EcoAthletes Champion, Team Italy Olympic ice hockey player, and environmental engineer Jacquie Pierri’s inspirational story featured on NBC Sports’/Peacock’s coverage of the Italy-USA Olympic quarterfinal. Estimated Audience: 3.8 million. Reaching millions of sports fans with inspirational “Climate Comeback” stories from our Champions represents the power of EcoAthletes!

The fourth annual EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Playkicked off yesterday. The competition, which concludes on April 22/Earth Day, converts exercise – running, walking, swimming, cycling, rowing/ERG sessions, and gym workouts – into an environmental currency which funds vital beach/waterways cleanup efforts through the International Coastal Cleanup Project. 

Last month, fourteen EcoAthletes Champions, came together to send a letter to Calvin McDonald, CEO of sportswear giant Lululemon, calling on the brand to demonstrate true climate leadership.

Cornell University, thanks to outstanding organization, consistent passion, and creativity displayed by members of the Cornell Student-Athlete Sustainability (CSAS) club, is the winner of the 2025 EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Play in a runaway.

Dear Calvin McDonald, CEO of lululemon athletica inc.

As Olympians and Paralympians who care deeply about meaningful climate action, we urge you to accelerate Lululemon’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in the supply chain.

To: International Olympic Committee (IOC):

Dear Thomas Bach: President of the IOC; all IOC Executive Board members; Andrew Parsons: President: International Paralympic Committee; and Tony Estanguet: President of Paris Olympics 2024

It is said that repeating as a champion is the hardest thing to accomplish in sports.

Well, After a dramatic back and forth homestretch between Clemson University and San Jose State University, Clemson did just that as they came from behind to repeat as the EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup champion for 2024, after copping the inaugural title last year!

One of the big brakes that has held many athletes back from speaking out on climate change is the fear of being branded a hypocrite on social media. This is largely due to their outsized personal carbon footprints which result from having to fly hundreds of thousands of miles annually to play their sports.

Being that today is the day before Thanksgiving in the United States, it is fitting that EcoAthletes give thanks for being selected for a $24,000 Athletes for Good grant from the International Olympics Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, and global partner, Procter & Gamble.

At first glance, Fran Reuland has a most unusual resume.

She’s played soccer at a very high level for the legendary University of North Carolina Tar Heels, as a pro in Ligue 2 in France and now with the Colorado Rapids in the WPSL. At the same time, she has become an expert on Methane (CH4) — a greenhouse gas withemissions that are exponentially more intense than CO2 — at the Rocky Mountain Institute. And she’s an EcoAthletes Champion!

Sarah Hanffou wears many hats and wears them incredibly well. A native of France, she is a practicing attorney in Nice. Hanffou also is a 2-time Olympian in table tennis playing for Cameroon, the home country of her father. She is committed to doing what she can to make one more Olympics, next summer in Paris.

3-Month Competition Among EcoAthletes Champions from 14 Universities Converts Exercise into Carbon Reduction

Combined Duke-Stanford Squad Earns 2nd; Rutgers Comes in 3rd; Climate Wins

What if exercise could lead to reductions in carbon emissions? Sounds impossible, no?

No.

The inaugural EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup did just that.

Ever since learning the story of the Homeless World Cup, Adam has been inspired by the powerful platform of sport to do good in the world. After completing a mission-driven bike ride across the United States, Adam embarked on a philanthropic career, displaying strategic development and grant writing expertise.

Polls show that GenZ is clearly the most enthusiastic generation about the need to make a meaningful difference on climate change. And NCAA student-athletes are among the most influential people on university campuses.

Leigh Steinberg is an iconic American sports agent who has represented the #1 overall pick of the NFL Draft a record eight times and who is often credited with being the real-life inspiration for the agent in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. Steinberg has made climate action a core aspect of his wide ranging philanthropic activities over the last two decades.

EcoAthletes is now a nonprofit in the 1% For The Planet network.

It’s clear that combining the voices of its climate-minded Champions with the financial and social power of 1% for the Planet’s member companies will make a positive difference on the #ClimateComeback.

BSR partnered with the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) to create a 7-video ’training module’ to help SME executives get ‘Climate Fit.’ They identified sports as a powerful connection and were seeking climate-active athletes to help tell the story.

EcoAthletes is hiring a Grant Writer & a Social Media Manager!

“What can I do to make a difference on climate? I’m just one person, the climate crisis is so vast. I feel so stuck.”

A donation to EcoAthletes, the nonprofit we launched 18 months ago to ‘inspire and coach athletes to lead climate action’, will multiply your impact manyfold by equipping our global roster of climate-minded EcoAthletes Champions — 58 as of today — become climate advocates to their many fans.