Water — Sports & Entertainment's Achilles Heel, Or Secret Weapon Against Climate Change?
By Julie King and Jacob Tompkins
The Sports & Entertainment sector is not immune from the impacts of climate change. But it can also lead the way — across communities and society — by taking intentional, practical actions around water that can raise awareness as well as mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The State Of Play
2024 was the hottest year on record and the first full calendar year to cross the 1.5° C threshold. Climate change is accelerating the global water cycle: more droughts, more floods, more extreme weather.
Everything we do — eat, live, work, wear — depends on water. Yet water is a shared resource, and it needs to be shared responsibility. We must rethink how we value it, manage it, and monitor it, basin by basin.
Dispelling The Myths
Let’s be clear: water isn’t free. And it won’t necessarily always be there when you turn on the tap. It takes huge amounts of energy to extract, treat, heat, cool, and move water — and we also need water to produce energy. One can’t exist without the other.
Meanwhile, aquifers are being over-extracted. Rivers and wetlands are drying up. Globally, we’ve lost 80% of wetlands1, and freshwater species populations have dropped 85% since 1970.2 When we destroy natural habitats, we destroy our own. Without water, there is no life.
The Face Of Climate Change
As we wrote in a previous blog, “Tackling climate change is not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions — it’s also about how we adapt to the changing reality of water.”3
If climate change is a monster, then water is its teeth. Water is where we will first see its impacts — whether it's too much, too little, or too polluted. And unlike energy, there’s no substitute. There is no backup water generator, no alternative water source, like renewable energy. You’ve actually got to do something about water.
The Water–Energy Link
Water is heavy and has a high specific heat capacity. Heating it takes a lot of energy; just look at your energy smart meter when you turn on the kettle. So does pumping it — whether for showers, pitch irrigation, cleaning, or flushing toilets. One cubic meter of water weighs a ton. Now think about the cost and emissions tied to all that pumping and heating.
Then comes treatment. Water must be treated before and after use. Wastewater and freshwater treatment alone can account for ~40% of a facility’s operating energy costs4 and around 4% of global GHG emissions.5 And, often, these plants are “set and forget,” with no real-time data or monitoring — meaning inefficiencies, breakdowns, and untreated discharge often go undetected.
No wonder 70% of 30,000 people surveyed across 30 countries say water pollution is their top concern.6
And we haven’t even touched on the energy and water demands of processing digital content in sports and entertainment — content creation and consumption for streaming, gaming, NFTs, AI content, and more.
The Real Black Swan
It’s no longer far-fetched: What if your venue runs out of water or floods? What if the water is polluted, or the toilets stop flushing? Health and safety rules will shut your doors instantly. And it won’t matter how cheap your water bills were the day before — or how expensive water becomes.
Chances are that your venue has an energy backup plan. Maybe even a fire or IT plan. But what about a water plan?
The Good News
You can take action right now. Start small. Small actions on water can have fast, measurable impact. Even better, water is the only resource that both adapts to and mitigates climate change.
Water is your secret weapon to accelerate carbon neutrality and Net Zero.
Where To Start
1. Focus on Fundamentals
Before you hire consultants, get the ‘analog’ data right. Locate and inventory all of your assets. Find your pipes and valves — many venues don’t know where all their assets are. Some are buried in fields, behind walls, or on neighboring land. Add barcodes to track and monitor them. Check for leakage or low-pressure points.
2. Embed Water into Your Sustainability Framework
Too many events stop at recycling bins or banning plastic bottles. But what really shuts you down is water: floods, drought, or pollution. Review your sustainability plans and ensure they cover water risk at basin, operational, and community levels.
3. Conduct a Climate and Water Risk Audit
A basic “water-in, water-out” audit is a start, but it lacks context. Go deeper. A proper Water-Energy Risk Audit (‘W-ERA’) identifies your top 10 water-related risks to shutting down your operations. It assesses your water use across the catchment and communities you share water with. Without context, your audit won’t drive action.
4. Link Water Use to Carbon Emissions
Water use = energy use = carbon emissions. So, reductions in water consumption directly reduce your carbon footprint. Consider:
- Installing waterless urinals (e.g., Tottenham Hotspur Stadium reports saving ~100,000 liters/year [~26,400 gals/year] per unit)
- Using water-efficient toilets and taps
- Rainwater harvesting for irrigation
- Replacing asphalt with permeable paving (e.g. Community Rowing Inc. in Boston)
- Planting drought-resistant gardens with local communities
All these save water, cut emissions, and often reduce costs. And once you’ve got your baseline water and energy data, you can track your carbon savings methodically and credibly.
5. Audit + Communicate
Have your initiatives audited by an independent third party. It builds trust with insurers, investors, athletes, regulators, and fans. Extend efforts to team and fan accommodation, merchandise production, and digital content delivery. And fan engagement is key. Fans adore their favorite clubs, athletes, and bands. This can be turned into a positive force for the environment. Communicate with and energize fans to meet water and climate goals and gamify that process with positive feedback and rewards.
The Bigger Picture
Water isn’t just about utilities. It’s about quality of life, biodiversity, mental health, and even medical cures — many of which come from aquatic ecosystems.
If we destroy our wetlands and freshwater habitats, we degrade our own lives too. Polluted water means poorer food, worse air, and declining public health. We’re not separate from nature — we’re interdependent.
Final Word
Sports & Entertainment have a unique platform to lead. With intentional, educated action on water, you can protect your venues, your business model, your community, and the planet. And yes — you’ll likely save money too.
Water is getting more expensive. But acting on it now is far cheaper than shutting down when it’s too late.
References
- Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. (2018). Global Wetland Outlook: State of the World’s Wetlands and their Services to People. Ramsar Secretariat. https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/gwo_en.pdf
- WWF & ZSL. (2024). Living Planet Report 2024: Recovery in a time of extinction. World Wildlife Fund and Zoological Society of London.
- Sport needs to wake up to worsening water risks from climate change — and team up to tackle them, Julie King, Jacob Tompkins, OBE, Stuart Orr, Medium Policy Panorama, 25-January 2025: bit.ly/4cmEsYg
- Energy Efficiency Analysis of Water Treatment Plants: Current Status and Future Trends, Iwona Skoczko, Energies 2025, 18(5), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051086
- Energy Efficiency Analysis of Water Treatment Plants, Mirosław Szwedowicz, Tomasz Kaczmarek, and Andrzej Białowiec. Department of Technology in Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Journal: Energies (2023), published 24-February 2024: https://colab.ws/articles/10.3390%2Fen18051086?utm_source.com; Economic Assessment of Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Applicability of Alternative Nature-Based Technologies in Portugal, Eleonora Santos, António Albuquerque, Patrick Murray and Hande Ermis, 26-June 2022, MDPI (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/13/2042?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
- The Future Water Agenda Report: Water pollution tops global concerns as companies urged to invest in collective action to address water challenges, 20-March 2025, WWF and Globescan: https://bit.ly/4nQM36O
Julie King has over 30 years’ experience across international sports, entertainment, and digital water technologies. A law graduate from Queen Mary University of London, she has worked with promoters-and-record for national and international concert tours and WWF International and Grundfos on water tech and water risks. Julie has published on sports, entertainment, and water issues. She co-founded Thunderstorm to connect Sports & Entertainment sustainability with water and environmental impact through technology and cross-sector collaboration.
Jacob Tompkins, OBE Jacob Tompkins, OBE, is a leading UK and European water expert with a background in civil engineering and hydrology from Imperial College London. He founded Waterwise and co-founded The Water Retail Company and the European Water Tech Accelerator. Recognized for services to water efficiency, he advises on water policy, climate resilience, and innovation. Jacob is also a Professor at Exeter University, shaping future leaders in the water sector.