Lord’s and Wimbledon join forces to help blaze sustainability trail
A heatwave impacted events at both locations this summer
Lord’s is set to take a leaf out of Wimbledon’s book as two of the world’s most iconic sporting venues join forces on sustainable ways to improve fan experience.
A heatwave impacted events at both locations this summer, with the fabled SW19 courts experiencing record-breaking surface temperatures amid a sweltering spell which also took in England’s Test against India at the home of cricket.
Stuart Dunlop, MCC Sustainability and Development Manager, also heads a London Venue Group involving a variety of sporting and non-sporting event spaces in the capital and is part of a group driving improvements at Lord’s.
“Wimbledon is a brilliant example of how you can run a fantastic event while embracing nature,” he said.
“Some of the things they are doing with biodiversity is fantastic and we are definitely taking a lot of those things on board.
“We are looking at adding in more vegetation and being more connected to nature.
“It is about changing some of the infrastructure elements around the ground to ensure people can continue to enjoy their experiences here.”
Increasing the numbers of water fountains and improving shading are joining added vegetation on the Lord’s to-do list as the ground continues to spearhead cricket’s fight against the climate crisis.
MCC’s Carbon Impact Report revealed saw Lord’s become the first cricket ground to publish a complete organisational footprint and revealed MCC has decreased its direct greenhouse gas (scope one) emissions by 4.5%.
MCC embarked on its sustainability journey in 2009 when it became the first UK sports venue to appoint a full time Sustainability Manager while Lord’s continues to act as a hub for conversations on environmental issues.
Australia captain Pat Cummins delivered a talk on the topic at the summer’s World Cricket Connects event while a ‘Cricket Bat Conference’ was held in October to address what has been termed a ‘cricket bat emergency’ amid a shortage of English willow.
“We have a unique position within the global game to bring people together and discuss these crucial factors which will define our game for the next millennium,” Dunlop added.
“It’s really important to use our position to do that, whether it’s producing reports like this or working with ambassadors, we have a very good platform to spread positive change as much as we can.
“When players are playing in 40+ degree heat, or even here when it was 35 degrees for the India Test, players are realising this is a serious issue and adaptations have to be made.”
Maia Bouchier is among the players to have used her platform to speak out on the issue and the England international welcomed the release of the Carbon Impact Report.
“Cricket will be impacted by climate change no matter what, so the fact MCC are using their power and voice to make people aware of what is happening is amazing,” she said.
“Lord’s is iconic, it is the home of cricket, I grew up down the road, I love the area, there is such a huge fan engagement there as well
“It is super important they keep making sure the ground is doing everything it can in a sustainable way and encourage the other grounds to do the same.”
Maia Bouchier was speaking at the launch of MCC’s Carbon Impact Report. For more information, visit lords.org/sustainability