Sustainability

Cycling Unlimited assumes the organisation of the Tour de Suisse (the first event will be staged in 2020).

We have joined the United Nations Sports for Climate Action (S4CA) framework.

We conducted our first emissions assessment for the race in collaboration with Quambio, a Swiss company based in Neuchâtel. We offset nearly 100 metric tons of emissions, representing a large portion of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

We joined the UCI Sustainability Working Group, a cycling-specific subgroup of S4CA. We organized our first mobility competition for spectators to promote public transport.

Building on the 2022 emissions assessment, we launched several initiatives to set us on the path to reducing our emissions. We again organized a mobility competition for our fans and spectators. We partnered with the teams participating in the Tour de Suisse to create the first-ever summary of teams’ sustainability strategies. We surveyed our local organizing committees to understand the challenges that local committees face in the context of sustainability. We also worked more actively with our sponsors to align our vision and actions on this important topic.

The experience gained over the past year was used to refine our strategic direction and to optimize our activities. The outcomes included an extended mobility competition for spectators in the Tour de Suisse Fan Zone, additional work to raise awareness of climate issues among the local organizing committees, active exchanges with the UCI, Swiss Cycling and the UN Sports4Climate Action committees regarding the transfer of know-how and our own efforts to reduce our own greenhouse gas footprint. We also organized our first ever Sustainability Award.

Innovation: Tour de Suisse Sustainability Award 2024

Team Movistar won the first Tour de Suisse Sustainability Award – the world’s first sustainability award in favor of a World Tour team by a Tour organizer.
The decisive factors for the selection were their proven track record over many years, defined reduction strategies and the integration of the entire team in the action plan. The team won a symbolic prize in favor of a charitable organization of its choice. The athletes also wore a special blue race number during this year’s race.

This year, we plan to once again organize the Tour de Suisse Sustainability Award, now in its second edition. The award will go to the team that demonstrates a particular commitment to climate issues, exemplified with a clear plan and with actions that scale over time. We are also planning to revisit our 2023 study on teams’ climate best practices, to reflect new and innovative strategies that have emerged since.

We are also evaluating a new program meant to increase awareness of sustainability among our local partners and volunteers. We will continue expending engagement programs with fans and outreach efforts we have put in place in previous years.