The NYC Marathon Has A Net Zero Goal. Can Global Sports Keep Pace?
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Competitors cross the finish line during the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon on November 02, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesAs the NYC Marathon marks 50 years across five boroughs, organizers test how athletes, sponsors, and cities can cut event emissions.
Visit afrikasportnews.co.za for more information.
Today, more than 50,000 runners are expected to take to the streets of New York City for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon, crossing five boroughs as millions of spectators cheer them on. For many athletes, completing the 26.2-mile course represents a lifetime achievement. For New York, the race is an international sporting tradition. But bringing so many people together also presents a substantial environmental challenge. This year’s marathon marks the 50th anniversary of its five-borough course, introduced in 1976. New York Road Runners (NYRR), the nonprofit organization behind the event, is considering what it will take to make the race more sustainable over the next half-century.
The answer involves more than recyclable water bottles, electric vehicles or collecting discarded clothing. It requires rethinking how major sporting events operate, how corporate partners contribute to environmental goals and how host cities benefit after the crowds disappear. “The TCS New York City Marathon’s biggest source of emissions is travel to New York City,” said Aly Criscuolo, NYRR’s director of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, in a written interview.
That finding illustrates the central environmental paradox facing international sporting events. Their success depends partly on attracting participants from around the world, but the transportation required to bring those participants together contributes to climate change. For NYRR, the challenge is particularly relevant as the organization works toward its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
The climate challenge behind the finish line
The environmental impact of major sporting events extends well beyond the venues where athletes compete. Transportation, energy consumption, waste disposal, equipment manufacturing and supply chains all contribute to an event’s environmental footprint. According to the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology, sustainable sporting events require integrated management strategies that consider environmental, economic, and social consequences throughout the planning and delivery process.
International frameworks such as ISO 20121, which addresses sustainability management for events, emphasize planning, accountability and measurable performance. These principles are increasingly relevant as sporting organizations face expectations to demonstrate environmental progress rather than simply announce sustainability commitments.
NYRR measures its Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions against a 2019 baseline, working internally and with environmental services company WM. Scope 1 emissions come from sources directly controlled by an organization. Scope 2 covers emissions associated with purchased energy. Scope 3 encompasses other indirect emissions across the value chain, including travel and purchased goods and services.
For an international marathon, Scope 3 emissions present a particularly difficult challenge. Reducing waste or transitioning race vehicles to electricity can address specific operational impacts. Reducing emissions associated with thousands of runners traveling to New York requires a different approach. NYRR has responded partly by involving runners themselves in its sustainability strategy.
Can runners help finance climate action?
Team For Climate Runner
New York Road RunnersIn 2024, NYRR introducedTeam for Climate, a guaranteed marathon-entry opportunity that connects athletic participation with environmental fundraising. Now in its third year, the program has raised more than $1.9 million to support the organization’s climate initiatives, according to NYRR. For the 2026 marathon, 200 Team for Climate runners are participating. Each accepted runner committed to raising at least $4,000, separate from race registration fees.
The money supports two categories of activities: carbon offsetting and internal emissions-reduction projects. Through carbon offsetting, NYRR purchases verified carbon credits associated with improved forest management projects. Through what it describes as carbon insetting, the organization directs funding toward projects intended to reduce emissions generated by its own events and operations.
The distinction matters. Carbon credits can finance emissions reductions or removals elsewhere, but they do not necessarily eliminate emissions generated by an event itself. The environmental effectiveness of an offset also depends on the underlying project’s quality, additionality and verification. NYRR acknowledges these limitations.
“We acknowledge offsetting alone will not tackle climate change and can only be credible while also avoiding, reducing, and substituting emissions,” Criscuolo explained. The model nevertheless presents an interesting opportunity for sporting organizations. Instead of relying exclusively on corporate sponsorships or operational budgets, NYRR is creating another source of sustainability financing through athlete participation. Whether the approach can meaningfully reduce the marathon’s emissions will depend on the measurable results of the projects it supports.
The business of sustainable sports
Corporate partnerships represent another component of NYRR’s environmental strategy. For this year’s marathon, the organization is working with sponsors and suppliers to address transportation, hydration, apparel and waste management.
As part of an expanded sustainability initiative announced in September, Culligan is introducing five self-service water refill stations along the course, one in each borough, supplementing the marathon’s 25 traditional hydration stations. The effort follows earlier testing at the RBC Brooklyn Half. A partnership with HydraPak provides reusable hydration products, encouraging runners to carry and refill their own containers. Volvo is providing electric and hybrid race vehicles, while official race shirts produced by New Balance use 100% recycled polyester. Gatorade and water cups are designated for composting at McEnroe Farms in upstate New York.
Culligan sponsored water refill station at NYC Marathon
New York Road RunnersThese arrangements illustrate how major sporting events can use corporate partnerships to influence purchasing decisions, product design and event operations. But environmentally preferable products alone cannot guarantee substantial reductions in an event’s overall footprint. A reusable water bottle, for example, offers its greatest environmental benefit when it replaces repeated purchases of disposable containers. Compostable products also require appropriate collection and processing infrastructure.
The challenges are familiar throughout the running industry. As Runner’s World has documented, races across the United States have explored reusable hydration systems, reduced unnecessary merchandise, and improved waste diversion. Such efforts also present logistical challenges, from organizing waste collection to coordinating suppliers and disposal services.
NYRR’s scale offers an opportunity to test these approaches under demanding operational conditions. The organization reported recycling 152.81 tons of material and composting 107.99 tons during the 2025 marathon. It also collected approximately 123,000 pounds of clothing for donation. For sporting organizations, the larger question is whether sustainability can become a consistent component of supplier requirements and sponsorship agreements rather than a collection of individual initiatives.
What happens after the marathon leaves the neighborhood?
For the five boroughs, the environmental significance of the marathon extends beyond what happens along the 26.2-mile course. Large sporting events depend on public infrastructure, municipal services and the cooperation of local communities. Their environmental strategies therefore raise questions about how host neighborhoods benefit.
NYRR says it is working with city agencies, nonprofit organizations and vendors to extend its sustainability efforts beyond race day. In 2025, the organization donated 17,620 pounds of surplus food to City Harvest, which works to address food insecurity across New York City. Its clothing collection partnership with All of Us Clothing also redirects discarded garments toward reuse. These initiatives connect environmental management with community needs, although their long-term impacts depend on how consistently the programs operate and whom they reach.
“When it comes to sustainability, success isn’t just about making race day more sustainable, it is also about leaving the neighborhoods along the course cleaner and more resilient year-round,” Criscuolo said.
That ambition also connects with New York City’s efforts to establish more sustainable practices for public events. NYRR contributed to the development of the city’s Good Clean Fun initiative, introduced in September 2025 to help event organizers reduce waste, limit emissions, and protect public spaces. The guidelines address issues ranging from transportation and energy consumption to purchasing decisions and waste management.
For local governments, standardized sustainability practices could provide a way to extend environmental improvements beyond individual sporting events. A marathon may happen once a year, but cities host concerts, festivals, parades, conventions and sporting competitions throughout the calendar. If sustainability requirements become standard practice across those activities, the cumulative environmental benefits could extend well beyond the original event.
Can New York’s approach influence global sports?
The marathon’s sustainability initiatives are also part of a wider conversation among sporting organizations. NYRR participates in the NYC Sports Sustainability Network, which brings together representatives from major sporting events, professional leagues and other organizations to exchange practices and lessons. According to Criscuolo, participants include organizations associated with events and leagues such as the FIFA World Cup, Formula One, U.S. Open, NBA and Major League Baseball.
While the environmental challenges differ across sports, the underlying questions are similar: How should organizers account for spectator and participant travel? What environmental standards should apply to vendors? How can corporate sponsors help finance sustainability initiatives? And what lasting benefits should host communities expect?
These questions have become increasingly important throughout international sports. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games incorporated existing and temporary facilities, energy planning and transportation measures into their sustainability strategy. Other major competitions have explored equipment reuse, sustainable procurement and reducing food waste. At the community level,Oxford Brookes University’s sustainability initiatives reflect how sporting institutions can encourage responsible transportation choices, equipment reuse and environmental awareness among participants.
For NYRR, the potential influence extends beyond sharing operational practices. “Millions of people engage with the TCS New York City Marathon, whether they run, volunteer, cheer, or watch around the world,” Criscuolo said. That international audience gives the organization an opportunity to make environmental responsibility part of the culture surrounding competitive running. However, influence is not the same as measurable impact. Determining whether the marathon’s sustainability initiatives are successful will require evidence of emissions reductions, changes in participant behavior and adoption of effective practices by other organizations.
50 years of running, and a different kind of finish line
The New York City Marathon began in 1970 with 127 entrants, 55 finishers, and a course contained entirely within Central Park. Six years later, organizers expanded the race across all five boroughs, transforming it into an international sporting event. Co-founder Fred Lebow helped establish the marathon’s identity as both an athletic competition and a celebration of New York City.
Criscuolo recalled photographs of Lebow personally collecting trash after the race, an image that reflects how environmental responsibility once depended heavily on individual initiative. “I’d like to think Fred would be proud of NYRR and the TCS New York City Marathon’s commitment to sustainability and leadership 50 years later,” she said.
March 14, 2026: NYRR contributes to sustainability and city clean up in Times Square, NY. (Photo by Da Ping Luo for NYRR)
Da Ping Luo for NYRRToday, the environmental challenges facing the marathon are more complex. Waste collection remains important, but the organization’s sustainability strategy must also address international transportation, corporate supply chains, emissions accounting and the needs of the communities that host the event.
The marathon’s next chapter will depend partly on whether NYRR can translate its commitments into measurable environmental improvements. Its experience offers a larger lesson for global sports: The lasting value of a sustainable event is not determined solely by what organizers accomplish on competition day, but also by the practices they establish and the changes that continue after the finish line.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com