System change, design, education, FrogBoxes, data and measurement – and social value – also came under the spotlight
The “huge volume of ‘stored waste’ in cricket” was discussed by a panel at Spencer Cricket Club (SCC), Wandsworth, on May 18th. SCC, launched its Circular Cricket Gear (CCG) Hub at the club a week earlier. The hub is the first reuse initiative in the UK to be driven by a recreational club and is backed by Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey Cricket Foundation and Decathlon UK.
The theme of the panel – “Climate, Circularity & Cricket” – was discussed by leading lights in sustainability in the game including James Cameron, Non-Executive Chair at The Professional Cricketer’s Association (PCA) and climate change expert, Shubham Jain, Researcher, University of Cambridge and the Centre for Sports and Human Rights, Ben Hardy-Jones, Business Sustainability Lead at Desert Vipers – and Jamie Greig, SCC Managing Director.
Key points that emerged from presentations and discussions included the game’s waste. Panel chair Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) at University for the Creative Arts (UCA), said, “There is a huge volume of ‘stored waste’ in the game – usable cricket gear and clothing in attics, garages and clubs that is just ‘sitting there’.”
The panel agreed that reuse, repair and refurbishment need to be accelerated from a circularity, carbon and social equity perspective. Members also agreed that system and design changes are needed in thinking, behaviour and practice.
Systems Change and Design
“System change means that cricket institutions internationally and nationally need to acknowledge and recognise the impact of climate change on the game,” said Cameron. “Players’ health and performance are affected by extreme heat, and fixtures are affected by floods, while extreme weather events disrupt club activities and the stakeholders involved.”
In addition, some 80% of cricket gear and clothing environmental impact is determined at the design and development stage. “Designers need to design-in, for example, repairability and low carbon materials,” Cameron added.
FrogBoxes
The panel also addressed education, with players and other stakeholders being largely unaware of the climate, circularity and other sustainability elements associated with the game. “Awareness and understanding needs to be raised substantially from top to bottom,” said Hardy-Jones.
Charter emphasised, “Cricket institutions have a key role alongside the media and new communication channels such as streaming platforms, ‘FrogBoxes’”, podcasts and so on. They are key vehicles for messaging.”
FrogBoxes originate from FrogBox in Australia. Bringing automated video capture, live streaming and shareable highlights to clubs and schools, they are already installed at some clubs in the UK. “FrogBoxes could also be used to spread messages about waste reduction and circularity, and support local CCG hub initiatives,” Charter added.
Data and Measurement
Jain pointed out, “Despite cricketers’ obsession with stats, data and measurement of sustainability impacts of cricket significantly lags behind other sports and market sectors.
“For a sport that lives and dies by statistics on six distances, strike rate and win‑probability models, cricket is, ironically, largely flying blind on its planetary footprint. Without that information, it is very hard to plan an honest and just transition.”
Social Value
The panel discussed the social value of cricket, including how reuse of gear and clothing can engage with those who can’t afford the cost of kit, increase participation and enhance wellbeing and health – and community resilience.
Jain stressed, “Recreational clubs in the UK, India and around the world often sit at the heart of communities, and impacts extend beyond just player involvement through their families, friends and others locally and beyond. Such clubs can show leadership through, for example, starting reuse and repair initiatives, and identifying young sustainability leaders.”
CCG Hub
The hub aims to drive circular and social change in the Wandsworth community, and includes an online gear and clothing donation and request resource – https://ccg.cfsd.org.uk
The donated cricket gear and clothing with be redistributed to state schools, cash strapped families, individuals and teams in Wandsworth and through innovative partners to Greifswalder CC in Germany and Alsama Project in Lebanon.
Greig comments, “The panel highlighted the significant issues of climate, waste and social equity in cricket. The hub will address these through facilitating reuse of cricket gear to enable greater participation.”
