Matt Warwick
BBC Sport

Chris Boardman has been highly influential when it comes to sustainable mobility for many years.

The former Tour de France stage winner and Olympic gold medallist has been responsible for several mobility projects, including commissioner of Active Travel England – a walking and cycling advocacy body.

What does sustainability in sport mean to him?

“There’s lots of different choices to make. We’ve spent a lot of time inspiring and encouraging people and now we’re at an age where we are ‘requiring’ [people].

"Anyone who wants public funding in 2027 must have a viable action plan, and that’s a big step. What has to go alongside that is: ‘We will help you get there,’ and we’ve got £100million next to that in [Sport England’s] Every Move Strategy.

“Sport is so uniquely placed: it’s in every community around the country; it’s what families do on a Thursday and Sunday night together.

"So if sport decided to mobilise and make the difference it’ll change more than the sporting world… it’ll change hundreds of thousands of local communities.

“I can’t think of anything else that has that influence.”

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The Pedal for Paris team of Chris Boardman, Dame Sarah Story and producer Sarah Dawkins, are up on stage to tell us a bit more about what it took to do the challenge and why it was important.

Earlier tonight, Dame Sarah Storey spoke to BBC's Katie Gornall.

Matt Warwick
BBC Sport

Following a couple of World Para-Road cycling titles, and a record 18th and 19th Paralympic gold medals in the summer Paralympics in Paris, Dame Sarah Storey is here. Fresh off the train.

I asked what sustainability means to her day-to-day...

“Maybe there’s not one single thing – but lots of little actions. Cut open your toothpaste tubes and your sun cream and use every little last bit you have - it makes a difference in a small way.

“My kids go on a ride. It’s about making the right choice for the right journey, it’s one of the reasons we’re talking about Pedal for Paris tonight.

“If you could cycle, why not? I’ve seen it more and more – the expectation that a journey can be made in a vehicle, and the number of journeys I’ve turned down because I’ve liked to walk or get on my bike.

“You don't necessarily need to take a car – for me it’s about taking the right tool for the journey.”

Image source, Getty Images

Now, time for another break in the award presentations as we look back on an impressive challenge that took place in the summer.

A team from BBC Sport joined up with Sport England to take a slightly different route to Paris 2024 Olympics and raise awareness of some brilliant projects along the way

You can watch the special programme on the Pedal for Paris challenge on BBC iPlayer and below.

Earlier this evening before the ceremony, British Olympic snowboarder Katie Ormerod spoke to BBC Sport.

British Winter Olympian Katie Ormerod is presenting the award to head of special projects, Jackie Brock-Doyle and head of sustainability, Bob Ramsak, who are collecting the award on behalf of winner's World Athletics.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to BBC Sport, World Athletics president Lord Coe said: "Let us use sport as an amplifying voice. I will probably go to my grave fundamentally believing that sport is the key vehicle for change.

"It doesn't always happen quickly. It doesn't happen overnight. But I've rarely seen sport go into any political, cultural, national environment that hasn't actually flicked the dial socially or politically."

Earlier this year, World Athletics launched its Athletics for a Better World (ABW) Standards, which set a number of environmental, social and governance obligations that host cities or venues need to adhere to if they want to run a World Athletics sanctioned event.

The ABW Standard consists of 55 action areas including procurement, waste management, energy, food and water management, travel and accommodation planning. Diversity, accessibility and inclusion of staff and volunteers is also addressed, as is ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of all participants and stakeholders.

Image source, Getty Images

And the winner of this year's Elite Organisation of Year is... World Athletics!

Our third award of the night is the Elite Organisation of the Year.

This category is for any professional or high-performance sports organisation/sporting body that is involved in the organisation or planning of competitive sport (such as teams, clubs, associations, federations, competitions, championships and national governing bodies) and has proactively demonstrated support for environmental and climate change issues in the past 12 months.

The 2024 nominees are:

• Extreme E
• Paris 2024
• Professional Footballers, Australia
• World Athletics
• World Rugby

You can read more about why each of the organisations were nominated here

We will bring you the best lines from the chat between that trio shortly.

But, onto our next award...

We are now going to take a short break in the award presentations as we hear from some of the guests at tonight's event.

Dale Vince, the Chairman of Forest Green Rovers - the most sustainable football club in the UK, Dragons Den investor Deborah Meaden, who's been using her profile to speak out on issues of Climate Change, and Mike Berners Lee, one of the leading voices on carbon emissions, have all taken to the stage to chat with Qasa and Swarzy.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Cowley said: "I'd like to say thank you to my nominator and the judges for deeming me worthy of this award - it is a really big honour.

"With climate change, we are not just going to solve it with one individual, it is really a team sport, so let's keep working together."

Sadly, Australian-based Cowley couldn't attend the ceremony tonight, but he did send in a message.

Australian race walker Cowley has been described as a "powerful advocate for a sustainable future". A bronze medallist in the marathon race walk mixed relay at the Paris Olympics, the 33-year-old balanced his intense training with active climate advocacy.

As a spokesperson for the Rings of Fire report, external, he shares personal experiences with heat and competition to highlight the impact of climate change on athletes. In June 2024, he was one of 14 athletes to sign an open letter, external urging the International Olympic Committee to drop Toyota as a major sponsor.

Cowley has consistently promoted environmental sustainability and participates in high-profile initiatives to mobilise athletes globally, while also partnering with schools and community groups to promote environmental education.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Athlete of the Year for 2024 is... Olympic bronze medal winning race walker Rhydian Cowley!

Up next is the World Athlete of the year award.

This category is for a professional international sportsperson who has advocated for, raised awareness of, or instigated action on environmental and/or climate change issues in the past 12 months.

The 2024 nominees are:

• Rhydian Cowley
• Jessie Fleming
• Pragnya Mohan
• Chris Paul
• Sofie Junge Pedersen

You can read more about why each were nominated here

The PFA's sustainability and champion David Wheeler and Tottenham defender Amy Turner, both nominees in this year's Athlete of the Year category, are up on stage to present the award to Pledgeball's Katie Cross.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Pledgeball founder and chief executive Katie Cross said: "One of the issues is we all feel incredibly overwhelmed by this, we feel climate change is such a big issue that we cannot take part and so we turn off to it.

"What Pledgeball does is show a clear way in which you can have an impact, illustrate what that is and help you see you are a part of a huge community that also cares and wants to take action.

"There is a huge desire for bold action that will change things and protect those things we care about."

Pledgeball is a research-driven charity that aims to help eliminate waste and encourage fans to think about their carbon footprint. Also a nominee in 2023, it has been consistently active in the football community but is increasingly partnering with other sports and organisations to support, promote and encourage the update of sustainable practice.

In the past 12 months, Pledgeball has introduced a sustainable travel charter to help clubs choose a more sustainable way to travel, its founder Katie Cross delivered a workshop on fan engagement with environmental sustainability, and it has worked with Uefa and the Biathlon International Union around big events.

Through Pledgeball in 2024, fans pledged to save 62,589,800 kg of CO2e per year, which equates to taking more than 13,600 cars off the road.