Hull Centre for Sustainability and Olympic Legacy

The project formed the foundations from which Team GB developed the narrative and resources that supported athletes to connect with the Olympic heritage of Team GB in preparation for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022. This research identified real success stories of British Olympians between 1896 to 2016, reflecting their cultures and values on and off the field and helping Team GB to understand the competitors’ diverse social backgrounds. These stories helped to celebrate, strengthen and drive forward the ethos of ‘One Team GB’ – and the Olympic concept of encompassing the cultures, ways of working and the collective beliefs of all team members.

Main researchers: Dr Catherine Baker and Dr Jenny Macleod

The aim of this project was to improve performance of Team GB athletes by preparing them, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, for the environment in which they would train, live and perform. The aim was to help athletes understand what to expect from the Team GB performance lodge to support their wellbeing and performance. There were approximately 380 Team GB elite, world class athletes who used this software to experience the environment in Tokyo ahead of the games in 2021. The overall aim for the athletes to become familiar with the environment so that they could focus solely on their performance and not adapting to their environment. This also helped with the COVID-19 pandemic as travel restrictions meant that Team GB were unable to visit the venues ahead of the Olympic games.

Main researchers: Jason Hayhurst and Professor Andrew King, student volunteers and Lampada Digital Solutions

Phase One

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has ambitions to be a global leader in sustainability for elite sports and is developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy to achieve this. As part of this strategy development, the BOA has commissioned a team from the University of Hull’s Energy and Environment Institute working with Perform Green to undertake a Carbon Footprint benchmarking exercise and associated future projection of BOA’s activities in order to recommend informed improvements. The carbon baseline assessed through the Project Footprint fuelled further commissioned work, Phase 2, to look into high level reduction scenarios.

Phase Two

To join the world-leading sports bodies in the sustainability race, BOA is keen to sign up to UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action – commitment to cut emissions by 50% to 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2040. Following the carbon baseline assessment through the Project Footprint, further work was commissioned between the University of Hull and Perform Green consultancy to develop a tool for carbon reduction scenarios. The developed tool looked at a range of commitments and gave satisfactory confidence in BOA’s ability to deliver the carbon reduction targets, leading to sign-up to UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action.

This PhD Project, funded by the University of Hull, aims to develop a model for effectively implementing greenspace physical activity programmes in economically-disadvantaged areas of the East Riding region. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought considerable challenges for physical activity. Evidence suggests that economically disadvantaged communities are less likely to use existing greenspace areas and/or may have less access to well-maintained greenspaces. However, the East Riding of Yorkshire region is well-positioned to become the vanguard for understanding how to redress social inequalities in this respect.

The health benefits of physical activity in greenspace (i.e. open, underdeveloped land with natural vegetation, urban parks, public open spaces, etc.) were brought to the fore during lockdown and consolidated by the Environment Secretary’s announcement of a £4M pilot project to assess the health impacts of “green prescribing”. This initiative involves a shift from GP prescriptions of established medication regimens towards “green exercise prescriptions” (e.g. outdoor activities such as walking, cycling, working on conservation projects, gardening, etc.) as a means of improving physical and mental health.The project involves working with a wide range of partner institutions, including East Riding of Yorkshire Council Public Health and local charity leaders, as well as Team GB.

Researchers: PhD candidate Esther Carter; supervisors Prof John Saxton and Dr Caroline Douglas

Elite sport has many benefits for a global society, including its ability to promote an environmental message to those who are hard to reach by other routes. However, it has a significant environmental footprint which should be recognised, and where possible, minimised.

One of Team GB's strategic goals is to understand and reduce its carbon footprint, and this PhD project works in partnership with Team GB and two of the University's research institutes – the Energy and Environment Institute and the Logistics Institute – to further this goal.

The project's overarching aim is to quantify and analyse Team GB's carbon footprint and strategically guide its reduction. The project will lead to a step-change both in Team GB's knowledge of its environmental impacts and in its ability to optimally minimise them.

Researchers: PhD candidate Yazeid Aqqad; supervisors: Dr Simon Waldman and Prof Nishikant Mishra

Retirement from sport is an extremely significant 'hot topic' in contemporary sports research and is an area of huge importance to the Olympic athletes of Team GB. Very little is understood about the lives of retired athletes, including how their experiences of elite sport will govern their lives after being a competitive athlete. This research aims to fill the gaps in this area and to provide critical knowledge that can be used to support athletes' careers and well-being in their life beyond sport.

Researchers: PhD candidate Neil Boardman; supervisors:  Prof Adam Nicholls, and Dr John Toner

• Race to Zero: establishing a methodology for elite sports carbon accounting. A case study for Team GB.Publication: in preparation, estimated for January 2023.
  
  Authors: Dr Agota Mockute and Prof Daniel Parsons, Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull; Toby Rhodes, Daniel Rumford and Barney Smith, Perform Green; Charlotte Thompson and David Glassey, British Olympic Association

Prof Adam Nichols

Professor of Psychology | A.Nicholls@hull.ac.uk

Dr John Toner

Lecturer in Sports Coaching and Performance | John.Toner@hull.ac.uk

Dr Catherine Baker

Reader in 20th Century History | Catherine.Baker@hull.ac.uk

Prof Nishikant Mishra

Head of Management Systems Subject Group | Nishikant.Mishra@hull.ac.uk

Dr Simon Waldman

Lecturer in Renewable Energy | S.M.Waldman@hull.ac.uk

Dr Martin Taylor

Lecturer | Martin.Taylor@hull.ac.uk

Dr Ben Kolosz

Lecturer in Renewable Energy and Carbon Removal | B.W.Kolosz@hull.ac.uk

Dr Zishang Zhu

Senior Research Fellow | Zishang.Zhu@hull.ac.uk

Prof John Saxton

Professor | John.Saxton@hull.ac.uk

Dr Sarah Shaw

Senior Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management | Sarah.Shaw@hull.ac.uk

Prof Briony McDonagh

Director of the Doctoral College | B.McDonagh@hull.ac.uk

Prof Andrew Jonas

Professor of Human Geography | A.E.Jonas@hull.ac.uk

Prof Dhaval Thakker

Professor | D.Thakker@hull.ac.uk

Dr Jenny Macleod

Senior Lecturer in 20th Century History | J.Macleod@hull.ac.uk

Jason Hayhurst

Lecturer in Digital Media | J.Hayhurst@hull.ac.uk

Professor Andrew King

Professor of Music and Technology | A.King@hull.ac.uk

Dr Caroline Douglas

Lecturer | C.Douglas@hull.ac.uk

Dr David Eldridge

Senior Lecturer in American Studies | D.N.Eldridge@hull.ac.uk

Esther Carter

Green2Gold

Supervisors: Prof John Saxton and Dr Caroline Douglas

Yazeid Aqqad

Race to Zero: An Olympic journey

Supervisors: Dr Simon Waldman and Prof Nishikant Mishra