Last week our Social Impact and Sustainability Lead, David Aisa Miller, volunteered to help assist the delivery of the Sport Positive Summit 2025.
Alongside 19 other volunteers, they managed four different stages, helped people navigate their way around the QEII Centre and all in all ensured the event was a total success. David is currently completing his year in employment (YiE) with us from University of Southampton and regularly takes the initiative to learn more about the sport and sustainability industry.
He chose to involve himself with Sport Positive because he believed it offered a great opportunity to build strong partnerships, learn more about ESG and spread the word about the great sustainability and community work we do at S3 Padel.
Below he has summarised his five key takeaways from the Summit.
Five Key Takeaways from the Summit
Why sport is a force for good
Sport is something that many get involved with whether that is playing or watching. This is why it is the best mechanism to drive positive change; sport offers the opportunity to tap into people routines, habits and lives. At S3 Padel we use padel as our sport to build healthier and more sustainable communities.
The alternatives need to be better
A key learning from the conference was that the green alternatives we are creating from meat-free burgers to electric cars not only need to be as good as the current burgers or cars but significantly better. When creating solutions, they must be totally accessible (easy for people to use) and something they enjoy. This is why sport is such a good base for change, especially padel, because it is super fun to play. Say no to unused carparks and hello to world class courts at an affordable price for all!
Empower your player and fans
As mentioned already, sport is incredibly influential in today’s world so naturally players and fans play a huge role. They have a responsibility to use their power for the good of sport and humanity. This could be players talking about climate change publicly or fans travelling sustainably to competitions. At S3 Padel we encourage customers to walk or cycle to our courts if they can. Green and active travel are important to us, and we want the whole player experience to be good for them and the planet.
Tackling transport, energy and food
The three largest issues in the sport industry as well as in general are transport, energy and food. This key takeaway will inform the measures we take at S3 Padel and shape our decision-making process. We want to face sustainability head on and make changes where we can. With sites opening all over the country we want to set the industry standard and demonstrate that sport venues can be sustainable for all.
Transforms costs into benefits
The last takeaway focuses on changing our mindset to see costs as benefits. For example, if you encourage players/fans to carpool you could see this as a cost because it would take time to organise, less car parking revenue etc. However, not only is carpooling better for the environment but it means people would all arrive earlier and stay around longer after increasing sales, people from further away could come and fans would get to know each other better. Ultimately, the role of sport is to empower people and help them realise that one individual action does have impact.
Organisations we met
At S3 Padel we are all about inspiring positive change and we are actively looking to maximise our impact on society. Come down to one of our venues and play if you haven’t already!
