With the United Nations describing the climate crisis as “the defining issue of our time”[1] and more individuals and organisations expressing concern about climate change, sports organisations from governing bodies to individual clubs are increasingly making environmental sustainability a priority.

A number of sports organisations signing up to the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action, these include: FIFA, UEFA, The FA, the Premier League, a number of Premier League and English Football League clubs, the English and Wales Cricket Board, a number of English county cricket clubs, The Rugby Football League, a number of PREM Rugby clubs, and numerous UK and international governing bodies.[2] By being a signatory, these organisations have committed to the following[3]:

Measure their greenhouse gas emissions within six months of signing.
Set a 50% greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal by 2030 and a net zero goal by 2040.
Start with their actions immediately.
Submit a plan to achieve interim targets within 12 months.
Proceed with greenhouse gas emission reductions immediately.
Report on annual basis.
Become an active participant in shaping net-zero pathways for sport through Framework Working Groups (optional, but recommended).
Mobilise their fans, athletes, and supply chain in best-practice climate action.

Technology can play a powerful role in helping you improve your organisation’s environmental sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By using solutions such as building management systems, smart energy metering, and sustainability data platforms, you can understand precisely how you use energy, track your emissions in detail, and take informed steps that accelerate your organisation’s sustainability journey. In this article, we explore the key considerations you need to keep in mind when procuring technology to meet reporting requirements and drive meaningful progress.

These systems are centralised computer systems and solutions that monitor and control a building’s mechanical and electrical equipment to assist in energy efficiency optimisation and automatically track and collect real-time electricity, gas, or water usage data to empower organisations to monitor costs and build foundations for smarter and more efficient energy usage. Meanwhile platforms and tools connected to these systems can neatly visualise such usage in digestible ways. For example, they can clearly show where energy is being supplied from at a particular moment.

What should you consider when implementing these systems?

To make sure you get the most from these systems and fully realise the benefits they can bring, it’s crucial to take into account a number of key considerations, including:

Interoperability
Milestones and milestone acceptance
Service levels and levels of availability
Intellectual property ownership in the system and/or solution
Viruses and other technical vulnerabilities

The importance of interoperability and building from the back

Understanding interoperability is a crucial starting point. Interoperability is the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information between existing systems and other new systems. Failure for new technologies to integrate seamlessly with the existing ecosystem can result in your organisation not being capable of using the technology to its full potential. Ultimately, this may mean accepting certain (unplanned) limitations or incurring extra spend to fix the problem.

Therefore, when implementing a building management system, smart energy metering system or any platforms or solutions connected to such systems, it is key to:

Consider whether a trial period is necessary to fully understand the system or solution.
Understand what devices, equipment or solutions you already have in place.
Ascertain the requirements (if any) for connection with existing devices, equipment or solutions or other new systems or solutions.
Particularise the deadlines for any implementation and connection with existing or other new solutions.

The need to plot the course properly with milestones and milestone acceptance

When implementing a new system or solution, it is important to consider whether a timed/staged deployment is necessary or would be useful to provide a structured implementation. If so, this should be clearly set out by milestones which clarify when a certain aspect of the deployment should be completed. Additionally, if there are milestones, it is essential to clearly document how the completion of a milestone is judged.

Likewise, it is key to consider whether the supplier will be offered any extension to meet a missed milestone. This will depend on the criticality of the milestone and the impact any failure to meet a milestone will have on the sports organisation. Further to this, it should be noted whether the supplier will be liable to pay any damages to the sports organisation for missing the milestone (e.g. an amount per day or a lump sum).

The requirement for the supplier to go for gold shown by service levels and availability

For the majority of these systems and/or solutions it is expected that the supplier would provide some form of service levels.

Where a supplier may provide an incident response support service for hardware or software, service levels may include an initial response to a fault and the time to resolve a fault.

Where a supplier is providing software as a service or a fully managed service for a system, service levels may refer to the availability or the uptime of the service. This is usually set out as a percentage of time in a given period.

A multitude of other specific service levels might also apply depending on the scope of service.

As a sports organisation, you need to:

Review these service levels to ensure they match the expectations required for the system/solution to function as intended.
Scrutinise any exclusions to ensure they are sensible for the scope of service.
Request the provision of service credits so that the sports organisation receives some damages if a service level is not met but also to push the supplier to meet the service levels.

The consideration of any 12^th man and who may have any rights in the system and/or solution

What parties may have rights in the system and/or solution may be simple or may be complex depending on the nature of the system and/or solution. Even when it is complex, it is important that you don’t get bogged down in the nitty gritty. The most important aspect is that either the supplier has all the rights in the system and/or solution and/or it has the right to allow the sports organisation to receive, hold in its possession and use the system and/or solution (and where appropriate onward supply the system and/or solution).

This should be made clear in any arrangement, and the supplier should be expected to stand behind such a provision. On top of this, it is crucial to consider any provisions associated with third-party based claims in respect of a breach of that third party’s rights due to the supplier’s supply, and your receipt and use, of the system and/or solution.

In that context, you may wish to ensure that you are:

Reimbursed by the supplier for any such claims by way of an indemnity.
Entitled to demand the supplier modify the system and/or solution to avoid infringing a third party’s rights (such that the functionality, security, and the performance is not degraded).
Able to terminate the agreement without liability if supplier is unable to make the necessary modifications to avoid further third party infringement.

The need to park the bus in relation to viruses and other technical vulnerabilities

As a sports organisation implementing new technology it is not only essential to consider the security of the new systems and/or solutions, but also the security of the systems, network and infrastructure those new systems and/or solutions may interact with. You should therefore give careful consideration to:

The protection against the introduction of viruses and vulnerabilities into the new system and/or solution and the sports organisation current network and infrastructure.
The prompt notification and collaboration if any viruses and vulnerabilities are detected.
The purposeful approach to remedying and rectifying any issues caused by viruses and vulnerabilities.

In certain circumstances it may be prudent for you to insist that the system and/or solution is tested for viruses and vulnerabilities before it is supplied.

How we can support you

It can be difficult sometimes when trying to keep a clean sheet when you’re implementing different technologies such as building management systems, smart energy metering systems, and other similar platforms or solutions, especially when they have so much potential to improve your organisation’s environmental sustainability and carbon footprint. Luke Jackson or Kyran Clarke in the Sports Tech & Data Team are able to provide thorough advice on all elements of procurement of such platforms and solutions.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/climate-change

[2] Participants in the Sports for Climate Action Framework

[3] SPORTS FOR CLIMATE ACTION ON THE RACE TO ZERO: INFORMATION PACK

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