Environmental Leverage through Sport Event Portfolios : A Case Study of Östersund

Abstract: This study analyzes how sport event portfolios can be used in a targeted manner to enable environmental event leverage and promote the sustainable development of a destination from an environmental perspective. For this purpose, semi-structured expert interviews as qualitative research methods were conducted to gain in-depth insights from different angles. Furthermore, the central Swedish city of Östersund was used as a case study to gain practical insights. The analysis shows that environmental leverage through sport events is a feasible concept that creates a multitude of opportunities to optimize the environmental value of events and thus support sustainable destination development. However, it requires that the work on environmental sustainability of events is deepened and unified, which currently is one of the main challenges for events in sustainability work. The idea of sport event environmental leverage was conceptualized through the results of this work and can aid destinations and event organizers to make more sustainable decisions in the future. In addition, it will provide clarity on what challenges currently exist and what is needed to more easily take environmental action.