How you can help squash tackle the climate and ecological emergency

We all have our part to play in helping making squash a carbon neutral sport.

Carbon Neutral - or Net Zero Carbon - is a term used to describe the state of an entity (such as a company, service, product or event), where the carbon emissions caused by them have been balanced out by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere in the world.

What are the benefits of being Carbon Neutral?

• Reduce cost
  • By changing behaviour on high emission activities like energy use and travel
• Increase revenue
  • By differentiating yourself in the market
• Engage Stakeholders
  • By motivating and retaining members
  • By demonstrating to investors that you are measuring, disclosing and managing climate risks

How can you measure your carbon footprint?

It is important for a club to understand which of its activities cause carbon emissions, and how much.

Online calculators can calculate your greenhouse gas emissions, too. These include The Carbon Trust and The McKay Carbon Calculator

By collecting the data, understanding the full picture and establishing a baseline, it becomes clear where the opportunities to eliminate carbon are.

How does Squash contribute to climate change?

While the total carbon footprint of squash is not known, it is undoubtedly significant.

Think about the carbon impact of:

• Energy required to power club facilities and equipment
• Everything a club purchases and sells, including food and merchandise
• Teams travelling
• Members travelling to and from the club

How can you play your part?

You can’t control everything but by making small changes you can make a positive impact on the environment.

As a club you could become a recycling hub for kit/equipment, make your club single use plastic free, invest in solar panels or energy saving lights, go digital and stop using paper.

As a coach you could go paperless when marketing your sessions, use social media instead and educate players on how to look after equipment so it will last longer.

As a member you could share lifts, jump on public transport or cycle to and from sessions, ditch single-use plastic bottles, get kit second hand or donate your kit when you no longer use it and someone else could.

Check out what we at England Squash are doing to help tackle climate and ecological emergency here.