Sport and Climate

Sport and Climate

Lighter Footprints was delighted to welcome Nicola Barr, Tom Campbell, Lexi Lynch and Lizzie Hedding to be on a panel discussing sport and climate change. The panelists are all committed to raising awareness in our community about the impact of climate change on sport, and to inspire and encourage people to take climate action.

• Watch the event again on our YouTube Live – including comments and notes in the chat
• Check out more with lively event images and relevant links on our facebook album 
• Check out our Tweet string for a summary of the event
• Find out more on our sport and climate information page

Our Treasurer, Richard Hedding, welcomed us all and with a twinkle in his eye introduced us to the four panelists including the evening’s moderator, his daughter Lizzie Hedding.

 

Sport for Change Panelists

Lizzie Hedding

Lizzie has her Dad’s sparkle and her own spring. Lizzie is the co-founder of Project Planet, Tilt Studio and during the 2025 federal election Lizzie launched Build a Ballot with Tegan Lerm.  During her time as a professional athlete Lizzie achieved a long jump personal best of 6.48m (that is a long long jump) and finished 2nd in Long jump at the 2024 Oceania Championships.

Check out this interview with Lizzie on her sporting career and climate advocacy on the FrontRunners website: “Following the bushfires, I started trying to learn more about what was going on with climate change and what I could do to help. Project Planet started out as a way to share what I was learning and has since grown into a small team of content creators and activists.”

Lizzie’s engaging manner immediately captured the attention of all in the room.  More so when she told us that all the speakers were going to “get out of their lanes” and speak the truth about the challenge of climate change as they are often told to stay in their lanes by their peers or sporting organisations. Tonight they had no fear of ‘disqualification’. Lizzie acknowledged that the audience needed no convincing about the immense impact of climate, but just in case there were any fence sitters Lizzie gave us a few stats:

• In the last five years 540 local AFL clubs have been impacted by climate related events (fires, floods, drought)
• Australia’s ski season is predicted to last just 37 days by 2080, currently 88 days
• Last season 20% of baseball games were weather affected

 

“Sport can draw attention to the impacts of climate change.”

Ronet Petitt, Lighter Footprints Committee Member

Nicola Barr

Nicola Barr, a current ALFW player for St Kilda, board director for Footy for Climate and working with FrontRunners to assist sporting codes and organisations to decarbonise sport, was the next panelist to speak. Nicola told us that her mood was boosted after St Kilda had a win last weekend.  She has played for St Kilda for 1 year and previously had played for the Giants for nine years.

Nicola described her lifelong passion for the outdoors and nature and the importance of sport to give herself a sense of belonging and stability as her family moved around a lot as she was growing up.  Nicola had been aware of climate change for many years but the pivotal moment for her was in 2021.

“I was playing AFL with the Giants and the black Summer bushfires happened. And I remember walking out to a training session in Greater Western Sydney.The sky was orange, there was ash falling down from the sky and I just like to be honest, I was really nervous about going outside to train. I was inhaling smoke with all my teammates and I was like, feels a bit odd, but I’m not really sure if we should be going out to training here.”

Nicola Barr, St Kilda AFLW

Nicola said “we were running laps and just couldn’t breathe very well. And then the next session we ended up canceling. We moved inside to train instead”. There were a lot of the discussions with teammates about the impact on community sport, given the big impact on us with all our resources and medical support: “what is the impact of climate change mean for young kids wanting to play sport?”

 

This was her moment we Nicola really started thinking about how climate was impacting sport and what she could do as an athlete. 

“And that’s when an email landed in my inbox from Tom. They started Footy for Climate and sent out an email to all AFL and AFLW players talking about what they were doing, and I just knew instantly I wanted to get involved. I want to be a part of that.

 

And since then, my medical science degree has gone down the drain and I’m just working in sustainability instead. And absolutely love it. I think sport has a huge platform for positive change here in Australia and around the world, and really proud to be doing what we’re doing at Footy For Climate.”

Nicola Barr, St Kilda AFLW

Tom Campbell

Tom Campbell, co-founder of Footy For Climate and a professional AFL player, currently playing with Melbourne was the third panelist to speak. Tom, a quietly spoken ruck man described himself as a serious little kid who thought about the need to protect our environment.  Again it was the bushfires in the summer of 2020 that  sparked him along with a fellow footballer to form Footy For Climate.

 

“We did sort of think about, you know, what can we do with our platform? We were like players. We do have a public profile, some of us more than others. But collectively we can actually draw attention and hopefully provide some support to these communities. So that was really the starting point of footy for climate.”

Tom Campbell, Melbourne AFL

In 2021 Tom Campbell and Jaspar Pittard surveyed 700 AFL Players and found that 92% were concerned about climate change. They started Footy for Climate, with 260 initial sign ups, working to support players advocate for climate action and give back to the community.

“We built this organization. We had some ideas at the start around, you know, just being a bit of committee and sort of asking the AFL to strive for more ambition. I made a podcast, of course. We made a short film and other cool things, but over time, we’ve  stepped up the ambition and the degree of professionalism.

 

Now we’re sort of much more focused on community support and how we can, at the elite level, give back to the grassroots where the impacts of climate change are really being felt.”

Tom Campbell, Melbourne AFL

 

Alexi Lynch

Lex Lynch, CEO of Footy for Climate, was the final panelist to join the conversation. Lex co-founded the Environmental Jobs Network and previously led strategic projects on energy efficiency and climate action at Ironbark Sustainability. In 2024 Lex became CEO of Footy for Climate, leading its growth into a professional organisation driving climate leadership in Australian rules football.

Whilst Lex was the only non-athlete on the panel there was no doubting his passion for footy and sport. Lex told the audience a story that rang true for many of us in the audience highlighting the importance of sport in childhood, family life and friendships. He says he felt in love with footy at at the age of five! 

“And like, I’m sure so many people here have got very similar stories. There are about 10 or 11 million Australians who have a similar story and it was just playing footy every day with my friends at primary school. The kids that I was playing footy with in 1983 when I was five years old, Dan, Mike,  Harriet, Nico, my brother and 2 or 3 others, I still go to the footy with today at 47 years old.

 

We catch up every Saturday.” 

Alexi Lynch, CEO Footy for Climate

Lex explained that after Uni they would move in different directions. “Some got married early, some had kids, some traveled, but whenever we came back we’d have footy and we go to the footy. If we play interstate we go to a pub and we watch the footy and we kept that connection, and that connection is so powerful and has remained so powerful.”

“I’m in that clan that used to go to the North Games in the 80s and 90s has gone from 9 or 10 to about 30 because as well as being at the game still with Dan, Mike Harriet, and Nico, it’s our kids and our parents. And so it just grows and grows and it has been absolutely a connection.”

Alexi Lynch, CEO Footy for Climate

Alexi explained that for his role in climate advocacy that sport is a great starting point when connecting over shared values, and a natural for talking about intergenerational impacts. Everyone, despite their political persuasion, wants to do the best for their communities and their kids.

 

“Alexi hits the nail on the head – the motivating factor for so many of us to get involved is the intergenerational impacts.”

Sarah Hegarty, Lighter Footprints Committee

 

The panelists left the audience with no doubt about the importance of sport in our community and the threat that climate change brings to sport in so many ways. Lex pushed back against the notion that sport and politics or sport and climate shouldn’t mix “because they’ve always been together”. Climate and sport have always have been inherently part of the broader social fabric of life. “And so it’s great that we’ve got athletes talking about climate change.”

 

Roundtable Conversation

The conversation then shifted to what can sports people and organisations do in the climate space,

FrontRunners

Nicola gave a brief outline about FrontRunners, a small agency to support athletes in their climate advocacy. Front Runners was started by ex Wallabies captain and now Independent ACT Senator David Pocock and his partner Emma Pocock. They started the organisation to support athletes and sports groups to manage the challenges of climate and sport and using their platforms to for faster climate action. It is good to have a body that represents all sporting codes  – this helps with gaining access, for instance recently to Minister Bowen for finance to support local clubs. You can read more about FrontRunner campaigns here.

Lizzie reminded us that athletes are some of the “most trusted people in Australia”. 

“FrontRunners is really helping to support athletes who want to do more, who want to create organizations who want to use their platform to speak up, who want to be able to go and talk to their sports organization about what they’re doing.”

The Cool Down

FrontRunners ran a campaign called ‘The Cool Down’ , an open letter to the government at the time calling for more ambitious climate action. Over 460 athletes signed that open letter. Tom Campbell also hosts a podcast – you can check some episodes here.

More recently Footy for climate, Cricket for climate and  Front runners were all at Parliament in Canberra talking with Chris Bowen and asking the government for $100 million over five years to support local community clubs, put batteries in, put solar panels on their roofs, install more shade, and get lights so that if it’s too hot to play during the day they can play at night time. Alexi mentioned that if we have 500 clubs with renewables we can demonstrate it can work in “small” spaces – a collective demonstration that is valuable within the wider community.

Sport for 75

Most recently FrontRunners ran an advertisement in National newspapers with over 150 athletes signed on supporting a 2035 target of 75%.  

All of the panelists agreed that as sports people they would never settle for a performance target less than 100% of their very best.  How as athletes they are always trying to improve their performance and look for little wins.  They all had accounts of how one conversation at a time amongst their team mates and sporting contacts is changing hearts and minds about the urgency to act on climate. 

 

Footy for Climate and Power Forward

Footy for Climates Power Forward program is doing exactly that, winning hearts and minds. The program aims to assist 500 clubs by 2030 to install solar panels, battery storage, and sustainability solutions at community football clubs across Australia.

 

The PowerForward program started with the Mansfield Football and Netball Club and installed a 30kw solar system with a 40kWh battery storage.  The project has cut the club’s energy costs by 90% freeing up funds  for what matters most – supporting players, volunteers and, and the community.  This program can transform local clubs into hubs of climate resilience.

Also this action gives an opportunity for conversations in the community that is benefitting from local climate action.

“And that’s why for us, power forward is about the solar and batteries on the club. But then that sparks the conversation. And so I think for me then part of that is, of course, doing the tangible things, the things that we own. We all know that energy efficiency, renewables, switching fuel, EVs, whatever it might be matter, but then also the conversations is the critical thing.”

Alexi Lynch, CEO, Footy for Climate

 

 

Sponsorship

 The conversation turned to fossil fuel sponsorship in sport.  

“Sponsorship from fossil fuel companies is huge for athletes yet small change for large companies. Can renewable energy companies step up their sponsorship?”

Robert Pettit, Lighter Footprints Committee

Nicola said: 

• Fossil fuel sponsorship in sport is probably the most challenging space for an athlete to, to speak about, and, you know, we’ve grappled with it at Footy for Climate
• They’re purchasing social license by, by sponsoring our sporting organizations. I guess we’re it’s challenging for athletes when they don’t align with the sponsors, their clubs.
• So, it’s a really complicated one. It’s one that causes athletes a lot of stress and angst. 
• I think, we need to work on so many different ways in which we ensure that the sponsors of our sports align to the important community values that sport is about.

 

In our contracts, we can’t bring  our club or our organization into disrepute. That’s a huge part of our contract. So you are really limited with what you can say. And I think it’s really important that the general public knows that as well.

 

The money that is coming from major emitters – big fossil fuel companies – the percentage of their revenue that they’re putting towards sport is so small for them, but it’s so huge for sport. And I just think that’s so important to remember, because the value that they get out of sponsoring sport is huge.

Lizzie Hedding, Australian long jumper

All of the panel would like to see renewable energy companies sponsoring sport.  They told us it is helpful for the players if the supporters of clubs speak out against sponsorship by fossil fuel companies. There is a passionate group of Fremantle fans opposed to Woodside’s sponsorship of Fremantle. They cover over the Woodside motif on their footy jumpers, which acts as a form of players who may be unhappy about their sponsors values.

 

Carbon shadow vs carbon footprint

The carbon footprint of professional athletes can be large and not easily mitigated. What to do?

Lex introduced the audience to the concept of climate shadow – what you can influence and change you can instigate – rather than climate footprint.  Aim for a big climate shadow, concentrate on the actions you as an individual can do often by talking about climate , lobbying and advocating for climate action.  Make sure that you’ve got a shadow behind you that is much bigger than your relatively small climate footprint. 

This is a helpful mindset for athletes who have to fly to attend sports events and worry about their carbon emissions.

 

Extreme Heat impacts

The topic of extreme heat affecting sport both professional and community was only briefly raised.  Nicola drew our attention to the work FrontRunners is doing with many sporting codes to help them develop policies to manage the threat of extreme heat. 

• Keeping Score: Along with the Environment Defenders Office (EDO), FrontRunners analysed sporting codes panning for and response to extreme heat and climate change. It’s worth a look – Hockey and Tennis rate well.
• Sports, Climate Change and Legal Liability report – a first of its kind, analysing the legal risks climate change poses to sport. “Climate action isn’t just a “nice to have” for sports organisations; it’s a key business risk. This report provides a clear rationale for action, and recommendations on how organisations should begin the work.”
• Rings of Fire: Heat at the 2024 Paris Olympics – FrontRunners and British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) report looking at the implications and likelihood of extreme heat at the Paris Olympics. The report pairs climate science alongside the lived experience of current and former Olympians, including Australia’s very own Olympic racewalker, Rhydian Cowley.
• Hit for Six: The Danger Zone – check out a new report from FrontRunners and BASIS on how extreme heat is impact cricket world-wide.

Professional athletes have sustained harm, in some cases permanently, from playing in extreme heat. Sadly there was a local community cricket player who passed away whilst playing cricket in Adelaide during a heat wave. The risk of playing in extreme heat is on the minds of both professional and amateur sports players, and in the case of children on their parents’ minds –  another double whammy for young people living in a hotter world but less availability to engage in activities such as community sport to develop and maintain resilience.

 

Increasing risks and determination to act

“The national climate risk Assessment paints a very bleak picture.

 

At three degrees of warming, we’ll have four times the amount of time spent in heatwaves leading up to five times amount of deaths due to extreme heat with 1.5 million more Australians at the risk of coastal flooding, just to name a couple of the key takeaways from that report.”

Lizzie Hedding, Australian long jumper

All of the panel members spoke about the mental toll of being aware of the severity of the climate crisis and the confronting future scenarios. They spoke about their need to switch off on occasions. Yet they come back to the climate action space with enthusiasm and determination to use the skills they have developed as athletes to achieve results for faster climate action and protecting the future of sport.

There is no doubt that sports people and their communities taking climate action is part of the solution to the very difficult problem of climate change.

Coming events

The Electrify Boroondara Expo 2025 is on at the Hawthorn Arts Centre on Sunday October 12th – all you need to know on solar, batteries, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and going electric: demonstrations, expert panels, and over 50 stalls so you can directly compare companies.

 

Lighter Footprints is very grateful to Lizzie Hedding, Nicola Barr, Tom Campbell and Lex Lynch is allowing us to get an understanding of the powerful work they are all doing.