Climate Action
Wiltshire Tennis has committed to a net zero emissions target and have adopted the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework.
Background
Global warming is placing our planet and future generations at risk. Meeting the scale of the challenge requires action by all sectors, including the sports sector to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Around the world, governments, cities and businesses are taking bold climate action, leading the way towards a healthier and more sustainable future. By employing solutions to global warming each of us will be improving and contributing to public health, promoting social justice, preserving natural resources, creating reliable sources of energy and contributing to society and economy as a whole.
Tennis courts are being flooded, and extreme heat is impacting coaching, play and competitions. Disruption to travel and competition schedules is also an increasing problem. By 2050, the average player could experience 70% more extremely hot days compared to 1990 (Salter Baxter, 2021).
We all have a collective responsibility to act and accelerate our work to ensure tennis is sustainable for future generations.
Climate Action Framework
In line with the United Nations Climate Action Framework we have undertaken to adopt the following principles:
Next Steps
We have initiated a programme to measure and understand which activities contribute the most toward our emissions so that we are able to prioritise an action plan to either avoid, substitute or compensate unavoidable emissions. We will seek a practical approach to achieve the greatest positive impact in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
As well as focusing on our own operations, we will outline how we can support those we invest to act. We will also be urging all venues and partners to align themselves to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.
Some possible options to off-set our emissions:
Immediate Action
We recognise that we have unavoidable emissions and in a bid to compensate for these we have partnered with Tree-Nation. With their help we have started our net zero journey with two simple steps:
To view progress of the Wiltshire Tennis forest you can click on the icon in the footer of any of the pages of this website or as below. There is also the option to buy trees for our forest; prices are very reasonable and you will be helping us to achieve our target.
Swindon & District Tennis League
The Swindon & District League have also embarked on off-setting the emissions through participation in the leagues using Tree-Nation. They include an emissions levy on each team entering the Summer and Winter Leagues. The levy covers the averaged mileage of travel to and from matches as well as the estimated emissions from floodlights.
Emissions off-set with Tree-Nation
Tree-Nation is the reforestation platform which gathers together in one place the largest number of tree planting projects around the world. The organisation offers people the possibility to select from over 300 different tree species which can be planted in 70 different reforestation projects located in 4 different continents. In every project, the species are carefully selected according to the specific benefits they bring for the environment and to the local population. Each tree planted on the Tree-Nation platform is assigned its own unique URL, which means the species, the location, the plantation project information and the CO2 compensation values can be tracked throughout the lifetime of the tree. When trees are gifted the individual can track the progress of their tree through the Wiltshire Tennis Forest.
Why Plant Trees?
CO2 emissions hugely contribute to climate change. Trees have a critical job to balance oxygen & CO2 levels. With deforestation across the world more CO2 is released into the atmosphere causing devastating effects on our planet. Rising temperatures contribute to rising sea levels, with warmer ocean temperatures threatening wildlife & leading to extinction.