Wed Sep 18 01:52:00 UTC 2024: ## Oil Giants Spent $5.6 Billion on Sports Sponsorships to “Sportswash” Their Image, Study Says
A new study by the New Weather Institute has revealed that oil and gas companies have spent a staggering $5.6 billion on sports sponsorships through 205 agreements, a practice the report calls “sportswashing.” The report, titled “Dirty Money – How Fossil Fuel Sponsors are Polluting Sport,” details how the industry is using these sponsorships to improve its image and distract from its role in climate change.
Soccer, auto racing, rugby, and golf are the sports most heavily sponsored by energy companies, with major players like Aramco ($1.3 billion), Ineos ($777 million), Shell ($470 million), and TotalEnergies ($340 million) leading the way. The study highlights the growing presence of Middle East petrol states in the sports world, despite the summer of 2024 being the hottest on record globally.
While only 41 of the identified 205 agreements disclosed financial details, the authors used publicly available information and the SportBusiness database to estimate the total spending.
Sports organizations have faced public backlash for their ties to companies responsible for carbon emissions. For example, TotalEnergies opted not to sponsor the 2024 Paris Olympics after Mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed opposition, and the company maintained a low profile at the Rugby World Cup.
The study highlights the alarming impact of fossil fuels on athletes, fans, and events, from Winter Olympics to World Cups, due to air pollution and extreme weather caused by climate change.
“If sport is to have a future it needs to clean itself of dirty money from big polluters and stop promoting its own destruction,” says Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute.
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