Sustainability at STIHL TIMBERSPORTS®: Extreme sports with responsibility
Fairness and sustainability play a prominent role for the organisers of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® series. Whether it is in the selection of our competition wood or the resources that are used. As part of our responsibility, we are constantly pursuing the goal of minimising our footprint through economic, environmental and social measures and positioning TIMBERSPORTS® sustainably for the future.
The cornerstones of our commitment
Economic: Economically responsible action is a central aspect of the organisation of STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® so that the sports series and its partners can plan and act reliably over the long term. This includes the efficient and optimal use of our financial resources as well as planning and running our competitions in the most resource-efficient way possible. In doing so, we are increasingly making use of local facilities and infrastructures in coordination with our event partners.
Environmental: In order to keep the impact on the environment and forest resources as low as possible, we only use trees from FSC-certified plantations and FSC-certified forestry for the international STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® competitions. After the competitions, the wood is reused, recycled, processed into pellets or supplied to local partners for energy production from renewable sources. But there is more. We are also taking numerous measures to systematically reduce our environmental footprint, step by step. In the case of international events, we analyse the sustainable potential of the venues in advance. At outdoor events, we are increasingly relying on daytime competitions to save energy on lighting, for example. In addition, we place great importance on sourcing most of the resources for our international competitions from the immediate vicinity of the venue. The international competitions will be analysed so that we can do even better the next time.
Social: Our commitment does not end with sourcing sustainable and high-quality wood. We want to make our competitions climate-friendly and inclusive through meaningful approaches and help our society through compensation projects. To ensure that the TIMBERSPORTS® movement continues to grow, we are also focusing on targeted work for young talent in countries all over the world. In this way, the best athletes of tomorrow can be discovered early on and continue to be supported and challenged. TIMBERSPORTS® also takes place at forestry schools in a wide variety of countries. What is more, the sport helps to make forestry professions more attractive and at the same time raises greater awareness for extreme sports.
You can find more information about our commitment in the STIHL Sustainability Report, which uses the World Trophy 2022 in Vienna as an example. At the 2023 World Championships, we also collaborated with the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Foundation and organised the event as a 'climate-fair event'.
OUR CREDO: AVOIDANCE BEFORE REDUCTION BEFORE COMPENSATION
At TIMBERSPORTS® we deliberately work to conserve resources. Our sustainable and responsible wood sourcing is followed by complete recycling of the used wood after each competition. This not only minimises the total amount of material used but also prevents recyclable material from remaining unused. Our commitment doesn't end with wood. We are constantly working to make our international competitions as efficient as possible and thereby use resources optimally. Whether it is planning and running events or topics such as mobility and catering, we are always looking for potential improvement and ways to become even better. This is how we combine sustainability, a sense of responsibility and efficiency.
High quality competition wood
Our ambition is to provide our athletes with first-class competition wood and to make the conditions within our competitions as fair as possible. To this end, we follow clear guidelines when procuring, selecting and processing wood for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS®.
Learn more about how we select our premium competition wood and ensure fair competitions.
COMPENSATION PROJECTS AND MINIMISING OUR FOOTPRINT
A STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® competition was awarded the “Eco-Event” sustainability label for the first time at the 2022 World Trophy in Vienna. In future, we will continue to organise other international events in a similarly environmentally friendly manner. It is not only our responsible handling of wood that plays a role here.
During the competitions, the innovative biogenic special fuel STIHL MotoMix Eco was used for the chainsaws. Its proportion of raw materials from renewable sources reduces CO2 emissions compared to conventional fuel. In Vienna, paper was also almost completely dispensed with, and digital alternatives were provided. Travel options to the event location were organised via public transport and additional mobile bicycle stands were installed around Vienna’s Rathausplatz. The idea of sustainability was also reflected in communication and mobility. By using electricity from the Vienna energy network and catering with a focus on regional food with fairly traded ingredients as well as reusable crockery, we significantly reduced our emissions balance across all facets of the competition
In addition, we strive to make a positive contribution for all emissions that we cannot avoid through climate protection projects. In the case of the World Trophy 2022, we helped finance a drinking water well project in Rwanda. With improved local drinking water treatment, boiling of drinking water with firewood has been largely reduced in the African country.
