Manatt Digital and Technology Counsel and Director Matthew Reece and Energy and Environment Partner David Smith wrote an article for Sports Business Journal on how sports leagues, teams and sponsors can responsibly promote sustainability efforts and achievements while minimizing reputational and regulatory risk.
In an effort to contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change, many sports stakeholders have made public commitments to “go green,” according to the article. While these commitments are commendable, they can also prove challenging to achieve, as the components which make sports entertaining—such as live events and national competitions—“require resources that are difficult to mitigate or reduce.” As a result, the failure to meet sustainability claims can negatively impact the reputations of those involved in addition to opening the door for regulatory scrutiny.
Each party should take actions to protect themselves should a partner promote its sustainability actions without being able to back up their claims, such as by requesting certification of results and updating contract provisions. “Making climate-friendly commitments is deserving of recognition. But stakeholders need to back it up with evidence, and there is substantial reputational and regulatory risk if a party makes sustainability claims that are untrue or unverifiable,” the authors wrote.
Read the full article here.