Innovation in Sport and Sustainability: Recap of the Seminar
What do youth, innovation and sustainability have in common? During our online seminar titled “Innovation in Sport and Sustainability”, which took place within the framework of the Move4Nature and CHANGE projects, we explored the creation of the world’s first football jersey made from Cradle to Cradle Gold-certified materials, examined the sustainability of sports in the metaverse, and discussed the role of innovation and technology in sport for sustainable development.
Three speakers joined the seminar: our two Young Delegates, Anton Klischewski and Ariadna Moya Guillén, both members of our Sustainable Development working group, were accompanied by Lucy Mills from Ready Sport Global, who also served as one of the digitalisation experts in ENGSO’s project CHANGE.
Anton presented the FC Internationale Berlin 1980 football jersey, which the team has designed with the circular economy in mind. This jersey was capable of either decomposing in a landfill or being fully recycled. Made exclusively from Cradle to Cradle Gold-certified materials, it contained no heavy metals, BPA, or biocides—ensuring it was free from harmful chemicals.
Lucy’s contribution focused on the role of innovation and technology in sport for sustainable development. With over 16 years of experience in the football industry across Europe and Africa, she has designed and led professional and grassroots women’s football and social impact programmes in more than 25 countries. During the seminar, she shared her insights into how technology and digitalisation could support sport organisations in enhancing their services, programmes and overall impact, while contributing to sustainable development goals.
Ariadna concluded the seminar with a presentation on the metaverse, regarded as one of the emerging technologies of 2024. She shared findings from her master’s thesis titled “Sustainability of Sports in the Metaverse: Exploring Next Steps on Digitalisation”, which aimed to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges and opportunities related to the ongoing development of sports in virtual environments.
Meet the speakers:
Session 1:
Closing the loop - FC Internationale Berlin released the first football jersey worldwide made of Cradle to Cradle Gold certified materials
Anton Klischewski
Anton will present the FC Internationale Berlin 1980 football jersey he designed with the circular economy in mind: this jersey can either decompose in a landfill or be fully recycled.
It is made exclusively from Cradle to Cradle Gold-certified materials and contains no heavy metals, BPA, or biocides—ensuring it is free from harmful chemicals.
The jersey has the Fair Trade certificate and is made in Portugal. The jersey also includes the No Racism logo which is FC Internationale Berlin 1980 alternative club logo to fight against racism and support a safe, equal sport environment for everyone.
Anton Klischewski is committed to promoting sustainability in professional and grassroots sports. He works as the coordinator for sustainability and engagement at FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e.V., the first sustainably certified amateur club in Germany. In addition, he is also a consultant for sports and fair trade at the Action Alliance in Berlin and advises sports clubs, sports associations, politics and administration in the area of consumption and production. Within the campaign #sporthandeltfair, Anton offers networking opportunities and thematic training, e.g. on fair procurement or climate communication in sports. Since 2021, he has been a certified sustainability manager through the Center for Sustainable Management, ZNU. Anton completed his M.Sc. in Sports Management at the University of Bordeaux in 2020.
Session 2:
The role of innovation and technology in sport for sustainable development
Lucy Mills
Lucy Mills is the founder of Ready Sport Global (READY), a consultancy and learning hub innovating at the intersection of sport, technology, and social impact. With over 16 years of experience in the football industry across Europe and Africa, she has designed and led professional and grassroots women’s football and social impact programs in more than 25 countries. She has worked with global brands, including FC Barcelona and FIFA, and currently serves as a professor of sport and innovation at emlyon Business School in France.
Session 3:
Sustainability of sports in the metaverse: Exploring the next steps of Digitalisation
Ariadna Moya Guillén
The metaverse was considered one of the emerging technologies of 2024 and the sports sector appears to be one of the industries leveraging this resource for various purposes, ranging from enhancing fan experiences to offering new services aimed at increasing monetization and economic generation opportunities, among others. Digitalization and the use of new technologies are not new, but in recent years they have developed exponentially. My master thesis “Sustainability of Sports in the Metaverse. Exploring Next Steps on Digitalization” aims to target economic, social, and environmental challenges and opportunities of the current development of sports in the metaverse. Considering that the information could potentially provide insights for stakeholders related to the sports industry ranging from federations, fans, and athletes, but also for external such as policymakers who will have to respond to these changes and legislate for all.
Ariadna is one of the ENGSO Youth Young Delegates in the Sustainability Working Group. She holds a Bachelor’s in International Business and Marketing and is expected to complete her Master’s in International Sports Politics and Development soon. During this time, she has also been working in market research and marketing. Over the past few years, Ariadna has lived in several countries, an experience she believes has helped her reshape her perspectives. She is passionate about sports and ensuring an active lifestyle. She defines herself as curious.
