• Sport Group receives a low ESG Risk Rating from Sustainalytics

• Sport Group is ‘ESG Industry Top Rated’

• Sport Group’s strength is sustainable products and services, for example LigaTurf Cross GT zero, is the world’s first carbon neutral football turf, and Poligras Paris GT zero, is hockey’s first carbon zero hockey turf and has been chosen for the Paris Olympics

• Sport Group has reduced carbon emission intensity (scope 1 & 2) by 30% since 2018

See Sport Group’s rating here.

TOP 3% in our industry

Sport Group, the world’s largest business dedicated to sport and recreation surfaces, has received an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Risk Rating Score of 12.7 from Sustainalytics and was assessed by the firm to be at low risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors.

Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings measure a company’s exposure to industry-specific material ESG risks and evaluate how well a company is managing those risks. In companies rated by Sustainalytics, Sport Group’s rating (August 2024) is:

• 6th out of 159 companies in our Building Products industry group (top 3%)

• 1,249 out of all 16,009 of all rated companies globally (top 8%)

As a consequence of this strong result, Sport Group has received an Industry Top Rated 2024 award from Sustainalytics.

Christoph von Nitzsch, CEO, Sport Group said, “These rankings demonstrate our commitment to the environment, equality and good governance. It is very important, as the world’s largest business in our industry, that we show strong and positive leadership on key issues.

“The environment is of course the key issue and will be for many years to come. Our investment focus is on bio-based and renewable ingredients, carbon reduction, post-consumer raw materials, recycling and second life. This transformation requires ground-breaking concepts and with our global knowledge we are confident that our innovations will continue to lead the market.”

Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company and a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings and data, recently evaluated the activities of all Sport Group manufacturing and installation companies, including AstroTurf, Polytan, Melos, SYNLawn and APT (Advanced Polymer Technologies) and examined the Group’s global product brands including LigaTurf, Rekortan, Poligras and Laykold.

Sport Group received a low or negligible risk rating in all categories including Environmental and Sustainable Impact of Products and Services, Emissions, Effluents and Waste, Resource Use, Occupational Health & Safety and Corporate Governance.

Sustainalytics, is one of the most preeminent ratings agencies and rates companies of all sectors and sizes. Other companies rated by Sustainlytics include Apple Inc, Allianz SE, Hugo Boss AG, Microsoft Corp and PepsiCo Inc.

“It is important for us to measure our progress against our own goals, our competitors and other leading businesses”, said Dr. Klaus Hauschulte, COO, Sport Group. “We made this voluntary commitment because independent ratings keep us accountable and transparent, they are important for our customers, end users, staff, investors, and business partners.”

Leading the industry with Green Technology products

Sport Group’s flagship products include ‘Poligras Paris GT zero’, developed for the Paris Olympics, it is the world’s only carbon zero hockey turf, ‘LigaTurf Cross GTR’, made from green polyethylene and recycled raw materials, ‘LigaTurf Cross GT zero’ which is the world’s first carbon zero soccer turf, and Rekortan Gel tracks which are made from 84% renewable/recyclable content. While SYNLawn uses a combination of soy in the coating & sugarcane in fibers in its landscape synthetic grass to achieve USDA certified products & systems with up to 88% bio-based content.

Recently, the International Olympic Committee, highlighted 6 Olympic venues that have minimised their carbon footprints with new technologies. This list included Sport Group’s Poligras Tokyo GT hockey used at the Tokyo 2020 Oi Hockey Stadium which is the first of its kind to be made from renewable raw materials: 60 per cent of its surface consists of the by-product of the sugar cane industry, renewable polyethylene technology.

The FIH has been shortlisted for the 2024 IOC Climate Action Awards for reducing the amount of water needed for hockey pitches. In collaboration with Poligras, the technological innovation meant that Olympic hockey turfs achieved a 40% reduction from London 2012 to Tokyo 2020, and a further 30% reduction for Paris24.

“Customers increasingly want sustainable products, but it can be hard to know what and who to trust”, said Heard Smith, Chairman of the Board of Sport Group USA. “Independent ratings help customers compare so they can make informed and confident decisions, also it matches the values of end users who are making sustainable choices in their lives every day.”

Sport Group and our companies are dedicated to green technology, investing more in R&D than any other company in our industry. This ESG independent ranking by Sustainalytics proves our commitment to sustainable practices and places us in the top 8% of companies globally.