Put the Planet on the Scoreboard
by Grace Allen and Dáire McConville
‘Sport One, Carbon Zero,’ also known as (S1C0), is an athlete-led non-profit climate initiative which was co-founded at the end of 2025 by two New Zealand Olympians – Hugo Inglis (field hockey) and Marcus Daniell (tennis). Elite sport is a high-impact industry with travel-heavy calendars, and this organisation is a clever way for athletes to respond to their own carbon footprints, with more than 100 professional athletes already involved as of January 2026.
Among the first athletes to sign up were basketball icon Pau Gasol, golf star Ryan Fox, Wimbledon breakthrough competitor Lulu Sun and triple Olympic gold medal canoeist Jessica Fox. In practical terms, they are committing to funding high-impact, science-based solutions, contributing a portion of their income, or making direct pledges related to their performance.
This could be based on anything from a win to a singular point on the scoreboard, a jump of a bar or the touch of a ball. Specifically linking performance to economic action converts responsibility into part of the job. Tying action to results means athletes move beyond symbolic support and display direct accountability, ensuring success carries positive consequences rather than ending in individual celebration.
From an environmental standpoint, Sport One, Carbon Zero positions itself around impact rather than optics. The campaign frames climate action with several initiatives that translates donations into averting CO2 emissions. According to the initiative, every $1 to the fund will avert the equivalent of one tonne of CO2E, and the organisation equates $100 in funding to preventing emissions comparable to 3 million plastic bags or 520 flights between Miami and New York.
The campaigns strategic research partner, Giving Green is the independent research engine behind S1C0, with a team of experts who identify evidence-based ways to cut emissions and focus on underfunded opportunities where the biggest impact can be made. A simple framework of scale, feasibility and funding, assesses every potential solution that could and should be made to reduce athletes carbon footprint.
Crucially, S1C0 targets what it believes are sport’s biggest emitters: aviation, shipping, stadium materials and energy systems. These are areas of the industry where even minor alterations can lead to a significant environmental impact, and for athletes a reduced carbon footprint. The organisation backs solutions with momentum, rather than investing in areas with potential capital failure; in cleaner fuels, geothermal power and zero carbon materials. It is made clear that the campaigns efforts alone cannot lead to a carbon neutral space in sport, but its emphasis on sensible, knowledgeable investing and traceable outcomes reflects a more mature, evidence-based approach to climate change within elite sport.
Athletes are uniquely positioned to lead this conversation. The sheer volume of travel needed for global competition makes sport’s environmental impact impossible to ignore. In the current climate, silence reads as pure avoidance rather than neutrality. Rather than simply ‘saving face,’ athlete involvement brings unmatched visibility through international reach and cultural influence beyond the field of play. Of course, climate action in elite sport will forever remain controversial, with accusations of hypocrisy unavoidable in an industry built on global travel. However, initiatives like this do not claim perfection; instead, they aim to prioritise measurable impact over public perception.
