Laureus and SportsPro Recognise World's Most Socially Impactful Brands in Inaugural 'Laureus Sport for Good Index'

• Laureus Sport for Good Index (the Index) first of its kind dedicated to brands using sport to drive social change
• Patagonia, Nike, Allianz, Santander, Microsoft, T-Mobile and Heineken among companies listed on first Index
• Four renewable energy companies included

LONDON, November 8, 2021 - Laureus, the global movement that uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people, and SportsPro, the leading sports media and events company, are delighted to introduce the inaugural Laureus Sport for Good Index, an annual list of the brands that are leading the way in delivering positive social or ecological impact through sport.Launched to coincide with COP26, the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference currently being held in Glasgow, the Index celebrates 29 brands that, through collaboration, innovation and creativity, are making significant contributions across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as laid out by the United Nations.Determined by an independently adjudicated judging process overseen by a panel of industry experts, the purpose of the Index is to shine a light on those organisations that are having the clearest and most meaningful impact, and to provide compelling evidence for the role that sport can play in driving sustainable change.The full list comprises of companies working across multiple industry sectors covering finance, technology, food and beverage (F&B), retail, energy, and transport. The list includes:

• Finance: Allianz, Santander, Barclays, Mastercard;
• Technology: Ball Corp., Microsoft, Footprint, T-Mobile, Beko, Xylem, Best Water Technology (BWT);
• F&B: Clif Bar, Gatorade, Heineken, Innocent, Oatly;
• Retail: Columbia, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hylo Athletics, Nike, Patagonia, Athleta, Hummel, Vaude;
• Energy: Ecotricity, Octopus Energy, ENGIE, Renewable Energy Group;
• Transport: Nissan

Brands featured in the Index were assessed according to a set of seven key criteria, including: (1) Each company’s impact through sports-related Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) activities; (2) Innovation and creativity during purpose-led campaigns; (3) Commitment to environmental, social, and corporate governance; (4) Level of investment in ‘sport for good’ causes; (5) Extent to which their sports investments align with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); (6) Their commercial viability; (7) An overall assessment of their commitment towards building an equitable society, reducing sport’s ecological footprint, and growing the sport’s industry’s economy through sport for good campaigns.The all-female judging panel included: Alison Moore – CEO, Comic Relief USA; Stacie Shelton - Global Head of Education & Advocacy, Dove Self-Esteem Project; Towa von-Bismark – Executive Director, UBS; Julia Pallé – Sustainability Director, Formula E; Madeleine Orr – Founder of The Sport Ecology Group; Aileen McManamon – Sports Industry Futurist & Sustainable Business Champion; and an independent adjudicator, Tom Kingsley, Associate Partner for the Sport Industry Group at EY.Ned Wills, Managing Director of Laureus, said:“The Laureus Sport for Good Index is the first of its kind to recognise the positive work carried out by some of sport’s biggest investors across our society. At Laureus, we believe that sport can change the world for the better and our aim is to inspire more companies around the world to take action by celebrating the brands that are making a true difference today.“Sport as a powerful tool to connect people has the capacity to drive innovation and change beyond the sporting arena. As the world of sport and leading global brands continue to be driven by purpose, we hope the Laureus Sport for Good Index helps us build a platform for a more equitable society moving forwards.”Edwin Moses, Chair of Laureus Sport For Good, said:“The Sport for Good Index is a timely reminder of the transformational power of sport. A huge amount of progress has been made since Laureus was created in 2000, with organisations and brands becoming more and more socially aware. In 2021, purpose lies at the heart of many of the organisations working to deliver positive social or ecological impact through sport.“On behalf of the Laureus Academy, we are proud to celebrate the progress being made in this space by the brands listed in the inaugural Sport for Good Index. We’re also excited to engage with more organisations around the world to showcase and highlight the true value sport can play in wider society in future.”Paul Guest, Commercial Director at SportsPro, added:“Sport has the power to change the world and brands hold much of that power. The inaugural Laureus Sport for Good Index recognises and champions those brands using their position in sport to drive positive environmental and social progress across the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals."The Index showcases the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of brands driving sport for good. SportsPro and Laureus’ ambition is to inspire and accelerate action from other brands and sports stakeholders to implement their own triple bottom line strategies.”The first-ever Laureus Sport for Good Index can be viewed and downloaded in full at laureussportforgoodindex.com. Representatives from Laureus and SportsPro will also be joining sports sustainability experts to discuss the Index at Sport@COP, a one-day virtual and in-person summit shadowing the COP26 climate conference. Find out more about the event at www.sportatcop.org.About LaureusLaureus’ purpose is to change the world through the power of sport. Its vision is to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage against young people and children. Built on a unique, end-to-end purpose platform – Laureus combines the storytelling power of its global marketing platform with the delivery of measurable social impact on the ground through its charitable foundation, Laureus Sport for Good. Working on a Global and National level, Laureus funds and supports over 230 programmes in more than 40 countries that use sport to deliver social change measured through a framework aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The most credible entity of its kind, Laureus has been delivering on its purpose for over 20 years and has positively changed six million young lives to date.About SportsProSportsPro is the world's leading international media company for the sports industry in print, digital and events. Launched in 2008, SportsPro is our highly respected flagship magazine combining in-depth reporting and analysis with diverse features and top-level interviews. Since 2014 SportsPro has also hosted annual conferences across the globe providing outstanding content, access and networking opportunities to top-level executives from the leading rights holders, broadcasters and content distributors. For more information about SportsPro, or to contact a member of the team today, visit sportspromedia.com.