Journal Article

Enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices in Professional Sports Clubs: A Delphi Study Approach

Jeong, Yunduk, Yu, Jae-Gu

2025

Overview

While environmental, social, and governance adoption (ESG) is growing, the sports sector is encountering distinct hurdles due to its economic intricacies and stakeholder complexities. A gap exists between ESG assessment and implementation, particularly in the translation of high-level principles into concrete operational strategies. Many clubs engage in ESG reporting or evaluations, but lack the actionable frameworks or internal capacity needed for effective execution. The aim of this study is to develop a practical ESG implementation roadmap tailored to the unique characteristics of professional sports clubs. Using the Delphi method, a three-round expert consensus process was conducted with 20 specialists from academia, clubs, corporations, the public, and media. The first round determined potential ESG factors, while the second and third rounds analyzed their relevance, importance, and feasibility using quantitative validity measures including the content validity ratio, convergence, and consensus. ESG strategies were categorized into three dimensions: environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and governance integrity. While the main environmental goals that emerge are waste management techniques and sustainable stadium operations, the social component emphasizes youth growth, diversity, and community services. The governance structure prioritizes transparency, anti-corruption initiatives, and stakeholder engagement. The transition from evaluation to action establishes a stakeholder-centric framework aimed at politicians, club administrators, and sports regulatory organizations to enhance sustainability, trust, and resilience. Plain Language Summary Creating A Practical Guide To Make Professional Sports Clubs More Sustainable and Responsible Throughout the world, numerous companies are making an effort to be more environmentally and socially responsible by adopting ESG principles—short for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Professional sporting clubs are particularly challenged to put these concepts into practice, though. As they engage with numerous individuals—fans, players, sponsors, local stakeholders, and governing bodies—it is not always straightforward to make clear-cut, uniform decisions enhancing everyone's welfare. This exercise sought to develop a usable guide that sporting clubs could adopt in an effort to incorporate ESG into everyday operations. In doing so, the researchers assembled 20 stakeholders from among universities, sporting teams, businesses, governmental institutions, and media outlets. They used the Delphi method, with the process consisting of three rounds of consultation with experienced individuals, to gather and develop ideas regarding what ESG would resemble in practice among sporting environments. The conclusions provide direction to clubs to act on. They provide methods to decrease waste and make arenas more sustainable, demonstrate how clubs can embrace youth and community initiatives, and emphasize fair and transparent decision-making. They are not purely hypothetical—they are intended to be implemented by club administrators, sporting authorities, and policymakers interested in making tangible changes. Through action rather than just words, this study brings sports clubs one step closer to being more sustainable, just, and reliable. It demonstrates that with the proper counsel from seasoned professionals, even multifaceted sectors like sports can foster greater relationships with society and work toward creating an improved world.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC,SAGE Publishing
• Subject: Administrators / Clubs / Community services / Content Validity / Convergence / Corruption / Decision making / Delphi method / Delphi Technique / Environmental social & governance / Feasibility / Governance / Management techniques / Mass media / Morality / Policy making / Politics / Professional sports / Resilience / Resource management / Social institutions / Social responsibility / Specialists / Sports / Sports & recreation clubs / Sports clubs / Stakeholders / Sustainability / Sustainable development / Transparency / Validity / Waste management / Welfare / Youth / Youth organizations