The world of major sports events, like any human activity, generates a tangible impact on the planet and needs make the most of the opportunity to tackle the new challenges of the 21st century, using sport as a positive force.
With the aim of actively contributing to this fundamental change, RCS Sports & Events will continue its work alongside NATIVA (Regenerative Design Company) supporting hundreds of organisations in a radical evolution towards regenerative economic models. Together, we are carefully mapping our environmental, social and economic impact, including that of two iconic events such as the Milano Marathon and the Giro d’Italia.
The Project
R Intents implies the close involvement of those players who set up and experience these events every year: the organisers and people of RCS, the suppliers and partners, the local communities, the athletes, as well as the spectators and audiences.
The objective is not merely to analyse the main impacts of the events, but to establish an active dialogue with our entire ecosystem, in order to identify shared solutions capable of guiding the evolution of event design towards an increasingly regenerative approach.
The goal is ambitious, but the road ahead has been blazed and we are ready to follow it step by step.
Our commitment for the Giro d'Italia
The 360-degree analysis carried out in 2023 on the impacts of the Giro d’Italia and the commitment of RCS Sport to evolve towards more sustainable practices has been outlined in our first Legacy Report. The data collected on more than 150 parameters from 5 sustainability-related areas – Circularity, Natural Capital, Climate Resilience, Education and Involvement, Wellbeing, Happiness and Health – led to the drawing of the regeneration profile of the event:
Here are some of the key elements raised:
- more than 50% of the packaging used for catering is biobased, recycled and FSC-certified;
- 83% of the waste produced and collected during the Giro was sorted and sent for recycling;
- 100% of the Giro jerseys are made of recycled fabric;
- monitoring of the satisfaction and wellbeing of RCS’s public and staff through anonymous surveys, aimed at planning improvement actions.
A further step forward was taken this year, implementing the improvement actions we committed to through the Legacy Report to achieve the target profile of the Giro d’Italia.
To achieve this, we have focused our efforts on a wide range of different areas:
To achieve this, we have focused our efforts on a wide range of different areas:
- Monitoring of the economic impact on the territories touched by the Giro;
- Investments for the communities touched by the event (e.g. activation of a road signage project for cycle tourism).
POSITIVE IMPACT ON PEOPLE
- Increased event accessibility through the removal of architectural barriers and the development of new services;
- Involving suppliers and sponsors in the decision-making process on social and environmental performance.
POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
- Development of a system of preliminary site analyses to check for the presence of nature-sensitive areas;
- Creation and sharing of guidelines for suppliers and sponsors on sustainable alternatives;
- Monitoring of the movements/transfers of all the actors involved.
