Sports for People and Planet 2026

1Implement water stewardship to strengthen business resilience Fresh water is a vital global resource on which the sport sector both depends and exerts substantial pressure. From manufacturing sporting goods to maintaining fields and venues, the sports economy relies on predictable access to clean water. Yet by 2030, global demand for fresh water is expected to exceed supply by 40%, a gap exacerbated by climate change, shifting precipitation patterns and increasingly frequent droughts.60 This imbalance will significantly deepen local communities’ vulnerability to inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Water stress not only threatens access to and participation in water-based sports such as swimming and rowing but also jeopardizes the sporting goods industry’s ability to maintain production. This imbalance poses growing risks to production continuity, operational costs and community livelihoods. The challenge is particularly acute in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for approximately 80% of sporting goods and equipment manufacturing and where physical water risks are intensifying rapidly.61 By 2050, major textile clusters in countries such as India and Pakistan are expected to face severe water- related disruption, threatening both supply chain stability and social cohesion.62 To respond, sport organizations must move to adopt proactive water stewardship approaches that align business resilience with watershed resilience, beginning with comprehensive water risk assessments across owned operations and supply chains, particularly within high-risk basins. Such a transition also requires targeted investment in water-efficient technologies, closed-loop reuse systems and sustainable drainage solutions across manufacturing facilities and venues, alongside collective action to restore and protect shared watersheds through basin-level partnerships with local governments and communities. Such interventions move water stewardship beyond compliance towards long-term resource security and operational continuity.Improving water efficiency not only conserves scarce resources but also delivers operational savings. For example, PUMA’s water roadmap, implemented in 2021, enabled the company to reduce its water usage by more than 2.4 million cubic metres annually by 2023, equivalent to the yearly consumption of approximately 50,000 people.63 Such outcomes demonstrate the commercial viability of integrating water stewardship into core business strategy. Water stewardship must therefore become a governance priority across the sports economy, integrated into risk management frameworks, supplier engagement strategies and long- term infrastructure planning. Clear leadership, supported by robust guidance and multistakeholder collaboration through global initiatives such as the Water Futures community, will be essential to drive consistent, scalable action throughout the sector. 2Scale circular business models The traditional linear model of take-make-dispose is increasingly incompatible with the sport sector’s environmental responsibilities and growth ambitions. Sport intersects with four of the world’s most resource-intensive value chains – food, energy, infrastructure and fashion, which together account for approximately 90% of nature loss.64 Circular business models offer the opportunity to decouple growth from resource depletion while enhancing affordability, innovation and resilience. By embedding practices such as reuse, repair, rental, refurbishment and recycling, companies can reduce waste, extend product life cycles and unlock new revenue models that broaden access to sport. Circularity is also a critical lever for emissions reduction. Analysis of four materials central to the sports economy – plastic, aluminium, cement and steel – shows that circular approaches could decrease emissions from new production by up to 40%.65 To realize this potential, stakeholders must shift how products are conceived, used and recovered. This includes redesigning sport products with durability, repairability and recyclability as core By 2030, global demand for fresh water is expected to exceed supply by 40%, a gap exacerbated by shifting precipitation patterns and increasingly frequent droughts. Sports for People and Planet 24