- Leveraging the power of collective sponsor influence to accelerate sustainability in sports while driving positive business outcomes
Progressive sports sponsors are starting to leverage their influence with sports properties to encourage them to start contributing in a more meaningful way towards building a sustainable future for the world.
An example of this is an initiative like the Sport Sponsors Climate Pledge, which was launched in 2023 by ChangeNOW, 17 Sport and Fair Play For Planet, and signed by sponsors Accor Group, EDF, Orange and Sodexo, each of whom has committed to demanding that the sports events they sponsor set science-based carbon-reduction objectives aligned with the Paris Agreement and certified by an independent third party.
This commitment from sponsors is inspired by both a desire that the sports industry accelerate the sports sector’s transformation into a force for good, and a recognition that purpose-led sponsorships outperform traditional sponsorships in a world where what you stand for counts for as much, if not more, than what you sell or make.
Ninety-one per cent of respondents in 17 Sport’s recent Sport & Purpose Survey – senior marketing executives from around the world – indicated that purpose-led sponsorships perform better than traditional sponsorship campaigns, particularly in terms of enhancing brand perceptions. As a consequence, 72% believed that purpose-focused sponsorship activations were likely to increase in the coming years.
Join us to learn more about this purpose-driven initiative and how you, your brand or your property can join the pledge and how it can be good for business.
Fiona Morgan
Chief Purpose Officer, SailGP
Fiona joined the global purpose-driven sports entertainment league SailGP in 2020 with a mission to help make sustainability and inclusivity essential to the fabric of sport. Fiona is the mastermind of the SailGP Impact League – a world-first in sport which sees athletes race to win two podiums: one for sporting performance and one for the planet. The league champions authentic, committed and impactful initiatives and rewards positive sustainability and social actions.
Fiona has an exceptional track record of shaping social impact strategy, promoting gender equality and campaigns for some of the world’s most high-profile sports brands and talent. She was the driving force behind Sky’s corporate and social purpose team, The Bigger Picture, and led the Sky Ocean Rescue consumer campaign, which reached an awareness of over 50 million people across Europe and resulted in behavioral change among its customers towards plastics.
Fiona is proud to be an Ambassador for Meaningful Business, a member of the Social Impact Committee, member for the British Paralympic Association, an advisory board member at 17 Sport, and Non-Executive Board Member of the Manchester Originals – a team in the new Hundred tournament shaking up and growing the game of cricket. Fiona is also a judge for the Laureus Sport for Good index and a founding member of Sports Pro Media NEW ERA programme, which recognises, supports and advocates for gender equality and representation within the international sports industry.
Under Fiona’s guidance, SailGP has won both the BBC Green Sport Ambition and Impact Award, as well as the Sports Industry Environmental Sustainability Award. Fiona was also shortlisted for Edie Sustainability Leader of the Year in 2023, for which she was highly commended.
Fabien Paget
Co-Founder and CEO, 17 Sport
On a mission to accelerate the transformation of sport into a force for good, Fabien has more than 20 years of experience in the sports industry, working at Nike (Sports Marketing) and at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (Commercial and Marketing). He then started a successful boutique sport management company, advising brands and representing rising and A-List athletes (Serena Williams) to drive business opportunities while making a positive difference in the world.
Appointed #23 among the Top #100 Sport business leaders in France Under 40, Fabien is also an instructor at a high-profile business school (INSEAD, HEC, EM Lyon), sharing his experience as an entrepreneur and his expertise in purpose leadership. He is also co-author of ‘Legacy $port – How to win in the business of sport in the age of social good’.
Kevin Tayebaly
Co-founder, ChangeNOW
Kevin spent the early years of his career in strategy consulting, and set in 2008 his first social venture aiming at transforming and democratising the cultural space in Mumbai, India through local activities targeted towards the less privileged populations of the city.
Pumped by the tech wave at the end of the 2000s, he came back to Europe in 2012 to work with several tech startups facing exponential and global growth. Later in 2014-2015, during his time at INSEAD, Kevin looked back at his contrasting career experiences and started exploring a new type of business: mission-driven companies, which combine purpose with a viable and scalable business model.
He went on to found his second impact venture, an e-commerce platform dedicated to supporting local independent retailers in large cities – for which he won the BCG Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016.
In 2017, he co-founded ChangeNOW – the world’s largest event for the planet – to contribute to the rise of a new, virtuous and responsible business culture across the world.
In 2023, he was shortlisted in the Choiseul 100 ranking, which highlights top French economic leaders under 40 years old.
Stuart Wareman
SVP, Global Sponsorship, Events & Experiences, Accor
Based in Paris, Stuart leads the team coordinating and managing the Accor hotel group’s global sponsorships, member experiences and corporate hospitality. The portfolio includes Paris Saint-Germain, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rugby World Cup France 2023, Roland-Garros, the Accor Arena, AEG, the Accor Stadium, SailGP and the Americas Cup, as well as multiple entertainment venues and food festivals around the world.
Before Accor, Stuart led the Partnerships team for Marriott in Europe, Middle East and Africa for nine years, including its credit card businesses and relationships with airlines, car rental and payment services in addition to major sponsorships such as Manchester United, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, NFL and AEG. Prior to this he worked for ten years at WPP sponsorship agency MEC Access (now Wavemaker) leading the event sponsorships team in London where he created, negotiated, activated and evaluated award winning sponsorships for brands such as Visa, Aviva, Danone, Wrigley’s, BT, Vodafone, Specsavers, Lloyds and Bacardi across sport and entertainment platforms.
Stuart is a Board Director of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA).
The webinar recording is available to all in our website event resources.
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