The organiser of the London Marathon and the RideLondon cycling festival has partnered with carbon removals firm CUR8 to remove the 280 tonnes of carbon dioxide generated from its events this year.
London Marathon Events’ claims today’s agreement marks a step change in its climate mitigation approach, as it moves from a carbon offsetting to a removals model designed to better align with its net zero emissions goals.
As a signatory to the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework, the firm has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040. However, it is now looking to pull the target date forward to 2030, according to today’s announcement.
Alongside the TCS London Marathon and Ford RideLondon, London Marathon Events organises Swim Serpentine, The Big Half, the Vitality Westminster Mile, and the Vitality London 10,000 – a portfolio of races which has seen the company deploy electric vehicles, HVO-powered generators, and closed loop recycling to help curb its direct emissions. It has also partnered with Trees not Tees to offer participants the chance to plant a tree instead of receiving a commemorative t-shirt.
The firm also collects a £26 climate levy fee from all international participants in the London Marathon, which will now be invested in carbon removals through CUR8.
“This is a landmark moment as, for the first time, we will be able to remove the carbon dioxide emissions from certain events in our calendar, with the aim of increasing that in 2024,” said Kate Chapman, London Marathon Events’ head of sustainability. “Working with organisations like CUR8 is critical to achieving our Net Zero goals.”
CUR8 buys carbon removal credits from suppliers such as 1PointFive, UNDO, and Loam Bio, which are working on a range of different approaches for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The company uses the credits to build carbon removals portfolios for customers, combining different strategies and methods.
The platform has provided carbon removals for landmark Royal events including HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant and The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, as well as large-scale music events including British Summer Time and All Points East.
Recently, CUR8 announced a partnership with The O2 Arena to provide carbon removals for The 1975’s headline shows in February 2024 – claimed to be the world’s first-ever carbon-removed arena events.
Mark Stevenson, co-founder and chief impact officer at CUR8, said its latest partnership built upon existing carbon removals deals with the music industry.
“The cultural power of sport has an important job to do in demonstrating and normalising a genuine pathway to Net Zero – deep emissions cuts partnered with durable carbon removals for residual emissions,” he said. “In time we believe the world will expect and prefer cultural events that don’t harm the atmosphere.”
News of the partnership with CUR8 comes after the 2023 TCS London Marathon became the first major UK mass participation event to be awarded Gold certification by the Council for Responsible Sport in recognition of its work on environmental and social impact initiatives.
In other sustainable running news, Adidas has refuted claims that its £400 Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 running shoe was “single use” after the Green Runners sustainability group penned a letter to the sportswear giant objecting in the “strongest possible terms” to its development.
In response to the group’s criticism of the 138-gram shoe featuring a first-of-a-kind rocker to project the runner forward, an Adidas spokesperson said single use claims were “not accurate”.
“The high-performance nature of the shoe makes it optimised towards race day but we have tested it with different athletes across different distances and we, along with our athlete partners, have been very pleased with the results,” they said.
“The exact longevity of the shoe delivering this high performance will depend on the athlete wearing them and the conditions they are worn in.”
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