An annual sustainability survey has indicated that organisations involved in sponsorship are less committed to pro-environment initiatives than they were a year ago.
ESA (the European Sponsorship Association) has been conducting research around the industry’s environmental sustainability activities since 2021. The fourth year of the study contained numerous signs that reducing the climate impact of sponsorship may have become less of a priority.
For example, there was a 6.2% drop in the number of respondents that felt it was important to have an alignment of sustainability initiatives between partners for a successful sponsorship deal. The number of organisations predicting that sustainability policies will become a more important factor in identifying future partners fell by 6.3%.
There were several encouraging signs in the survey. It revealed that rights holders are catching up with brands – the original trail-blazers of the sustainable sponsorship movement – in their level of commitment to tackling climate change. The percentage of organisations without any sustainability initiatives fell to 12%. However, the overall picture did not make happy reading for environmentalists.
Several year-on-year decreases across the survey added to the theme of an industry pulling back from, or at least tempering, what had previously been an upwardly-mobile trend. So why is this happening?
Anecdotal evidence suggests that companies, while keen to become more environmentally friendly, are struggling to adapt to new methods of working, due to high cost implications. Challenging economic conditions may be a factor that led to a 2024 slowdown in companies becoming more sustainable.
ESA also sought the views of Mike Laflin, CEO & Founder of Global Sustainable Sport, who said: “This is a highly significant piece of research by ESA, highlighting a growing shift in sponsor priorities away from exclusively environmental objectives – a trend that aligns with observations across other sectors of the sports industry. This shift may stem from an increasing recognition that environmental initiatives represent just one element within a broader framework of sustainability goals.
“This perspective is further supported by the overall rise in sustainability-related activities. While environmental sustainability remains a key consideration for sponsors, it is now likely integrated into a more comprehensive set of sustainability objectives, as emphasised by Global Sustainable Sport’s Seven Sustainable Pillars of Sport.”
Sophie Morris, ESA Chair, added: “ESA’s annual Sustainability research reflects our wider ESA Trends data that shows the importance of ESG factors in sponsorship. Whilst the environmental sustainability factor remains dominant, its importance appears to have dropped slightly and is being caught up by the social factor as social causes and EDI become more important.
“This is a hugely important piece of research that helps sponsorship professionals understand the expectations of their partners and I’d like to thank everyone in ESA’s community who contributes to our research.”
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About ESA
The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is the essential and inclusive community for all professionals working in sponsorship. A not-for-profit membership association, ESA supports the industry through education, guidance, representation, the recognition of excellence and the sharing of best practice and performance.
ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, charity, the arts and culture, to environment and the community. Its members include sponsors, rights holders, agencies and consultants, professional advisors and suppliers. Visit sponsorship.org for more information.
Media enquiries
Jonathan Coates | ESA Marketing, Communications and Events Manager
marketing@sponsorship.org | +44 (0) 7788 352219
