Greening sports practice and education for Climate Action

The C-HERMES project aims to promote more sustainable and environmentally responsible sports practices. Sport has enormous potential to raise awareness among citizens, athletes and communities about sustainability and climate action. However, many sports organisations — especially at the local and amateur level — still lack the knowledge, tools or skills needed to effectively integrate sustainable practices into their activities.

C-HERMES was created to bridge this gap by supporting sports clubs, educators and organisations in the sector in developing skills, tools and strategies to make sport greener, while contributing to the spread of sustainable behaviour among athletes and communities.

The project is part of the European priorities relating to the green transition, sustainability in sport and the fight against climate change, enhancing the educational and social role of sporting activities.

Objectives

C-HERMES aims to strengthen the capacity of sports organisations to actively contribute to environmental sustainability.

In particular, the project aims to:

• increase environmental awareness among sports organisations, coaches, educators and athletes
• promote sustainable sports practices in the management of sporting events, facilities and activities
• provide innovative tools and methodologies to integrate environmental education into sport
• support clubs and associations, particularly small and medium-sized ones, in adopting sustainability strategies
• use sport as a vehicle for raising awareness to promote responsible behaviour towards the climate and the environment.

Main activities

To achieve these objectives, the project involves a series of coordinated activities at European level:

• Research and analysis of existing practices related to sustainability in sport
• Development of guidelines and operational tools to make sporting activities more sustainable
• Design of training courses for sports clubs, coaches and operators in the sector
• Organisation of pilot activities and field tests to experiment with the methodologies developed
• Implementation of events and awareness-raising actions aimed at sports communities and citizens.

Expected results

The project will contribute to creating a European framework for integrating environmental sustainability into sport

The main expected results include:

• greater awareness of the environmental risks associated with sporting activities
• dissemination of good practices in sustainable sport
• strengthening the skills of sports organisations
• creation of a European network committed to promoting sport as a driver of climate change.

The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme

Grant Agreement No. 10124313

Partnership: Italian Cycling Federation (Italy – lead partner); Alterevo Società Benefit srl (Italy); Sportsroom NGO (Bulgaria); Aventura Marão Clube (Portugal); Towarzystwo Sportowe Iron Man (Poland); Blankcon (Netherlands); Municipality of Benissa (Spain);

Associated partners: Municipality of Colle Umberto (Italy); Silca Ultralite Triathlon (Italy); Vassil Levski National Sports Academy (Bulgaria); Municipality of Amarante (Portugal); Opole Football Association (Poland); Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Athletics Federation (Germany); SSC Palmberg Schwerin (Germany)

Period: January 2026 – June 2028

Funding programme: Erasmus+ Sport

BLANKCON and C-Hermes

Blankcon will contribute to the different project results. For example we will participate in a survey to assess the current status of sustainability in sport evenets, implement developed training materials during several events and develop a training program. Also we have several trainers from the associated partners who will participate in an international training course organised by the project.