Think Beyond

🏆 Great to see so many Think Beyond clients shortlisted for the FEVO Sport Industry Group Awards 2025. Their work across sustainability, purpose-driven partnerships, fan engagement, and major sporting events continues to make a real impact across the industry. A huge congratulations to: ⚽ The Football Association (Best on Social, Environmental Sustainability, Event of the Year, Purpose-Driven Sponsorship, Short-Form Content) 🚴♂️ British Cycling (Event of the Year, Sport Organisation, Sport Team – GB Cycling Team) 🎾 LTA (Best on Social, Long-Form Content) 🏟 Greater London Authority (Two event partners recognised in Event of the Year – MLB London Series 2024, Jacksonville Jaguars) 🌍 International Olympic Committee – IOC (Environmental Sustainability) 🏁 The Goodwood Group (Event of the Year) 🏎 Silverstone (Event of the Year) ⚽ The Premier League (Fan Engagement) 🔴 Liverpool Football Club (Sport Organisation) ⛵ SailGP (Sport Organisation) 🏉 England Rugby (Sport Team – Red Roses) Well done to all the nominees. We’re proud to work with organisations that are driving progress in sport and beyond. Looking forward to celebrating the winners in May.

🚀 Accelerating Action for Gender Equity in Sport. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating those driving change. Those who refuse to accept slow progress and instead take bold steps forward. At Think Beyond, we’re proud to have spent the last six months working alongside Francesca Clapcich, an Olympic sailing athlete, mother, and trailblazer, as she builds belief and belonging in sailing and beyond. Through her leadership, Frankie is tackling discrimination in sailing and finding solutions that ensure more women can fulfil their potential through true belonging in the sport. Together with 11th Hour Racing, we’re supporting a campaign that features academic research into how belonging fuels better performance in sports teams, and how these insights can help humanity tackle wider challenges like climate change and discrimination. 🔗 Learn more about Frankie’s Believe, Belong, Achieve campaign: https://lnkd.in/eCF-uSM8 #AccelerateAction #InternationalWomensDay #WomenInSport #IWD2025 Team Francesca Clapcich

Can sport go green for good? Join Radha Balani, Global Head of Strategy and Leadership at Think Beyond, as she moderates a panel at The Economist’s Annual Sustainability Week on Tuesday, exploring how sport can make a lasting shift towards sustainability. 💬 Panel: From jerseys to journeys – can sport go green for good? 📅 Tuesday, March 11th 2025 ⏰ 5.20pm GMT 📍 London With fans increasingly expecting sport to lead on sustainability and social impact, the conversation will examine case studies of success, the challenges of balancing profit and planet, and the role sport plays in inspiring societal change. Radha will be joined by an exceptional panel: 🔹 Tania Braga, Director, Impact & Legacy, International Olympic Committee – IOC 🔹 Georgina Grenon Georgina Grenon, Director of Environmental Excellence, Paris 2024 Organising Committee 🔹 Tanja Dik, Chief Executive, Johan Cruijff ArenA 🔹 Meghna Tare, Chief Sustainability Officer, FIFA World Cup Dallas 2026 & UT Arlington 🔹 Catie Munnings, Rally Driver, Extreme H A big thanks to Edward Glanville and the Economist Impact team for bringing this important conversation to the stage. Will you be attending? We’d love to see you there. Please reach out to Radha to connect!

Join Think Beyond and Liverpool Football Club at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE this Thursday for a fireside chat on embedding sustainability into supply chains. Dr. Susie Tomson, Global Head of Insight & Impact at Think Beyond, and Rishi Jain, Director of Impact at Liverpool Football Club, will explore how the club is tackling Scope 3 emissions, building purpose-driven partnerships, and making sustainability a commercial driver. They’ll also offer practical, business-focused insights that other organisations can apply. 📅 6th March 2025 ⏰ 12.40pm-1.05pm 📍 QEII Centre, London 🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eXfbCFXq Thanks to Supply Chain Digital and Sustainability Live for the opportunity to share how sport can drive change in this space.

How do you reduce the environmental impact of an event and leave a lasting and meaningful legacy in the local community, whilst delivering a wordclass live sporting entertainment at scale? Last week, in the lead-up to LIV Golf Adelaide 2025, I joined 'Breakfast with LIV Golf' to talk about exactly that. Great discussions with a room full of engaged people from a wide range of local and national organisations with plenty of practical ideas and questions. As part of Think Beyond, I've been working with LIV Golf and 54 on the implementation of their Potential Unleashed strategy, aimed at embedding social impact and sustainability into the delivery of LIV Golf events, to the tournament in Adelaide this year. I had the privilege to sit on a panel with: 🔹 Gabriella Thompson – Impact Manager, LIV Golf 🔹 Peta St Clair – Director, 54 Guest Services 🔹 Luke van Kempen – Impact & Sustainability Consultant, LIV Golf (Host) We explored how this strategy can drive real impact, both globally and here in Adelaide. Some key takeaways from the discussion: 🔗 Early and two-way communication with your supply chain partners. This is crucial in developing and successfully implementing meaningful sustainability initiatives at your event. Sustainability measures are scalable, you don’t need a huge budget to start these conversations, but you do need to start them. 📊 Measuring impact matters.  Whether it’s avoided carbon emissions, waste segregation, water efficiency, or engagement in social impact initiatives, tracking results is key to expressing the value add and building the case for expanding initiatives. 🌏 Local infrastructure and event suppliers in South Australia are ahead of the curve. Waste management (ex: compostable materials) and clean energy infrastructure (i.e. 70-90% clean energy grid) are particularly strong, giving organisations a great foundation to leverage when planning sporting events of any size. A big thank you to Sports Environment Alliance with Sport SA and Parks and Leisure Australia SA/NT Region for supporting the event and to the LIV Golf Adelaide 2025 Impact Partners, including DrinkWise, Golf Australia, Golf Ball Recycling, Natureplay SA, Reclink Australia, Red Frogs Australia and Tauondi Aboriginal College, for helping to drive change.

🏌️♂️🌍 Kicking off a partnership with impact. Earlier this month, LIV Golf and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, came together in Riyadh to kick-off their three-year partnership, using sport to support people forced to flee their homes. The event brought together leaders from LIV Golf, UNHCR, athletes, and media to discuss forced displacement, humanitarian needs, and how sport can help communities affected by crises, conflict, and climate change. As part of its Potential Unleashed Impact & Sustainability Strategy, LIV Golf has committed $10 million to fund innovative sport-for-protection programmes, supporting up to 1 million refugees and internally displaced people across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. 💬 Dr. Nadjia Hafsa, UNHCR Deputy Representative in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries said: "Sport has the power to unite, heal, and inspire. It has a unique ability to help displaced children and youth mitigate and cope with some of their daily-life struggles, improve their mental wellbeing and resilience, and provide them with a sense of community and hope for a better future. “We are proud to partner with LIV Golf. Together we aspire to make a significant and positive impact on the lives of refugees and internally displaced people around the world.” At Think Beyond, we've loved supporting LIV Golf in developing this ambitious strategy and bringing this incredible partnership to life. 👉 If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Ed Hubbard or Pippa Nicholas.

🤝 Think Beyond x Green Sports Alliance Think Beyond is proud to join the Green Sports Alliance as a Play to Zero Partner, furthering our commitment to leveraging sport as a powerful platform for positive change. As we expand our presence in North America, this partnership will drive meaningful action by equipping the industry with the strategies and tools needed to embed sustainability and social impact into business growth. Through this collaboration, Think Beyond will contribute to two key industry playbooks. 🗨️ Radha Balani, Global Head of Strategy & Leadership, Think Beyond: "Sustainability and social impact are no longer ‘nice-to-haves’ in sport; they’re fundamental to long-term business success. Done well, they engage fans, drive revenue, strengthen partnerships, and create a competitive edge in a rapidly changing world. "At Think Beyond, we’ve seen firsthand that when organizations align purpose with profit, they create positive impact while building stronger, more resilient businesses. The Green Sports Alliance brings together those that get this, need this, or both, and we’re looking forward to working together to help organizations turn ambition into action and impact into growth." 🗨️ Roger McClendon, Executive Director, Green Sports Alliance: "Welcome to the Green Sports Alliance, Think Beyond! Together, we will continue to elevate the sports greening movement while also creating lasting social impact in the communities where we live, work, and play. We look forward to collaborating with you as we drive meaningful change and innovation for a healthier, more sustainable future for the next generation." Feel free to drop Radha a note if you’d like to learn more.

DEI Backlash? Purpose-Driven Organizations Will Outlast Political Shifts As sports fans, we’ve all seen it. The final minutes of a game, the pressure is on, and a team’s true character is revealed. Some crumble. Others stay disciplined, trust their values, and find a way to win. The same is true in business. When things get tough, you see which organizations stand by their commitments and which fold. Across the US, a wave of companies are walking back on DEI commitments. Maybe they think it’s easier or that it won’t cost them. The truth is, it will. These businesses are making fear-based decisions, shifting with the political winds and exposing the shaky foundations these commitments were built on. But when you abandon your values, customers, employees, and partners take note. Target’s rollback of DEI initiatives is a clear example, triggering a national boycott. It’s not the first time they've shown their frailty - remember Pride Month 2023?! Sport is proving there’s a better way forward. While others retreat, the NFL is one of a number of organizations not backing down. Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear: “We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven ourselves that it does make the NFL better.” Goodell makes an important point. DEI isn’t about following trends; it’s about making organizations stronger, attracting top talent, and reflecting the communities it serves. “We’re not in this because it’s a trend to get in or a trend to get out of. Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League both on and off the field.” At the heart of this is shared value, a principle championed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter. When businesses integrate societal impact into their strategy, they don’t just contribute to society, they gain a competitive edge. We see this firsthand in our work Think Beyond, proving that embedding values drives both profit and impact: ✅ Liverpool Football Club: The Red Way strategy strengthens fan and community engagement while attracting purpose-driven partners. ✅ SailGP: A global racing league proving elite sport and purpose-led business go hand in hand. ✅ Subway UK & Ireland: Embedding purpose into the heart of sponsorship, fueling both commercial success and social change. The DEI backlash will continue. But those who stay the course won’t just survive, they’ll thrive. They’ll attract top talent, inspire fans, onboard new partners, and secure long-term success. At Think Beyond, we help organizations drive growth through impact. If you want a resilient, purpose-driven organization, that stands the test of time, let’s talk.

“The true sign of leadership in sport today is not to retreat in the face of controversy but to have the courage to stay the course.” – Nick Keller In this article, Benchmark - Certified B-Corp CEO Nick Keller explores the challenge of rising political polarisation and the cultural discourse around “wokeism” in sport. While sport has made great strides in driving social impact, sustainability, and inclusion, shifting sentiments threaten to undermine progress. But now is not the time to step back, he argues. Sport’s deep emotional and cultural ties give it a unique ability to unite people, engage fans, and inspire lasting change. Read the full article below. https://lnkd.in/ehJGSnep

🏀 Basketball uniting communities across Europe. Earlier this month, Euroleague Basketball’s One Team Games 2025 delivered some unforgettable moments—players and participants coming together, teams welcomed onto the court and halftime games packed with energy. This is the power of sport in action. 🎥 Watch the recap video to relive the best moments. 🌍 Since its founding in 2012, the One Team program has reached already directly and indirectly more than 26,000 participants, involved 79 EuroLeague and EuroCup clubs and 370 Ambassadors through its various projects. Together, we harness basketball’s power to create positive change. To learn more, reach out to Rowena Luscombe: [email protected]