Polluting Sponsors Jeopardize Future of Winter Sports

by bernt & torsten

The CO2 emissions from seven renowned winter sports sponsors (Audi, Ford, SAS, Equinor, Aker, Volvo, Preem) could potentially melt an area of 1,968 square kilometres (km2) of spring snow every year, warns a novel report named 'Dirty Snow'. This area equivalent is 437 times and 195 times greater than Sweden's largest ski resort, Åre, and one of the world's biggest skiing areas, Skicircus Saalbach, respectively. Despite their massive emission generation, these sponsors claim to care about climatic changes. They must be transparent about their sponsorship deals to help the public understand the additional emissions they generate.

Dirty Snow, launched by New Weather Sweden and the Badvertising campaign, investigates the climate change impacts and snow loss caused by high-carbon industries' major sponsorship deals. The report, amid the FIS Ski World Cup events, also emphasizes how these sponsors directly threaten winter sports through their emissions. These sponsors have a profound influence on the shifting global snowfall patterns and rising world temperatures and pose existential threats to winter sports.

The report includes a unique formula to calculate every high-carbon sponsorship deal's impact on the emission levels. Results imply that Audi's multi-million euro sponsorship deal with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) would generate approximately 103,000 to 144,000 tonnes of CO2. Equinor's sponsorship with the Norwegian Ski Federation would increase emissions by 26.4 kg of CO2 for each Euro and cause a loss of 635 square kilometres of snow cover each year. Similarly, Aker's GB Snowsport support will generate increased emissions of 95.8 kg of CO2 per sponsorship Euro.

Winter sports are vulnerable to increasing global temperatures and climate changes; many ski races were cancelled halfway into the 2023-2024 season. Due to the expected trend, winters will decrease by 4.7 days per decade globally. Consequently, in a high-temperature scenario, the winter season could potentially reduce to a single month by the end of the century. Thus, to avoid further damage, immediate and significant emission cuts are essential. The report suggests that sports organizers disclose their polluting sponsorships' values to transparently evaluate and understand their climate impacts. Furthermore, it recommends the termination of future sponsorship deals from the leading drivers of climate change, including oil and gas companies, car manufacturers, and airlines.