With Team England travelling out to Trinidad and Tobago for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games England has partnered with the Heart of England Forest to provide a donation against the carbon emissions calculated by Perform Green, of the team flights.

The Heart of England Forest is a charity working to create and conserve a 30,000-acre forest of over 2 million trees for the benefit of the environment, wildlife, and people. The Forest covers 7,000 acres of land in Warwickshire and Worcestershire, including 4,685 acres of new woodland and 600 acres of mature and ancient woodland.

With the 2022 Commonwealth Games being held in Birmingham, there is a strong connection to the West Midlands for Team England and the donation will be an initiative that athletes and staff can get behind. Commonwealth Games England’s donation will contribute to growth and establishment of The Heart of England Forest woodlands and enable habitat creation, restoration, and management.

“We are delighted to be chosen for this initiative by Team England. It sets an example of proactive, responsible and conscious environmental practices and together we can create a greener future and inspire others to embrace sustainable initiatives.” Fran Bos, Corporate Partnerships Manager, Heart of England Forest.

Taking a science-based approach towards carbon emissions, Commonwealth Games England is working with Perform Green and Loughborough University to build a carbon baseline, while also working in parallel on flight emissions for Trinidad and Tobago.

The Commonwealth Games England carbon baseline is now in its final stages and will support the development of an action plan that will focus on reducing carbon emissions and form the next stage on the journey.

Joining other organisations in the UK high-performance system and globally, Commonwealth Games England has also signed up to the United Nations Sport for Climate Action framework, Race to Zero campaign.

Race to Zero is an UN-backed global campaign to take rigorous and immediate action to halve emissions by 2030. The race to zero campaign provides structure and support to the action required as well as a network of sporting organisations with similar challenges to overcome.

Dame Caroline Spelman, Commonwealth Games England Board member and Sustainability Committee Chair (Former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) said: “We are very proud to have teamed up with the Heart of England Forest on this initiative, and we will do all we can to help the organisation succeed in the race to zero. We will be looking at every decision we make at Commonwealth Games England and ensure we use our influence as a multi-sport organisation to work with our member sports and their athletes to educate and deliver on the key areas of Climate Change.