Pre-Zero Sports Talk

Looking Back and Ahead with Pre-Zero Sports Talk

January 16, 2024 Sid Bensalah Season 2 Episode 8
Looking Back and Ahead with Pre-Zero Sports Talk
Pre-Zero Sports Talk
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Pre-Zero Sports Talk
Looking Back and Ahead with Pre-Zero Sports Talk
Jan 16, 2024 Season 2 Episode 8
Sid Bensalah

Join Sid Bensalah, the passionate host of Pre-Zero Sports Talk, as he navigates through the impactful episodes of Season 01 and sets the stage for the exciting Season 02 ahead.  Discover the sparks that ignited this journey, delve into the stories that shaped the narrative, and explore the critical intersection of sports, events, innovation, and sustainability.

 Highlights include:

 Episode #01: Carbon-Neutral Sports: Insights from Paul Coleman on the urgent need for the sports industry to reduce its carbon footprint.

Episode #02: Sustainable Sports, Meetings, and Events: Neil Hamp-Adams shares the positive impact of sustainable practices in the events industry.

Episode #03: From Waste to Wear: Rory MacFadyen's journey with REFLO highlights the importance of conscious clothing choices.

Episode #04: The Impact of Climate Change on Sports and Athlete Activism: Philippe Marquis' commitment to addressing climate change through athlete activism.

Episode #05: Driving Sustainable Change in Hockey: Insights from Jon Wyatt on FIH's remarkable journey towards a greener future in hockey.

Episode #06: From Passion to Purpose: Franziska Mesche's vision for Tripulse exemplifies how sustainable practices seamlessly integrate into fitness, fashion, and community building.

Episode #07 & Finale: Strawberry Hotels: Mari Sandrup and Maria Anderson showcase visionary strategies and transformative initiatives in the hospitality industry.


☞ Follow the Pre-Zero Sports Talk Podcast Show and our host, Sid Bensalah, on all social platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PreZeroST
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prezerosportstalk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sid-bensalah/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prezerosportstalk

If you want to get involved and join our community, head over to the Engage Hub on our website. Help us amplify diverse perspectives and elevate the conversations that matter most to you.

We value your input! Share your thoughts, comments, and suggestions

Together, let's shape the narrative!



Show Notes Transcript

Join Sid Bensalah, the passionate host of Pre-Zero Sports Talk, as he navigates through the impactful episodes of Season 01 and sets the stage for the exciting Season 02 ahead.  Discover the sparks that ignited this journey, delve into the stories that shaped the narrative, and explore the critical intersection of sports, events, innovation, and sustainability.

 Highlights include:

 Episode #01: Carbon-Neutral Sports: Insights from Paul Coleman on the urgent need for the sports industry to reduce its carbon footprint.

Episode #02: Sustainable Sports, Meetings, and Events: Neil Hamp-Adams shares the positive impact of sustainable practices in the events industry.

Episode #03: From Waste to Wear: Rory MacFadyen's journey with REFLO highlights the importance of conscious clothing choices.

Episode #04: The Impact of Climate Change on Sports and Athlete Activism: Philippe Marquis' commitment to addressing climate change through athlete activism.

Episode #05: Driving Sustainable Change in Hockey: Insights from Jon Wyatt on FIH's remarkable journey towards a greener future in hockey.

Episode #06: From Passion to Purpose: Franziska Mesche's vision for Tripulse exemplifies how sustainable practices seamlessly integrate into fitness, fashion, and community building.

Episode #07 & Finale: Strawberry Hotels: Mari Sandrup and Maria Anderson showcase visionary strategies and transformative initiatives in the hospitality industry.


☞ Follow the Pre-Zero Sports Talk Podcast Show and our host, Sid Bensalah, on all social platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PreZeroST
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prezerosportstalk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sid-bensalah/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prezerosportstalk

If you want to get involved and join our community, head over to the Engage Hub on our website. Help us amplify diverse perspectives and elevate the conversations that matter most to you.

We value your input! Share your thoughts, comments, and suggestions

Together, let's shape the narrative!



Sid:

Hi there, fellow champions and listeners of PreZero Sport Talk. It's Sid Bensalah, your host, and I am genuinely excited to share a bit of the heart and soul behind our journey as we gear up for the season one wrap up. Let me take you back to the beginning, a time when a shared frustration about how the sports industry approached climate change sparked a collective enthusiasm. I wanted more than just answers. I wanted authentic, impactful discussions that resonate deeply. Now, here is a mind blowing fact. The sports industry is on track to hit a colossal$600 billion in global revenues by 2025, making it one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide. And would you believe there are about 140 million active participants globally? But here's the deal. With all this growth and excitement comes a downside. Picture the energy, the passion, and the action in those fields and arenas. It's not just about victories. It's also about significant environmental impact. Yet in this complexity, sports athletes, our heroes, on and on the field, stand at the forefront of change for our fragile planet. As we fast forward to today, we're not just wrapping up the season one saga, but gearing up for a new year with a fresh season two. We're connecting the dots, weaving the threads of our shared stories and setting the stage for an impactful and downright legendary sports industry. And why does it matter so much? Because the sports industry isn't just about games and trophies. It's a powerhouse that has the potential to reshape communities and our entire planet. So join me as we revisit the highlights, the passion and the firm pursuit of our sports world that champions not only victories on the field, but also victories for humanity and our precious home, our planet. This is a special edition where we don't just reflect. We ignite the flame for season two. That's nothing short of transformative. In our inaugural episode, we explored the future of sports sustainability with Paul Coleman, co-founder of Fan Mobility. His insights of carbon neutral sports set the tone for the season, emphasizing the urgent need for the sports industry to reduce its carbon footprint.

Paul Coleman:

In carbon emissions terms, it's between 300 and 350 million tons of carbon, but that as a statistic means very little because most people, unless you're a scientist, I would understand exactly what that means. If we wanted to compare it with a country, Then it is essentially equivalent to all the carbon emissions of Spain, which is a population of 47 million and a GDP of 1. 4 trillion. More importantly, their sport is the public face of people's pleasure. It's part of, let's say, how we enjoy ourselves. It's how we Develop friendships with friends over many years, but if you looked at it from the point of view of how many spectators are traveling to major events, let's say the global football leagues, baseball, cricket, golf, tennis, motorsports, cycling, you're looking at about 194 million spectators traveling per year to watch. events. So a lot of people traveling and we don't have any idea of what effect that has in terms of transportation. 80 percent of the carbon emissions of sport comes from transportation. It's very interesting that there is so much green talk that comes into the news, but you just scratch the surface and you'll find that very little is going on, very little actual efforts being made. And I don't, in a way, as I said, the tension's financial in terms of needing to have sponsors and needing to drive. Income and revenues per year and the misnomer that they have that if you start becoming very environmentally friendly, this is going to reduce your attractiveness to sponsors. It's exactly the opposite. It's just that people don't have the knowledge and we're so used to doing things the old way. And that's linear fashion. So it's a remodel that sports and clubs need to embrace. 4 billion people, half the world's population watch football. You've got the, by far the biggest religion, if you want to call it that, the people's game, and it has to be enforced for good. I believe that in the same way regulations are hitting business in terms of ESG compliance, in terms of making sure businesses above a certain size, they have to. Include a sustainability report in their annual report and that has to illustrate that they've recorded reported their carbon emissions and they have a reduction strategy now if that's happening to business it's inevitable that's going to happen to sport and I believe that regulation. is an absolute must for sport. You can't have countries or sports ignoring their environmental responsibilities. And if you do, what are you telling the sports fans and spectators? You're telling them it's okay to not care about the environment and That's just a huge contradiction, and that's why regulation will hit sport and needs to hit sport. Fans have to. You love your football team. So, if you've been supporting this football team for years and years, and you're scratching your head wondering about the environment, then here's what you need to go and do. You need to ask your club or sport if it's recorded their carbon footprint. If they have not, then why not? You have to ask them if they have a report on their carbon footprint, then inquire as to their plan to reduce their carbon footprint. Examine whether they've looked at their transportation, their fan mobility, how do their squad travel to and from games. What are they doing about water? What's their policy on the single use plastics? Lobby the club. Talk to them. Tell them you want the club to clean itself up. Are they harvesting their water? What's their policy on waste and recycling? Have they considered giving, in terms of food and beverages, are they supplying healthy local options? Do they supply enough variety of plant based foods? Is there any vegan food available? Do they compost food? What do they do with the surplus food? Do they have renewable energy? Do they, have they considered using solar or geothermal? If not, then why not? And is the merchandise eco in any way? The match day programs that are printed every time they have a game, do they have to be on paper? Can they not be digitized? And what is their digital footprint? So there's an absolute long list of subjects that fans can talk to their clubs about and examine their sports about.

Sid:

Neil Hamp Adams, owner of Driving Force, joined us in Episode 2, shedding light on eco friendly equipment and sustainable branding in the events industry. His journey from Driving Force to CleverFrame and ExpandaBrand showcased the positive impact of sustainable practices.

Neil Hamp-Adams:

So to say, I'm very flattered to be on your podcast and I wish you all the success. As this is a topic that's extremely current and having a focus on sport is particularly intuitive. And relevant, and I know your experience in that sector is obviously a key building block to the, the reason for this, this podcast. So I wish you all the best. And as I say, thank you so much for the opportunity. I'd also like to just preface this conversation with a small disclaimer, if I may, and that is just to, to remind maybe the listeners that I'm not, I do not profess to be an expert or an eco warrior or a pioneer in the field of sustainability. You know, quite the contrary. I prefer to see myself really as a, as a small player making a small difference to a very big problem. Uh, and. If I can make any contribution, it would be hopefully to get others like myself to do the same, because if the small players make the small differences, I think this is where I think the big results can be realized. I think it's no secret that, and it's very obvious, it's very evident to the casual observer like myself that sports events, especially the bigger global ones. They must have huge challenges when it comes to sustainability. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that. And the amount of waste that must be generated and emissions and water consumption must be significant. And people are becoming more conscious of the impact that the actions have on the environment. I think it's just becoming more and more prevalent. People are just a lot more aware of this. People like myself, for example, and they're becoming more demanding and that the sports events that they attend are sustainable, environmentally responsible. And then I think there's potential for cost savings as well. If you can reduce energy and water consumption and waste production and other expenses, you can, this can lead to, to cost savings. I don't think it's difficult at all and it's a big issue is the why, why should I do it? It's easy to rationalize and intellectualize the benefits, et cetera, but unfortunately people will not do something until, unless two things happen. One is they get told to by law or something happens, something catastrophic happens where they have no choice but to act and respond and do something. And then there's the third point, which is the one where that just the growing concern. And I think that's where the difficulty about how easy it is to do it. It's like when you have to do something that you don't have to do, it becomes a lot more difficult. But if you actually have a, there's a will to do something, but then I know in my business, there's certain things I can do that they will make a big difference. Like I said, you don't have to become a sustainability, uh, consultant and professional in order to make a big difference on the ground. And I'm talking about basic things like proper waste disposal and utilizing energy correctly and managing transportation. Getting people involved. But I just wanted to say one thing is, as I mentioned right in the beginning, the tendency is often to point at the big players because as for them to be the first movers in terms of being proactive in sustainability, but for every world cup, there are hundreds of thousands, even millions of weekend games being played at community club level, for example, around the world. What can they do to make a difference? And I think there are, I think there are a lot of smaller clubs that are more agile and more able to make a difference on the ground than possibly some of the bigger entities. So again, going back to what I said, I'm a small player making a small difference to a big problem. And I think that is where it's becoming more critical, but I think it's being driven by the fans and the players in the communities.

Sid:

Rory McFadden, co founder of Reflow shared the incredible story of sustainable active wear in episode three. The journey from waist to wear highlighted the importance of conscious clothing choices and the positive impact of sustainable fashion.

Rory MacFadyen:

Yeah, so actually touches on something you've just discussed there of working in the sports and entertainment industry for 15 odd years. And within the sports and entertainment industry, apparel is something that features in partnerships and events and marketing quite regularly. And I was very aware throughout my career that, um, there was a huge amount of waste in that industry. And I saw Lots of apparel deals, lots of partnerships where the huge amounts of apparel was created and produced. And it was a very unsustainable, it's a very unsustainable process to be honest. And the more I looked into it, especially with sport, which is quite seasonal. If you look at a football team, maybe their season is eight months long and. Then have new sponsors and things move on like that. And the more I dig into it and researched into this, into this issue that I was seeing, the more I uncovered. So something that goes massively underreported is that apparel industry is the third most polluting industry in the world. It doesn't quite get the attention. That may be others do I was thinking there must be a better way to do this. And the majority of sportswear is made from virgin polyester, which is made from oil. So very intensive on the world involves digging up oil and using huge amounts of energy and heat to turn that into a polymer, to then turn it into a fabric. And. I was thinking there must be a better solution to this. At a similar time, a good friend of mine, um, was introduced to a company that could turn waste plastic into high performance fabrics. And something was born in that, that moment, that idea, that conversation that there's actually a better way of doing things where we can turn waste products. into high performance fabrics that could then be put into apparel. And the more my friend and I looked into this, we dug into this, we started thinking, actually, that's great. That is a solving a solution, but there are far bigger problems within the apparel industry, which also need looking at. We decided that we wanted to go on a mission to create the most sustainable apparel brand in the world and do everything that we can in every element of production from product sourcing, how we manufacture, how we distribute, how we ship the product to always think of two P's, which is people. And plan it and then hopefully profit will follow. So we spent around three and a half years developing the idea of reflow. And we do all sorts of things that I won't go into everyone on this podcast because we could be here for a very long time. But for example, there's no single use plastics anywhere in our supply chain. All of our packaging is biodegradable. Something that absolutely drives me crazy is, especially when you buy something online and it comes in a plastic poly bag, they're called, and you end up, if you let's multiply that by a thousand, the shop buys wholesale a thousand t shirts that they want to sell over a period of time. That comes in a thousand individual poly bags. So even when you get some brands who claim to be sustainable and use recycled fabrics. Then it gets delivered in a plastic bag, makes no sense to me. So all of our packaging is biodegradable. I think for us, sustainability is core in everything that we do. Our mission statement is to be the most sustainable apparel brand in the world. And so for us, that flows through every decision we make, be it around products, be it around people, be it around how we distribute our product, where we distribute our product, how we sell the product. Every single thing is driven by that. And I think more and more in the industry, you're seeing a lot of greenwashing take place. Where people are using sustainability as a marketing tool, where as for us, a hundred percent, it isn't just a marketing tool. It genuinely on a mission to try and change an industry. And we have a five year sustainable roadmap, which will see us continue to be at the forefront of sustainable innovation. And I think that's really important. We're not sitting on our laurels with using recycled polyester and doing all the other great stuff we do. We're constantly looking to improve. And our hope is that over a period of time, we'll be seen as. The brand at the forefront of sustainable innovation.

Sid:

Philip Markey, a former Canadian Olympic athlete and now a coach, brought passion and resilience to episode four. His commitment to addressing climate change through athlete activism underscored the vital role sports figures play in driving sustainability.

Philippe Marquis:

Yeah, that's, it's something that we start seeing a lot. And I'm obviously, I'm always going to be a bit biased in my answers with my background around the winter sport. I think the frequency of heat wave, air quality, the water quality for some sport, change in seasons have affected us and the way we prepare tremendously around the world. I think athletes now they're putting their health a bit more at risk, they're pushing their body through condition that are sometimes not sustainable. And this is just a new reality that we're facing. And it has impacted athletes in so many ways where in terms of just health, in terms of financial and just the risk mitigation of it all has been really hard and some intense. I think it's been super hard in the world of sport in general for sport organizer, for events, we've seen more cancellation. We see sport that have to move events from different place to different place. We see plays that historically have hosted some type of sport for a long time that can no longer do it and not even in the roaster. I think there was an interesting study by the, around the IOC and where the winter Olympics have been in the last 20 years, 30 years. I think 80 percent of them could probably not even hold the Olympics anymore, just by the mix of events and then the type of venue they need it to do that. Where we're at in the status of sport. There needs to be radical change. Otherwise, athletes are really affected practically in the way they practice day to day sports. I think we see a lot of sport organizations saying they want to change. They want to improve and they actually want to invest in sustainability and their sport. But there are a lot of greenwashing as well in those environment. And then I think we are in a place where awareness and consciousness is present. People are aware of what we're facing, what the challenges are globally and for humanity moving forward and how much it's putting the sport industry at risk. But we're a large industry as well with billions of dollars. We're a large mass of people that take part on a daily basis in sports. So it is time that now the awareness switch and transition into a bit more of an action plan phase. We are seeing it at our events, Alpine skiing is the same, cross country is the same, snowboards is the same. We see a lot of our events switching to a lot more man made snow than before. I think we're seeing artificial skiing location. We're seeing a lot of snow farming where people try to save snow at the end of a winter cycle and put tarps and protect it to save it for early training. And then the next fall. So those are just new, I shouldn't say new technology, but there are new ways to kind of people are finding to try to maintain the same amount of ski days at the end of the annual cycle. But I think it is a bit of a sad reality, but I think it's what we're facing. I spent a little time in Europe this past winter and it was the worst shape I've had ever seen the mountains, whether it was in France or in Switzerland, Italy. And I think the Alps in general, the Pyrenees, some of the worst snow condition I've seen ever. So we are facing those reality and it's probably looking like the summer is going to be a very hot one again. And we're stuck a bit in that vicious cycle right now. So. Winter is facing disruption like never before. And snow is affected quite drastically. So we're, we are seeing a little bit more of this man made snow, the snow gums that we see in artificial snow. And this is like you said, man, like you mentioned, it's a lot of water. A lot of energy, there's not much that can be done right now, unless we unify ourselves and really tackle this issue as a whole globally, but again, hard to do because we consume a lot as human beings and it is hard, it is hard to reduce and it's hard to make that the new way forward. And I think we, we need to find ways to still try to go at it and unify our voice to really change the course of our history here.

Sid:

John Wyatt, Sport and Sustainability Director of the International Hockey Federation, FIH, joined us in Episode 5 to unveil FIH's remarkable journey towards a greener future in Hockey. From artificial turf innovations to reducing the sport's environmental footprint, this episode showcased the power of sustainable policies.

Jon Wyatt::

I joined the FIH five years ago as the sport director. And after the first 18 months or so, it became apparent that we didn't have a coordinated global sustainability strategy for hockey. And we were getting asked about that from two sides, firstly, from the athletes of all ages and all around the world were starting to ask us questions about what we were doing to ensure our sport was as sustainable as possible. So, if you like, there was a groundswell of questioning coming from below, but at the same time, the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, We're increasing the importance of sustainability and how they assess sports and how they wanted to ensure that we, as the Olympic family of sports, we're all contributing to a more sustainable future for our world. So there was a sort of pincer movement, there was a growl swell of opinion and questioning, and there was then this pressure from one of our major stakeholders to ask us what we were doing. So. Those two things started to led me to have many conversations internally within the FIH, but also within hockey around the world. I'm fortunate enough to be able to have. Good conversations with athletes, with coaches, with umpires and volunteers from all around the world. And we started to look at what we do and what we could do in terms of sustainability. So probably our highest profile and best case study, if you like, is in the. The facilities at the pitch, the artificial turf that we now play hockey on at the top level. The first Olympic games where artificial turf was used was back in 1976. There are still many hockey matches that take place on natural grass around the world, but increasingly, particularly at the highest level, artificial turf has been the norm, and it's been the best way to play the fastest and best type of hockey. And probably for its first. 30, 40 years of evolution of artificial turf, the evolution was about improving the speed and the performance of the turf to make the game as exciting as possible. And it's probably only in the last 10 to 15 years that this lens of environmental sustainability started to get applied to the materials and the processes that we use to manufacture this turf. So there are two, two parts to that. One is What is the turf actually made of? So what are the plastics and the fibers that are used to make that turf? And then the second one, which for non hockey players might seem a little strange, but in order for the ball to travel as well as it can, as quickly as it can, and for the athletes to move around as safely and as quickly as possible for the sport. We actually spray water onto our plastic turf. So you have a slightly strange, if you haven't seen hockey before, a plastic pitch, which is being watered. Totally normal for natural grass, but looks a bit strange if you haven't seen it before. Clearly it's thousands of liters of water being sprayed onto a plastic pitch is not an environmentally sustainable thing to do. So over the last two Olympics, so if we go back from London, actually in 2012. We have worked with our manufacturers and our partners, Polytan, who provide our Olympic turfs, to look at the plastic that is used to produce the turf, firstly, and then secondly, to look at reducing the amount of water that is required in order for the turf to still perform at the level that we need it to for its sport, but to do so in a less damaging way to the environment. So if we look at London to Rio to Tokyo, and then we look forward to next year in Paris. The plastic that is used to create the turf has become increasingly a plastic that is actually a side product. The sugarcane industry has actually grown. It's a, because the, without getting too technical, the, and chemical, the polymer that is used actually can be created from sugarcane.

Sid:

Episode 6 featured Francesca Mesche the visionary founder of Tripule. Her journey from passion to purpose exemplified how sustainable practices can seamlessly integrate into fitness, fashion, and community building.

Fanziska Mesche:

My mission is really to set a new standard and active wear so that we can really inspire people to wear a different kind of cloth to, to show them that you don't have to be wrapped in plastic, harsh, harmful chemicals to enjoy working out, to have clothes that support you when you work out. So this is basically number one, to set the new standard and to hopefully also be able to create a ripple effect. Because we're just one company and I also know we need to be more, uh, that follow suit so that more and more people hopefully, uh, can adopt a different way of, uh, clothing when working out. So it is basically what I would love to see in the active industry and forced. And with that comes of course, stopping fast fashion, stopping this craziness of overconsumption, having to have 20 different leggings for working out or. Being told by brands that we need to have it for, because I, I know that this is one of the biggest problems of the fashion industry in general. The way I see sustainability is from a very holistic level. So not only product, but really at the whole company. And yeah, so that basically means that we look at the interface of the environment, of the health, of the functionality of the clothing and people. So these four areas, they need to be. Basically interfacing. And so we always want to make sure whatever we create and produce, it is good for the environment, it is good for people's health, it has very good design fit functionality. And it's also made in an ethical way that doesn't harm anyone in the supply chain. Being an entrepreneur, starting a business, not having done it before, not coming from the industry, of course. There are a lot of challenges I'm faced with, and I have been faced with, and continue to be so. We're now at a stage that we are looking for to scale. And so that means we're also looking for, we open our first funding route. And that is also a whole new field. Looking for potential investors, angel investors, and that has been very tough. I'm a female founder. I'm a solo founder. So that's of course a lot to carry. Also being basically where a lot of companies have several founders. Uh, one, I don't want to use these things as an excuse. I really don't believe in that, but I do feel having now interacted on different events with different investors. And also particularly spoken with other female entrepreneurs that it is very hard, maybe particular also right now, to get sufficient funding. And that is of course, even if you compare it to our male counterparts, they usually are much more successful in raising the funds they need. And I think there are a lot of reasons for that, but I would say particularly in the fundraising, that's the biggest challenge.

Sid:

In our season finale, we explored sustainability in the hospitality industry with Marie Sandrop and Maria Anderson from Strawberry Hotels. Their commitment to sustainability through"WeCare" motto showcased visionary strategies and transformative initiatives

Strawberry Hotels:

Here in Sweden, we have a very close relationship with the Swedish Sports Association, and we even have our own internal team that is targeting and working regularly on this segment. So it's important for us. We talked to the sports organization in Oslo, the capital or Norway. Mm-Hmm. a couple of, uh, weeks ago. And that was very interesting because then we talked a lot about people. We do see that we have quite large potential and also the way that we are thinking, we do act in the same way. So here we talk to them, they are our clients, but we also try to collaborate with them. We can learn a lot from them and they can learn a lot from us. So it's. One of the largest areas we have that is energy, that is heating and cooling. So that is something that we need to make sure that all of our buildings have the best way of heating and cooling. So that's one thing that we can do. Then it comes to water. What kind of showers do we have and can we change those ones? Again, food waste and food waste is a large area where we throw so much away. So that is also something now we are working on a daily basis, uh, basis to lower. And that is, again, that's a collaboration between the hotel and of course, within, uh, together with the guests. So those are. areas that we are working on now to really make sure that we are, that we have that focus. So if you look on the agency side, such as the event agency booking teams. Or a DMC, a destination management company that might handle a big international group coming in to the Nordic region with an incentive group, or it could also be a big conference. We would always ask the questions from the sales side. If there are any specific requirements on the sustainability part for their end client, because a DMC is handling, it could be after them, there is another agency in say, Germany, for example, but the end client is a worldwide client coming in. So you have a lot of stakeholders involved in this, and then it's important for us to understand what the requirements are. And from that, we can then have the discussion with them. What we are doing from our side and also what we are seeing, Sid, very increasingly over the years, the last years, particularly, is that when we are receiving a request from an end client or an agency is that the number of questions have increased quite drastically covering the sustainability. So it's usually important that we understand ourselves what we are doing, but also like Marie saying that this is being integrated in the entire organization because we can sit and answer those questions, but if we are not carrying them out in practice, then that's not very good. So that's one part. And then also when we are traveling, for example, we are a team of four. Sales people handling our entire hotel group on the international markets. So we travel very regularly out in the world and in our presentations and in every single meeting that we have with clients, we have a separate section on sustainability itself. So we really try to, to keep our clients updated. I am happy that you're asking that one as well. There are two things. If we come just down to the, to the core facts or the core business that we do, I mean, producing a hotel room is about an experience, but it's also about the building, the hotel rooms and so on. And that comes down that we have certain areas where we have quite large of consumption and that consumption that is energy in terms of heating or cooling our buildings. Water, the pools, as Maria mentioned, when you have a shower and, and brushing the teeth and so on, waste, both in terms of the, from the hotel rooms, but also food waste and so on, uh, towels and uh, linen, how much we need to wash on every day and the chemicals. Now, these are the largest consumption areas that we have when it comes to producing a hotel experience. So we measure these on a daily basis. We also set a forecast for every month and that forecast that is based on the expected occupancy. So if you have the occupancy of 80%, then you know that this will be your level of consumption in terms of these areas that I just mentioned. If I have. A higher consumption for a month, then I have a waste somewhere or a leak somewhere. I'm using too much water, the system is not working, and so on. Or maybe I have too much food waste, I throw away too much, then that will be harder for me and my hotel to reach my climate goal. If I then lower it too much, so I say, okay, and now I need to save energy. So I lower the temperature, great, super, I will save energy, I will save money, this is super. What happens to the guest experience though? Well, then it will be, if it's summer, it will be pretty hot in the hotel rooms, and you will not be able to sleep. And how is that? When you checked into a nice hotel and you're going to have a super experience, or it's going to be too cold because it's, it's freezing outside and all of a sudden it's freezing inside as well. So those kind of things always. And needs to collaborate the terms of how much we are the consumption every month. And then we always have to, to make sure that our guests are satisfied. So this is what we try to always combine and work with each other.

Sid:

Each episode brought unique perspective, inspiring stories, and a wealth of knowledge. I'm grateful to our incredible guests who shared their insights and experiences. As we wrap up season one, I'm excited to announce that season two in 2024 will bring even more engaging discussions, fresh perspectives, and innovative solutions. We'll continue to bridge the gap between sports and sustainability, fostering a community of change makers. If our podcast has brought value to your understanding and sparked resonance, we'd be immensely grateful for your support in spreading our message. Take a moment to download, subscribe, and share your thoughts by leaving a comment on your preferred platform. Your input matters, and we eagerly welcome suggestions for topics you want us to cover in upcoming episodes. As we close the chapter on 2023 and embark on the journey of 2024, anticipate more captivating and empowering conversations. We remain committed to exploring the dynamic intersection of sports, events, innovation, and sustainability. Thank you again for being an integral part of PreZero Sports Talk community. Remember, every sustainable choice counts. Until next time, take care, stay engaged, and let's make 2024 a year of positive change together.