Our Commitment
In adopting the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework Wiltshire Tennis recognises that:
- the Paris Agreement represents a global response to the scientific consensus that human activity is causing global average temperatures to rise at unprecedented rates;
- the goals agreed in the Paris Agreement translate to reaching climate neutrality in the second half of the twenty-first century. Sports organisations need to take an active part in contributing to the realisation of these goals.
- delivering on the climate agenda also contributes to the broader Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development,
- all sports organisations, regardless of size or geography, have opportunities to take actions that will result in a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions;
- actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are consistent have multiple synergies and co-benefits with, among other things, expanding economic opportunity and securing livelihoods, using resources more efficiently, driving economic competitiveness and innovation, strengthening environmental, social and economic resilience in the face of increasing climate impacts;
- sports have a unique power to inspire a wider societal change that embraces a low-carbon future and keeps the planet safe for future generations.Â
Principles
In adopting the Sports for Climate Action initiative we support the goals of the Paris Agreement in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and affirm through the adoption of five key principles:
We will move beyond ad-hoc environmental practices to a comprehensive incorporation of climate change and its impacts into our strategy. We will bring oursselves up to the standards of good practice by; establishing responsibility for sustainability at the Executive level by defining sustainability strategies and implementing robust approaches to reducing our climate impact, and by considering internal and external issues that influence the climate impact of the organization now and in the future.Â
We will prepare a strategy for achieving climate neutrality for our organisation and their events and encourage venues in the region to do similar.  No matter what size of organisation or sporting event, everyone has a climate impact, and everyone can take action to reduce it.  We will follow a series of key steps to take action to minimise and eventually neutralise our climate impact.  We will seek a practical approach to achieve the greatest positive impact in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.Â
Measure and understandÂ
We will:
– gather information on our current activities to enable us to calculate a baseline climate footprint.
– evaluate the overall climate impacts on our organisation, and understand which activities contribute most to these impacts.Â
– prioritise activities that have the highest contribution to our climate footprint to achieve the most cost effective actions with the highest reduction potential.Â
Take ActionÂ
Actions to mitigate our climate impacts will follow a hierarchal approach as described below:
Avoid – actions designed to eliminate emissions occurring in the first place;
Reduce – actions designed to lower the climate impact of our current activities;
Substitute/replace – actions designed to improve efficiency;
Compensate – actions designed to compensate for some or all of our remaining, unavoidable impacts;
Report – provide a credible account of our climate footprint and the climate actions;
Through our website and social media channels we will communicate and spotlight existing guidelines, resources, tools and expertise and collectively address potential knowledge gaps.  We will seek to enable knowledge sharing capacities to optimize the impact of collective effort on climate action.   Through this we will provide a forum for venues to understand climate change issues in a global and regionally relevant context and incorporate lessons into their strategy.
We will encourage venues and event organisers to adopt sustainable procurement policies to motivate providers to develop cleaner options.  We will develop communication campaigns toward stakeholders and players, to promote the use of greener, sustainable options.
We will consistently promote awareness about climate change by mobilising resources to support action on climate change, such as:Â
– Website;Â
– Social media;Â Â
– Showcasing sustainable actions at events and iconic venues.
