The 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup: Deemed success but environmentally unsustainable
As the dust settles on India’s heartbreaking loss in a home ODI World Cup final against Australia, fans and Indian cricket in general will realise that this World Cup was a massive success. Not just in terms of India’s dominant run throughout the tournament, but financially for hosts BCCI and for the Indian economy. While the dust may settle, the air will not get any cleaner.
Crowd attendance and ticketing system breakdowns were not the only issues at this World Cup; it was also terribly affected by punishing weather and degrading air quality in big cities. Extremely high levels of air pollution impacted players in Delhi and Mumbai. Combined with intense heat and humidity, the conditions left many cramping, gasping for breath, and exhausted. Bangladesh saw one of their training sessions cancelled, while fireworks displays in Mumbai and Delhi were called off to avoid further air pollution.
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews during a training session in Delhi.
As climate change continues to impact the world and as cricket continues to be adversely affected by it, should it not be a given by now that the carbon footprint of a major event be considered as one of the priorities in its planning? After all, sport is not just affected by climate change, it is also a major contributor to it.
Sustainability impact of the World Cup
It is not that the BCCI or the ICC gave no consideration whatsoever to sustainability. While a lot more should already have been done, green initiatives and waste minimisation solutions are in place at multiple international cricket venues in India, more so since the BCCI partnered with UN Environment in 2019 to facilitate ‘green cricket’ in India. Some of the tournament’s sponsors implemented sustainability measures; including Coca-Cola teaming up with the ICC to create participating countries’ flags out of recycled material and Adidas creating the Indian team’s jerseys out of recycled polyester.
Weeks before the start of the tournament, the ICC reportedly said that it was “working on a sustainability plan” with the BCCI, the hosts of the World Cup. However, we are still devoid of an update from either organisation on the guidelines or even a plan of action that focuses on minimising the carbon footprint of the tournament, despite the tournament having ended over a week ago. The ICC did not respond to the Sports Gazette’s query regarding the same.
Exact carbon emission figures for the 2023 World Cup have not yet been calculated. However, a cricket match that took place last year was estimated to have released 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. That calculation took into account factors such as travel and accommodation for players and spectators, use of electricity including floodlights, digital streaming, waste materials, and more. In other words, the CO2 emission of one cricket match is said to be equal to that from 2 million homes in a single day.
That was for a T20 match in India. Add to that the duration of a single ODI contest, and the number of matches throughout the World Cup, and you get a fair idea of the approximate carbon footprint for the tournament.
One way to offset this negative impact on the environment in the midst of the increasing dangers of climate change is to work on a decarbonisation plan. In light of the CO2 emission estimates for the above-mentioned T20 match, IPL team Rajasthan Royals partnered with Schneider Electric to offset the carbon footprint of one of their matches from IPL 2022 by planting 17,000 trees over six months. Even then, that match is expected to be carbon neutral only by 2052. At the 2023 IPL, the BCCI announced a ‘Go Green’ campaign through which it committed to planting 500 trees for every dot ball during the playoffs.
Another solution, which is indeed a bare minimum and a factor reasonably controllable by tournament organisers, is scheduling. The schedule for the 10 teams competing at this World Cup involved extensive travel, much of which could have been avoided by organising teams’ matches at the same venue consecutively, rather than requiring them to travel long distances for following matches only to return to the previous venue. Matches within a region could also have been clubbed before teams moved to another region.
For instance, defending champions England played four matches in western India, in Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad, but only two of those matches were consecutively held. South Africa played their 4th and 5th matches in Mumbai and then travelled to the southernmost city of Chennai for the match against Pakistan, only to play the following match in Pune, which is a 4-hour drive away from Mumbai. A similar case with Afghanistan and India, and these are just a few examples. Multiple flights could have been avoided for each of the 10 teams rather than the constant travel across the length and breadth of the country, thereby reducing the carbon footprint caused by excessive travel. India and England traveled the most throughout the tournament.
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Acting fast is vital
Multiple stadiums at this World Cup operate with either LED lights or solar panels on the roof, which are environmentally friendly options; but it is not enough. The 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is currently the only cricket stadium in India with a green rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
Cricket’s involvement in driving positive change with regards to sustainability should arguably be higher than most other sports. As per a report on sport and climate published in 2018, cricket will be the ‘hardest hit’ by climate change of all outdoor sports that require fields or pitches. Acting fast is vital. Especially on the ICC’s part, as cricket’s global governing body is still not a signatory on the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.
Each contribution towards positive change matters. And the role of sport in doing so is very crucial amidst the climate crisis.
