Circular Economy Processes and Solutions at Sporting Events in Finland
Nordman, Kim (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052917449
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024052917449
Tiivistelmä
This paper is a study on the current state of circular economy at elite sporting events in Finland. To narrow down the scope of the study a requirement of ticket purchase was implemented to qualify a specific event for the study. The study consists of three research questions: which circular solutions and processes can be identified at elite sporting events from a visitor’s point of view, whether visitors attending sporting events see circular solutions and processes as valuable, and whether visitors are prepared to pay more for services if that would enable more sustainable events. Ultimately the study seeks to give tips on how to improve circularity at elite sporting events in Finland and act as a type of guide for organisers of sporting events.
The study was conducted using two different data collection methods. The data was collected with a survey that targeted persons attending sporting events with varying frequencies. Potential respondents were reached out to online at messaging boards of prominent sports in the country, but also using my own personal social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. The survey was successful and generated a total of 229 responses across different sports. Respondents were asked to specify what sport they most frequently watch in-person, and the most popular ones were association football, floorball, pesäpallo, and ice hockey.
The second method of collecting data was mystery shopping, which was conducted in-person by myself. The mystery shopping was conducted by attending elite sporting events of all the four sports that people who took the survey were most likely to attend. In total ten events were attended: four football matches, two ice hockey matches, two floorball matches, one pesäpallo match, and as the tenth event a futsal match, even though the sport did not feature in the most popular ones among the survey takers. Mystery shopping results were collected in a sheet with eight different categories, based on whether the circular process exists, does not exist, or exists only partially.
The results of both the survey and mystery shopping were somewhat negative from a circular economy perspective. It is clear that circular economy is still in its infancy at sporting events in Finland. Recycling is a rarity and solutions for reusable food and drinks containers are mostly non-existent. Fan merchandise also tends to be made from virgin resources, with very few options available made from recycled materials. The only circular processes that stand out as common in Finland are paperless ticket systems, paperless hand drying solutions in restrooms, and good public transport links to the venues.
Finnish elite sporting event organisers ought to put more focus on circular processes, of which some are easy to implement. These include for example basic recycling and water stations. The scrapping of single-use plastics should also be encouraged. Attendees at sporting events in Finland do generally view circular processes favourably and would like to see an improvement. They are generally unhappy and disappointed with the current state of circular economy at events.
The study was conducted using two different data collection methods. The data was collected with a survey that targeted persons attending sporting events with varying frequencies. Potential respondents were reached out to online at messaging boards of prominent sports in the country, but also using my own personal social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. The survey was successful and generated a total of 229 responses across different sports. Respondents were asked to specify what sport they most frequently watch in-person, and the most popular ones were association football, floorball, pesäpallo, and ice hockey.
The second method of collecting data was mystery shopping, which was conducted in-person by myself. The mystery shopping was conducted by attending elite sporting events of all the four sports that people who took the survey were most likely to attend. In total ten events were attended: four football matches, two ice hockey matches, two floorball matches, one pesäpallo match, and as the tenth event a futsal match, even though the sport did not feature in the most popular ones among the survey takers. Mystery shopping results were collected in a sheet with eight different categories, based on whether the circular process exists, does not exist, or exists only partially.
The results of both the survey and mystery shopping were somewhat negative from a circular economy perspective. It is clear that circular economy is still in its infancy at sporting events in Finland. Recycling is a rarity and solutions for reusable food and drinks containers are mostly non-existent. Fan merchandise also tends to be made from virgin resources, with very few options available made from recycled materials. The only circular processes that stand out as common in Finland are paperless ticket systems, paperless hand drying solutions in restrooms, and good public transport links to the venues.
Finnish elite sporting event organisers ought to put more focus on circular processes, of which some are easy to implement. These include for example basic recycling and water stations. The scrapping of single-use plastics should also be encouraged. Attendees at sporting events in Finland do generally view circular processes favourably and would like to see an improvement. They are generally unhappy and disappointed with the current state of circular economy at events.