Environmental Sustainability Policy

Statement by Mark Lyttle, Chair British Fencing

“British Fencing (BF) is fully committed to minimising the environmental impact of its activities through adopting sound principles, implementing good practice, and by continuous improvement in environmental performance.

BF recognises that we are living in a climate change emergency and we all have a responsibility to change our behaviours, now.

BF will encourage partner organisations, including member clubs, to adopt, apply and demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability.”

Environmental Sustainability Policy – last approved 21.06.2022

The Board is in the process of updating its Environmental Sustainability Action Plan which is intended to be a working plan, reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

In the meantime, we encourage all members, clubs and competition organisers to consider the following actions they can take now to reduce the impact of fencing activities on the environment.

1. Avoid single use plastic – especially single use water bottles. Clubs and events are encouraged to ban single use plastic where there is access to drinking water for refilling re-usable sports bottles.  The cold tap in the toilets is safe.“British tap water is among the best in the world. Millions of tests are conducted annually to guarantee the best possible quality of water for consumers. ” 1 litre of tap water costs about 0.1p
2. Avoid disposable plastic cups and lids – take your own everywhere or stick to using biodegradable ones
3. Turn off electric equipment when not in use – avoid leaving boxes and lights on overnight or where there are significant gaps between sessions.
4. Re-use and re-cycle kit – most fencing kit is typically long lasting and will often be able to be re-used if it still meets BF safety standards. You can either sell second-hand kit directly through the community (there are a number of facebook groups) or if you are willing to donate, local fencing clubs will often welcome good quality second-hand equipment. Kit that isn’t repairable should be appropriately recycled. Blades will need to be taken to recycling centres – clubs and competition organisers can consider facilitating this for participants. For kit (e.g. jackets) that no longer meet the standard for metal fencing, consider recycling for use with plastic fencing.
5. Encourage Responsible Travel – as much as possible (if you cannot walk) try to use public transport.  If you are driving, consider lift sharing and car-pooling. Where flying is unavoidable, consider carbon-offsetting.
6. Pick Responsible Suppliers – when purchasing equipment and clothing (this could be fencing kit, tracksuits or general sports) look into the companies that you are buying from. Be curious, ask questions or do some research on what they’re doing to become more environmentally sustainable, and where and how they source things. Check their values, culture, practices, and commitment to environmental sustainability match your own
7. Encourage facilities to contribute – if you use other people’s facilities you may be able to help contribute to making them more efficient. Ask whoever manages them for a copy of their sustainability policy and see if you can help them to become more sustainable. Do not tolerate overheated premises or outside doors left open in cold weather, raise with facility management.

For more information & resources

Becoming more environmentally sustainable (sportenglandclubmatters.com)

BASIS – The British Association for Sustainable Sport – https://basis.org.uk/ (Affiliate membership is free)