The Sustainability Support Fund provides targeted financial grants to Racing for Sustainability member races to support the implementation of high-impact environmental initiatives. Funded through brand partnerships and Racing for Sustainability Champions, the program is designed to turn intention into action.
Racing for Sustainability invites events at any stage of their sustainability journey to join a growing coalition committed to improvement.
Races don’t have to be perfect; they just need to be willing to take the next step. By lowering barriers to entry and directly supporting implementation, we’re helping events move from ideas to impact.”
Tina Muir — Founder, Racing for Sustainability
The Sustainability Support Fund provides financial support for specific sustainability initiatives at running events. Rather than offering general funding, the program focuses on practical actions that can measurably reduce environmental impact.
Examples of initiatives that may be supported include:
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Recycling and composting programs that divert waste from landfill
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Reusable hydration systems that replace disposable cups
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Sustainable race materials, such as innovative alternatives to traditional synthetic bibs
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Waste reduction and participant education efforts
These are only a few possibilities; race organizers are welcome to request assistance in other areas.
The fund demonstrates how even modest investments can drive meaningful change:
can replace approximately 325 traditional Tyvek bibs with sustainable hemp alternatives
provides 50 reusable SpeedCups, eliminating thousands of paper cups
funds a TerraCycle box to divert gel and nutrition wrappers from landfill
covers composting services for a small race
supplies 40 quick-fill pitchers for cup-free hydration at a 10K
Access to the Sustainability Support Fund is available to Racing for Sustainability member races.
Membership provides race organizers with guidance and resources to produce environmentally responsible events. The Sustainability Support Fund adds another layer of assistance by helping remove financial barriers to implementation.
Applications should describe the initiative, the challenge it addresses, and the expected environmental impact. Questions? Contact us to discuss an idea or initiative.
“It was definitely a hustle to coordinate and implement these sustainability efforts during a live event environment, but at the end of the day, we were still able to successfully divert waste away from landfills — and that made every challenge worth it.
Seeing participants, volunteers, and staff support the initiative showed us that the running community is ready to embrace more sustainable events. This is only the beginning for us, and we’re excited to continue improving and creating races that leave a positive impact beyond the finish line.”
Recycled and composted 280.9 pounds of waste, including plastic, metal, and food waste.
“We are incredibly grateful to partner with Racing for Sustainability and to receive a grant supporting our cupless racing initiative. The support extended well beyond funding, we truly valued the brainstorming and guidance Tina provided as we developed & implemented our water refill stations.”
Prevented approximately 1,500 disposable cups from being sent to landfill by having participants pledge to carry reusable cups/bottles, and providing refill stations along the course.
