Ex-Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel and Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins have been shortlisted for a Green Sport Award.
Vettel and Cummins are nominated alongside footballers Sofie Junge Pedersen and David Wheeler and ice hockey player Jacquie Pierri for Athlete of the Year in the awards run by BBC Sport. They are all hoping to follow in the footsteps of ex-Australia rugby player David Pocock, who won the inaugural award last year for his climate campaigning.
The awards, which will announce their winners on October 2, also include categories for Young Athlete of the Year, Elite Organisation of the Year and Grassroots Organisation of the Year. Forest Green Rovers – who became the world’s first vegan football club in 2017 – are up for the Elite Organisation category, alongside Formula E, Aussie rules side Richmond FC, the International Biathlon Union and the ATP Tour.
Vettel, 36, won four F1 titles in succession between 2010 and 2013 and retired from the sport in 2022. Since then he has frequently urged F1 to do more to help in the fight against climate change and has openly questioned the sport’s policies.
“It needs us, you and me, to rethink our behaviours and be happy with maybe changing some things and giving up some of the comfort. Let’s face it, it boils down to comfort often,” he told CNN in September 2022. “And on the other hand, it needs systematic change. It needs regulations and rules that don’t allow you to hold the event unless you do certain things and you tick certain boxes.”
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Cummins founded Cricket for Climate in February 2022 with the aim of making cricket in Australia a carbon neutral sport. The organisation is working to help local clubs install solar panels and Cummins has stood up for what he believes in, even if that causes friction with his employer.
Pat Cummins has lobbied Cricket Australia over its sponsorship with an energy company (AP)The 30-year-old fast bowler refused to appear in any advertisements for Cricket Australia sponsor Alinta Energy and expressed concerns to Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley about partnering with non-sustainable brands.
Alinta Energy had poured in $40million over four years as CA’s main sponsor but ended its partnership in June 2023. Cummins received a backlash for his stance, but has refused to back down over what he believes in and regularly speaks about the issues cricket faces due to climate change.
Junge Pedersen is a footballer for Denmark and Inter Milan who has become a leading voice in the sport. She was among a group of players who donated money to carbon offsetting and environmental initiatives due to the number of flights they had to take to play at the Women’s World Cup.
Wheeler, who plays for Wycombe Wanderers, became the PFA’s first sustainability champion in February and has fronted several campaigns this year. Speaking to Mirror Football last year, he said he would refuse to wear a shirt with a fossil fuel sponsor on. He spoke at Glastonbury this year about sustainability.
Pierri is an EcoAthletes champion, environmental engineer and climate action activist. She played a part in the forthcoming Last Game documentary.
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