Make the decision to plan and run the sporting event sustainably at management level (e.g. management or board). Express this in a public policy statement or include it in your articles of association. 

Note for beginners: The policy statement can also be made in a few sentences on the website, for example.   

If you decide to pursue the human rights approach in addition to the sustainability approach, please work through the checklist for the Human Rights control area.

Formulate a vision for your sporting event that clearly reflects the principles of sustainability and shows that you are taking responsibility. If you have already formulated a version, check whether it complies with the principles of sustainability and adapt it if necessary.  

Note for beginners: The vision is just a sentence and describes the overarching vision for the future of the sporting event.  

Define clear organisational structures and responsibilities for the development of the sustainability strategy. Ensure that sufficient human resources are available and that there is enough time available for the topic.  

Note for beginners:   Appoint a person on the board of directors or in management, for example,  

who is responsible for developing the sustainability strategy and who brings the various topics together centrally. 

Involve the relevant stakeholders and partners in strategy development. To do this, work through the checklist for the Participation control area.

Select the relevant action areas for your sporting event. Together with your stakeholders, identify and evaluate the environmental, social and economic risks and opportunities associated with these action areas. After the evaluation, enter the action areas in a materiality matrix.   

Note for beginners: If it is not feasible for you to involve the stakeholders, you can independently categorise the action areas in the materiality matrix in an internal half-day workshop. To do this, put yourself in the shoes of your stakeholders and consider what their requirements and needs are. For initial orientation, use the self-check to identify the action areas in which you are already implementing many measures and those in which you are less well positioned

Develop specific targets for the main action areas and define initial key indicators to make your targets measurable. Use the indicator catalogue from the web portal for this. 

Note for beginners: If it is not feasible for you to measure target achievement, only set targets that you can also use for internal communication and refrain from defining key indicators. 

Derive initial measures to achieve the defined targets. Use the web portal's catalogue of measures for this purpose. If you have worked through the human rights process, the measures of the human rights process and the measures selected in this step form the overall catalogue of measures for your sporting event.  

Note for beginners: Use the "Entry-level measures" filter in the web portal's catalogue of measures to identify measures that are particularly easy to implement and also have a high potential impact.

Formulate and publish your sustainability strategy. This includes the vision (see Strategy Development control area, step 3), the relevant action areas (see Strategy Development control area, step 6), the targets, possibly the key indicators (see Strategy Development control area, step 7) and the initial ideas for measures (see Strategy Development control area, step 8).  

Note for beginners: You can also summarise the results of your process briefly and concisely on one page in a "strategy paper".

Define clear responsibilities at working level for the implementation of sustainability measures. Ensure that all employees have sufficient expertise in the area of sustainability so that the sustainability strategy can be implemented effectively.  

Note for beginners:  

If your sporting event is organised by a small number of people or volunteers, for example, try to find people who have a connection to the topic of sustainability or are particularly interested in it. If necessary, they can also gain further qualifications in a crash course or via the web portal.

Determine how regularly you will review the feasibility and implementation of the measures. Also include in your considerations which people you need to integrate into the process. For example, do you need the person responsible for catering to check the feasibility and implementation of measures in the Catering action area?  

Note for beginners: If you do not need any other people internally to implement the measures, this step is not necessary.  

Develop a communication strategy that raises awareness of sustainable practices at sporting events. To do this, work through the checklist for the Communication control area.

Set out the financial resources required to realise the planned sustainability performance and secure these financial resources. To do this, process the checklist for the Funding control area.

Develop a specific roadmap for the continuous reflection of progress and the preparation of sustainability reports. To do this, work through the checklist for the Reporting control area.