs might be designed to carry more people in the same amount of space, which would be much better for our planet? Who knows. Anyway, thought provoking stuff!
Secondly, it is perhaps the airlines that have the largest role to play in reducing emissions from flying. Many airlines are using newer, more efficient, more aerodynamic planes in order to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. Airlines can also use a higher percentage of ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ (SAF) as their fuel, although the emissions savings from this fuel depends upon how it is produced - it is no good “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. However, this is an exciting and extremely important area of technological advancement. There have been lots of headlines in the news lately about this after Virgin Atlantic took its first transatlantic flight using SAF. We are sceptical about the use of the word “sustainable” to describe what is essentially just a less bad form of one of the leading contributors to global emissions, but more carbon efficient fuel represents an important move in the right direction. There are also smaller things that airlines can do, such as reducing waiting times on the runway as much of the emissions associated with flying are produced when planes are on the ground, and flying using an optimal elevation flight path – all very technical stuff and of course beyond the influence of a sports rights holder unfortunately!
Lastly, airports have an important role to play. Airports can use renewable energy to power their facilities, and improve their energy efficiency so as to reduce the amount of energy they need. They can also electrify their fleet; for example, using electric vehicles for transporting luggage to and from the planes. Many already do. Finally, they can work with local organisations/governments to provide better public transport options to and from the airport.
Some of the above speaks to a significant challenge that all businesses have in working towards any ambitious emissions reduction targets that they may set themselves, or any that are imposed upon them by other organisations or governments. To a significant degree we are all reliant upon change in external factors that are largely beyond our control - most likely through advances in technology which will require an enormous amount of investment. It’s why decisions made at events like the recent COP 28 held in Dubai are so important. At the Desert Vipers, we have chosen a fantastic partner for our air travel in ATPI, who help us to make smart choices in our plans by identifying the most sustainable options available to us. Working with a partner focussed on sustainability allows us to accurately track our carbon footprint from flying and reduce emissions where possible. For our part, our staff is proud to fly economy for the majority of our travel, as we now know what it means. Because we measured it. Merry Christmas!
Dubai Sustainability Spotlight – Sport at COP 28
The recent COP (Conference of Parties) 28 climate conference has just ended in Dubai, with a landmark agreement to “transition away” from coal, oil, and gas. Hosting COP 28 was a proud moment for our home city and we offer our congratulations to the organisers. Having COP 28 on our doorstep allowed us to listen, learn and participate in the debate as well as to meet up with old friends and new from around the world of sport to talk about pressing issues relating to climate and sustainability.
We would like to shine a light on the great work of Extreme Hangout at COP 28, who made sure that sport was central to the agenda through their installation in the Green Zone. Their programme was action packed and progressive and we look forward to working with their team in future. Thank you to Amber Nuttall, Graeme Bowerbank and team for kindly giving a platform to Desert Vipers’ own Sustainability Ambassador, Sean Morris, CEO of 1.5 Degrees Sport – Desert Vipers’ Climate Change Partner, at COP28. Sean was part of a panel discussion on the topic “The Future of Sport” alongside other leaders in sport and sustainability. Please do check out their content on the above link.
As far as what COP 28 might mean for rights holders in sport, we would point you towards this highly insightful article written by Claire Poole, the Founder of Sport Positive - https://www.sportpositive.org. The article covers sponsorship decision making, renewable energy use, food and fan engagement, as well as the topic of today’s blog - sustainable travel. Do read the article and give her a follow if you don’t already! Sport Positive also host the annual Sport Positive Summit in conjunction with the UN Sport For Climate Action Framework and the IOC, that Desert Vipers CEO Phil Oliver attended along with our Head of Strategy & Sustainability, Matt Bailey, earlier this year. We encourage more rights holders from our region to attend in 2024 (flying economy class of course….).
