The introduction of this framework marks the start of a broader consultation process featuring stakeholders from across the global aquatics community. This will contribute to the final strategy, which will be unveiled at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July 2025.

“For our athletes, it’s more than a field of play; it’s a source of passion and purpose. At World Aquatics, we recognise the urgent need to help protect the planet’s water. This is not just for the short-term future of our sport, but for generations to come. On World Water Day, we reaffirm our commitment to doing what we can to protect global aquatic ecosystems," said Captain Husain Al-Musallam, World Aquatics President.

A strategy built in line with global principles

The World Aquatics Sustainability Strategy is anchored by the principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shaped by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks. It focuses on three key pillars - Organisation, Events, and Community - ensuring that sustainability is embedded into every aspect of World Aquatics’ operations and activities.

Priority areas within the plan’s key pillars

Organisation

• Advocacy - Using World Aquatics’ platform for sustainable development
• Enhance governance for climate action - Creating processes and actions to reduce the climate impact of World Aquatics
• Integrate sustainable procurement procedures - Using World Aquatics purchasing power to reduce impact and influence positive change
• Implement sustainable business travel initiatives - Creating policies and programmes to reduce travel costs and emissions
• Capacity building - Education and training organised for World Aquatics staff and volunteers

Events

• Event sustainability adoption - Implementing processes for more sustainable events
• Sustainable facility management - Implementing good practices for energy efficiency, water consumption and management
• Event operations - Sustainable food practices, other infrastructure management, ticketing, broadcasting services, merchandising and marketing
• Travel - Recommendations for travel of spectators, participants, entourage and local event transportation
• Local impact initiatives - More engagement with local communities and creating positive legacy

Community

• Facilities and equipment - Inspiring and working with industry to improve the quality of places where we practise aquatics sports
• Engagement - Developing initiatives to engage with National Federations and the wider community base
• Education and training - Upskilling our community of sustainable development and its interaction with aquatics
• Development - Working to make our sport inclusive at all levels
• Sustainable practices – framework creation - Creating frameworks for our members to work within to facilitate collective effort.

Initiatives already underway

Several impactful initiatives have started in collaboration with World Aquatics’ global partners.

Carbon Footprint Calculation: In 2024, World Aquatics calculated its baseline carbon footprint for the year 2023, with support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Deloitte. This milestone is part of a broader IOC project to help International Federations track and reduce emissions.

Discover Water Programme: Launched on World Drowning Prevention Day during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, this initiative equips young children with essential water safety skills, creating safer access to aquatic sports. The launch of Discover Water followed research and extensive consultations with World Aquatics’ experts and partners to develop a programme which capitalises on the aquatics community’s unique position to promote water safety. This included a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of learn-to-swim programmes to gain a greater understanding of their concepts, ideas and content, and work from an expert group with representatives from all five continents. The programme is intrinsically linked to environmental protection, understanding that water quality can affect safety and biodiversity.  

More information can be found here.

UNFCCC Commitment: In August 2024 at the Olympic Games in Paris, World Aquatics signed the United Nations' Sports for Climate Action Framework, an initiative aimed at encouraging the global sports community to contribute to worldwide climate action goals.

More information can be found here.

Singapore 2025: sustainability in action

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore will serve as a launchpad for the Sustainability Strategy, showcasing innovative practices to make the event as sustainable as possible:

The World Aquatics Championships in Singapore 2025 will place a strong emphasis on sustainability, incorporating a range of low carbon initiatives throughout the event.

Medals for the Championships will be crafted from locally sourced recycled aluminium. The collected aluminium cans will undergo open-loop recycling, which will be processed, cleaned, and smelted into medals. The final medals will be manufactured by sustainable design company ipse ipsa ipsum, ensuring that each medal - approximately 150 grams in weight - incorporates recycled materials instead of virgin aluminium. On average, 20 recycled cans will be used to create each medal. More information can be found here.

Additional efforts to reduce the event’s carbon footprint will include promoting more sustainable transportation options for athletes, officials and spectators. Event infrastructure will prioritise energy efficiency and responsible water management, while initiatives to reduce single-use plastics and encourage recycling will also be implemented. Moreover, a comprehensive sustainability report will track the event’s environmental impact, with the Organising Committee offsetting unavoidable emissions.

Through collective action, World Aquatics is committed to not only reducing its environmental footprint but also inspiring positive change across the entire aquatic sports ecosystem. On World Water Day, World Aquatics reinforces commitment to safeguarding aquatic environments for future generations.

For more information, stay tuned through https://www.worldaquatics.com/