Sustainability in athletics does not begin and end with championships – it stretches well beyond the finish line.
While European Athletics has made major progress in embedding sustainability across its events, the next step is helping Member Federations build the same thinking into their everyday operations.
That is the focus of the new Sustainability Ambassadors Programme – an initiative designed to support federations as they begin or strengthen their own sustainability journey.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the programme provides practical guidance, shared learning and direct support to help federations make meaningful progress in ways that fit their own context.
Building knowledge and practical support
In March 2026, seven ambassadors from seven different federations across Europe came together in Luxembourg for two days of training, held from 27-29 March in close collaboration with the Luxembourg Athletics Federation.
Each ambassador is responsible for supporting a group of federations, helping them understand sustainability basics, develop strategy and identify realistic actions for improvement.
The training included guest speakers such as Niels van der Aar, Global Head of Sustainability at ARLANXEO and a European Athletics Event Commission member, alongside Shaaf Milani-Nia, architect-director of the City of Luxembourg.
Their input helped connect sustainability in sport with wider conversations around urban development, leadership and long-term planning.
Four pillars for long-term progress
The programme supports federations through an initial assessment across four sustainability pillars: economic, environmental, social and human.
From there, European Athletics works with each federation to identify where progress can be made and what practical steps can help them move forward. Support includes one-to-one calls, group discussions and ongoing guidance from the ambassador network.
Thirteen federations will begin this journey in 2026: Malta, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Albania, Serbia, Estonia, Denmark, Latvia, France, Monaco, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The aim is not perfection from the start, but steady, achievable progress built on collaboration and shared experience.
Creating a stronger culture of sustainability
For European Athletics, this marks an important shift. Sustainability support is no longer focused only on events and Local Organising Committees, but also on helping federations embed stronger systems and thinking at every level of the sport.
As Karin Grute-Movin, Vice President and Development Commission Chair, explains: “Our Sustainability Ambassadors Programme is important because it’s a way of supporting our federations to become more sustainable.
"We know that it can be very difficult to do this alone, but in this way they can get the support they need as well as share ideas and best practice about how best to go about it.”
By creating a network of ambassadors across Europe, the programme aims to make sustainability feel less like an additional responsibility and more like a shared part of the future of athletics – practical, collaborative and built to last.
