The DECK Project, which aims to develop environmental standards for sustainable canoeing events, recently held its midterm conference in Metkovic, Croatia.
Funded by the European Commission through the ERASMUS+ Sport programme, the project was launched in 2023 and has been collecting, assessing and testing best practices on environmental sustainability during competitions.
It is led by an international network that includes the Italian Canoe Kayak Federation, the School of Sport (Sport e Salute Spa), the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa, National Federations from Greece, Croatia and Slovenia alongside the International Canoe Federation.
The midterm conference was staged alongside the recent ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic.
Hosted by the Croatian Canoe Federation, the conference opened with welcoming remarks from ICF President Thomas Konietzko who praised the project.
“It is an honour and a pleasure for me to be here and show the ICF’s gratitude for the work you have done and will do in the future with this important project,” said Mr Konietzko.
“Sustainability is top of our priorities in our strategic plan.
“As paddlers, we know how the impact in the change in environment feels as we are fighting with floods and climate change.
“We have got to help improve our environment and make our competitions more environmentally friendly.
“I am happy that the ICF can play a part in this project, and I hope that the results of this will be a role model for our federations to learn from this when organising competitions and training.”
Following the opening, the conference reviewed DECK’s first 18 months, highlighting key achievements and milestones.
This was followed by two insightful panel discussions addressing the environmental impacts of canoe and kayak events, with a focus on mobility, accommodation, and equipment.
The first panel, entitled “DECK Experiences through European Kayak and Canoe Events”, explored the environmental footprint of national events, with experts analysing various life cycle stages.
A key takeaway from the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report was that carbon footprint mobility emerged as the largest contributor to environmental impact, surpassing accommodation and equipment.
In one of the events where the LCA was applied, mobility, particularly the transport of athletes, staff, and supporters, represented the largest share of the overall footprint, with supporter mobility being the most impactful sub-section.
The second panel, called “Looking Forward: The Future of Sustainability in Kayak and Canoe Events”, discussed strategies to engage future generations of athletes and fans in sustainability practices, the role of supply chains, and how to create a lasting legacy of environmentally responsible sporting events.
Stakeholders explored how these approaches could be scaled beyond individual competitions to influence broader sustainability across water sports.
This milestone conference marked a key moment in DECK’s journey, laying the foundation for future developments.
The project’s tools and standards are designed to be replicable and scalable, ensuring long-term impact beyond its initial scope.
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