Helios Launches Sports Sustainability

ATLANTA 16 July, 2009 Helios Partners, a global sports marketing consultancy, has announced the launch of the Helios Sports Sustainability Partnership, an unprecedented commitment to bring sustainable practices and carbon neutrality to the sports industry.

The innovative program introduces clear guidelines and unique action plans for sports events, venues and properties to reduce their output of greenhouse gases and achieve verifiable carbon neutral status. Through an alliance with Verus Carbon Neutral and Sustainable Methods Consulting (SMC), Helios is now able to provide sports events and properties with the opportunity to address their environmental impact and reduce their operational costs via a program that implements sustainability action plans, carbon offset purchases, and innovative green value-in-kind sponsorship offerings that enhance the sponsor relationship and consumer goodwill. This will provide an enhanced value proposition to the growing number of stakeholders whose support and patronage are contingent on environmentally sound practices.

The cultural institution of sport has long been at the forefront of social change in service to humanity, and we believe it can provide similar leadership in addressing climate change, said Terrence Burns, President of Helios Partners, We see this Partnership as the intersection of the sports industry and the green economy and were excited about the role Helios will play to move it forward. Increasing the equity of a sports property is one of our core capabilities, whether through brand development, strategic positioning or innovative marketing programs, and this initiative is perfectly in line with that goal. We believe carbon neutrality will be the minimum standard for sponsorship and consumer support in the future.

The Helios Sports Sustainability Partnership will offer sports properties the strategic and systematic means to leverage their environmental performance and generate new sponsor relationships. Through the Partnership, sports properties will have the opportunity to attain and promote tangible achievements, such as certification by the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), carbon emission inventory and offset status, and certification for sustainable event management system standard BS8901. The value that will be delivered through these efforts will include reduced costs, increased attraction of consumers and sponsors, and new sponsorship opportunities for event organizers.

Having played a key role in the successful past Olympic bids for Sochi 2014, Vancouver 2010 and Beijing 2008, we see this program as a fundamental component for cities that bid for major sports events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup, said Burns.

At the heart of the Partnership is the goodwill and recognition that result directly from the demonstrated corporate citizenship of the partner. While this benefit is difficult to measure, the worldwide growth in sustainability practices has yielded a burgeoning online community that is action-oriented. To that end, visitor traffic from clicking on the link on the Helios Sports Sustainability Partnership page of the Helios Partners website www.heliospartners.com/sustainability will be directly employed as a case study to promote similar online recognition programs and adoption of carbon neutrality for future partners.

Helios Partners serves a wide range of global clients with offices in Atlanta, London and Beijing. Specializing in sports property, sponsorship and bid city consulting, Helios is a recognized global leader in the strategic management of Olympic Games host city bids and Olympic sponsorship programs.

Verus Carbon Neutral is an innovative and eco-conscious company that aids businesses and individuals looking to offset and reduce their carbon footprints. More information about Verus can be found at their website: www.verus-co2.com

SMC is a sustainability consulting firm that helps organizations and their events achieve maximum sustainability and profitability through unique and pragmatic environmentally friendly solutions. SMC partners with clients to gain a competitive edge and reduce risks by maximizing business operational efficiencies, improving building energy usage, and minimizing waste. SMC is a national member of the US Green Building Council and Consulting Partner with BSI International, specializing in BS8901 sustainable event consulting services. www.sustainablemethods.com

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