In its simplest form, it is hard to picture a more sustainable pastime than running. Carried by legs and lungs, and fuelled only by food, gels, and drinks, running is a truly doorstep sport. However, the topic of sustainability is nonetheless crucial. In the quest for new experiences, personal bests and marginal gains, many runners understandably travel to and from events at home and abroad, frequently buy new, not necessarily sustainable products, and dispose of those products in ways that could be more sustainable.
A new study, developed by Sporting Insights in partnership with The Running Channel is designed to shed light on how runners approach sustainability in their everyday lives and in their running lives. In doing so, it establishes a gap between the decisions runners would like to make or would be willing to make and what is currently feasible and sensible, taking into account available information and the current cost and performance of sustainable products. How to bridge this gap will be the focus of a presentation by The Running Channel’s CEO, Andy Baddeley, and Sporting Insights’ joint managing director John Bushell at this week’s The Running Conference.
The presentation accompanies the launch of a full and free report on the topic, which is available to download from the Sporting Insights website.
“This is an important new report for the industry,” reflected Bushell. “As well as presenting the evidence of the gap between what runners intend to do and what they really do, this report also looks at the commercial viability of a greater design and marketing focus on sustainability. It concludes that there is a potential opportunity for a brand or brands to take real leadership in this space and, with buyers willing to compromise on certain key elements, focusing on sustainability is, we believe, a lucrative as well as a moral opportunity.”
Including detailed analysis of runners’ sustainability-led actions, buying habits, and disposal decisions, complete with segmentation profiling, this report will be a valuable companion to businesses as they help make it easier for different groups of runners to take more sustainable decisions.
John Bushell’s presentation will take place at The Running Conference on Tuesday 12th December, starting at 11.00am.
To arrange a meeting with John during or after the event, please contact him using the details on our team page.
