QF expert explains why sustainability goes beyond the environment – and into female empowerment

Sustainability is not just about the environment, but stretches into everything from social development to the governance of organizations and countries – spanning areas such as building standards to reduce carbon footprint, inclusivity, accessibility, and female representation.

The full scope of sustainability was discussed during an all-female panel discussion during the Future Leaders in Football event at Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Education City, which examined what sustainability means in the world of sports, and how it can be applied across many aspects of the sports industry to nurture a generation of women in football who are informed, and able to make their mark on their communities in a meaningful way.

The event was organized by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s (SC) Generation Amazing program, QF, the DFB – German football’s governing body – and the Qatar Football Association. In a discussion titled Leadership Challenges in Action, with a focus on Sustainability of Mega Sporting Events, Dr. Talar Sahsuvaroglu, Sustainability and Environmental Expert, SC, and Nihal Al-Saleh, Program Manager, Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future, a member of QF, shared their views on what sustainability means.

Al-Saleh explained the importance of having people, especially women, within the field of sustainability who understand the culture and the “niche priorities” of the country they work in. She explained how sustainability looks different in every country, saying: “The issues we face in Qatar are very different than the issues faced in the Netherlands, very different from the issues faced in places such as the Amazon.”

She told the event that, just as fields such as engineering have specializations, sustainability is also a specialized field where success depends on a variety of people. “I would love to see more women represented in the field; I would love to see more Arabs represented in the field of sustainability. And I would love to see sustainability embedded within every single industry.”

According to Al-Saleh, the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is an opportunity to leverage and highlight different elements within sustainability, beyond the environment. These include using sports as a tool to advocate for female empowerment and representation, and accessibility, which are core focus areas for QF – from its specialized schools Renad Academy and Awsaj Academy to its Ability Friendly Program and university departments such as Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s Translation and Interpreting Institute.

And addressing 20 young female participants from countries around the Middle East, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, at the event, Al-Saleh said: “This is a room of changemakers.

“Keep in mind that, as females, we have a lot of say about how we live a sustainable life. Think hard about everything you do on a daily basis. And let's live consciously.”

Dr. Sahsuvaroglu told the event: “The challenge now is ‘what next’. You have to keep fighting; we all do - every one of us, whether we're moms or daughters, or sisters, or aunties.

“Sustainability is important because it affects all of our lives, in terms of our environment, in terms of our legacy, in terms of the girls that you are also taking care of. It's about as little as being able to make better decisions. It's about finding ways to recycle. It's as simple as being able to offer that in whichever facility you're working with. If your country doesn't have many jobs, it's about finding local solutions, about collaborating with NGOs.

“And if you can find a way to also avoid plastic, to reduce your carbon emissions by traveling with a friend to the location rather than taking your car, these are all little decisions. Most parts of environmental change start at home with these little decisions.”

Taking place in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the Future Leaders in Football event took place from 27 October to 1 November 2022. In addition to diversity, gender equality, inclusion, and culture, the Qatar edition of Future Leaders in Football focused on sustainability.