LTA: contributing to the circular economy

The LTA have taken several actions to improve resource efficiency and shift towards a ‘circular economy’ – where waste is eliminated, and materials are continually reused and recycled. 

In 2022, they published an environmental sustainability plan, describing how they will deliver the vision of ‘tennis opened up’, and secure a lasting future for tennis in Britain, focusing on climate action, resource efficiency and the natural environment.  

Resource efficiency, including single-use and short-life materials as well as plastic pollution, was found to be the top environmental priority for tennis community members.

The LTA aim to utilise resources efficiently to reduce waste and energy usage from operations and major events, and support the tennis community to do the same. 

To start improving their resource efficiency and to shift towards a circular economy, the LTA team reviewed what they were wasting and what they were buying. Key questions they asked themselves were: 

• What is our biggest source of waste? What is commonly in our waste bins? (If we don’t know this, why don’t we know? Can we know?) 
• Can we avoid buying this (and throwing it out) in the future? Can we work with suppliers to avoid this waste in the future?  
• What is our biggest procurement spend? 
• Are there single-use or short-life goods in our procurement? 
• Can we switch to purchasing long-life goods or equipment? 

The LTA first considered these within their own operations, then major events, and are now looking to support their registered venues and the wider tennis community.  

They have produced a range of helpful online resources, including focused advice within a ‘venue support toolkit’, and an environmental sustainability statement template and environmental sustainability action plan template. You can find these resources here. 

Major events actions 

At major events, the LTA have actioned the following circular economy initiatives:  

• Improving waste separation (more types of bins).
• Reusing event staff uniforms.
• Introducing reusable cups for hot and cold drinks.
• Providing water bottle refill stations for players, fans and workforce thanks to a partnership with BRITA, removing over 100,000 single-use plastic bottles from summer events.
• Using branded material from previous events to manufacture water bottle holders, and recycled plastic bottles to make media bibs. 
• Sourcing locally and considering low-carbon food, as well as donating leftover food to charities.
• Using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel in generators.
• Establishing partnerships with local food charities to reduce food waste by donating leftover food from events; 3,000 meals were donated to the local community from the cinch Championships in 2023. 
• Reselling tennis balls used by the players (proceeds to charity).

Club requirements 

The LTA have introduced environmental sustainability requirements and conditions to the funding they provide their clubs.

For example, a requirement of the LTA’s Quick Access Loan Scheme, funded by the LTA Tennis Foundation, is that recipients must demonstrate that they have considered the impact of the proposed developments on the environment. Clubs must also have a sustainability plan in place for their venue as a condition of this funding.

The LTA also provide specific funding schemes for environmental initiatives; for example, for venues to transition old halogen floodlights to more energy efficient LED lighting. 

Supplier engagement  

Within their operations, the LTA have started to engage with their suppliers on environmental sustainability and the circular economy.

The team developed a sustainable sourcing code, have rolled out a supplier questionnaire and are working collaboratively with suppliers to reduce the impact of the goods and services they provide.  

For the wider tennis community, the LTA team are bringing sustainability considerations into the LTA Buying Group. The aim of the group is to ‘harness the collective purchasing power of the 2,750 LTA registered venues to leverage significant discounts across a wide range of goods and services that are used by tennis clubs’.

By prioritising purchasing from environmentally sustainable businesses, this group of tennis venues could have a significant positive impact by ‘voting with their wallet’.  

• Benefited from cost savings from resource efficiencies.

• Reduced the waste associated with the sport, including a 40% reduction in general waste at the cinch Championships since 2019.

• Attracted young people to the sport by taking an active role on the environmental agenda.