Sport and Sustainability to improve our societies

“Sport relies upon the concepts of respect, understanding, integration and dialogue, and it contributes to the development and fulfilment of individuals regardless of age, gender, origins, beliefs and opinions. That is why sport is a unique forum for action and reflection to transform our societies”. That is how Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, talked about sport when she outlined the Kazan Action Plan, adopted in the Russian Federation last year. The Plan should provide a direct link between sport policies and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, which is the most ambitious and intricate enterprise our planet is about to undertake and was signed by all the governments of the UN’s 193 member states in September 2015.

Sport will help achieve other goals on the 2030 Agenda: the green economy, resilient cities and healthy living environments. Approaching sport from an environmental viewpoint is both an economic and cultural undertaking. It is cultural, because sport’s communicative and promotional power is only comparable to that of the arts. Its universal across-the-board appeal to people of different ages, origins, languages, beliefs and cultural backgrounds is widely acknowledged.

Sport energises so many people, both physically by getting them involved and encouraging them to take part and in terms of the choices they make.

MAPEI’S PASSION FOR SPORT

Mapei has always placed the concept of sustainability at the focus of its manufacturing and business system, following well-defined guidelines encompassing every aspect of corporate life. Sport plays a fundamental role in this process because it has always been part of Mapei’s history, indeed it may be described as being part of its DNA.

Mapei’s involvement in sport does not just take the form of sponsoring teams like Sassuolo football team and global events like, for example, the annual UCI Road World Championships, but also through the technical-scientific support it provides through the cutting-edge Mapei Sport Research Centre in Olgiate Olona (Northern Italy), which carries out scientific research in the realm of sport and helps athletes improve their performances in all kinds of different sports.

Mapei’s all-encompassing operations in the field of sport also include supplying innovative products and systems and providing expert technical support for constructing and maintaining both indoor and outdoor sports grounds and facilities.

The Company’s modern vision projected into the future and its avowed real commitment to environmental sustainability are partly focused around sport as a means of stimulating the its virtuous and constant corporate growth.

As Adriana Spazzoli, the Group’s Operational Marketing and Communication Director, has frequently emphasised: “a company has a very definite place in society, profitmaking is not its only goal. A business has ethical, scientific, humane and cultural responsibilities that are the very backbone of its corporate character and reputation”.

Genuine commitment to sustainability allows the Mapei Group to carry out its business in such a way that its social, environmental and economic values are carefully interrelated with each other. Tradition and excellence, a passion for sport and desire to stand out, a love of culture and attention to other people are the key features of the various projects Mapei undertakes to maintain its relations with the community.

SPORTING CULTURE AND THE COMMUNITY

The social side of sustainability is equally important and involves attention to people’s well-being, not just the people with whom the company does business but, more broadly speaking, the whole of society.

Among the grounding principles of the Mapei Sport Research Centre’s mission is its clear intent to promote a proper sporting culture. It aims at the disclosure and vulgarization of scientifically validated knowledge in order to contribute to spreading a more rational approach to sport, both competitive and recreational, to achieve better results.

Exercise as the focus of the right kind of lifestyle, good practices for promoting mental-physical health/well-being and promoting the social and educational value of sport as a pastime that can help prevent and combat many illnesses: these are the values Mapei promotes and passes on to the environment in which it operates.

The very close ties between Mapei and society as a whole translate every year into significant contributions to social responsibility and the sponsoring of sports-cultural events that the Group decides to support. Just to mention one figure, the investment in this field by Mapei SpA and the Group’s Italian subsidiaries amounted to a total of approximately 32 million Euros in 2017.

Being involved in sports projects and events, from the very smallest only reported in the local press to highly publicised international events attracting global media coverage, does not just provide the Group with the chance to strengthen its brand across the world, but also to develop closer ties with all its many customers, friends and partners in a non-business context.

Without overlooking the fact that being involved in sport can improve your health, self-confidence, interpersonal relations and performance at work. Sport can enable you to enjoy a healthy life, personal well-being and excellent social relations. Mapei plays an active part in this process, having learned from direct experience that it takes a combination of sport, good health and environmental friendliness to improve the quality of life and the well-being of people, businesses, society and the environment.