The Five Key Points Underlining Social Responsibility And A Unique Sporting Example

Michel Cutait of World Obstacle provides a further look into CSR by noting down the five key points and talking through an example he has experienced during his current time with the international federation.

There is a lot of discussion about social responsibility as a necessary objective for all organizations, whether profit or non-profit, to play a more relevant role in society. 

More than just giving back to society the advantages and benefits generated by their activities, social responsibility corresponds to an ethical principle that should be one of the essential values for building a better society, besides contributing to the achievement of social welfare, dignity, and peace in the last instance. 

How to understand the concept of social responsibility in the world of sports, and more than that, how to materialize this value through sports events? 

“When thinking about a traditional sporting event, the applicability of social responsibility seems more like a nice word than a true purpose in itself.”

Obviously, any sports organization can develop specific projects that address social responsibility, but when thinking about a traditional sporting event, with games, competitions, athletes, and spectators, the applicability of social responsibility seems more like a nice word than a true purpose in itself. 

According to the most contemporary understanding, social responsibility is manifested through five dimensions, in other words, aspects that define its scope and potential:

  • Firstly, the economic dimension implies an organization’s responsibility to fulfil their economic role, whether generating revenues in a large way, as well as providing profit to investors, but also ensuring that their activities are sustainable in the long term, mitigating risks and offering the necessary security to workers, investors, and society. 
  • The social dimension aims to ensure that organizations play a social function, that is, they should consider the impacts of their activities on society, in such a way that they can provide benefits that contribute for developing a better society.
  • Third, the environmental dimension involves the responsibility of organizations towards the environment, ensuring that their activities do not generate damages, losses and liabilities, mainly to protect the natural elements such as flora, fauna, air, water and land, besides practicing measures that intend to save energy, control waste and reduce the exploitation of non-renewable resources, among other environmental impacts. 

“It is not easy to materialize all these dimensions among all the obligations, duties, and responsibilities that organizations need to comply as a result of their activities.”

  • The stakeholder dimension matches the need for organizations to seek a balanced and mitigated conflict between stakeholders, to prevent all forms of unethical behavior that can harm some to the detriment of others, and to ensure that the relationship between them remains positive, collaborative, and focused on the common purpose for the benefit of everyone. 
  • Finally, the voluntariness dimension is related to an organization’s decision to provide advantages and benefits to society without any other counterpart, interest or financial purpose, often characterized by actions of philanthropy to support people, communities and society in general through projects, programs and initiatives that offer direct benefits to the recipients. 

It is not easy to materialize all these dimensions among all the obligations, duties, and responsibilities that organizations need to comply with as a result of their activities, and very often the ideal of social responsibility may be unfeasible due to economic conditions, maturity, structure, resources, and availability to accomplish all these  ethical parameters. 

Now imagine doing all or some of these things alongside a sporting event? 

It is even more difficult because a sport event has, as its primary objective, to deliver a competition, organize the games between teams and athletes, ensure the safety of all participants, provide joy to the spectators, and celebrate sport with all the benefits and  advantages that sport offers to society. 

To illustrate the potential application and embodiment of the social responsibility dimensions in sport events, an example may be quite useful to understand the positive impacts that sports can result for the benefit of society. 

This past September, the Altitude OCR World Championship was held at extreme altitude in the “death zone” over 18,000ft (5,486m) in the crater of on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. A unique event, organized by EP Global Events with the support of World Obstacle, was attended by dozens of courageous athletes from 26 countries, with the goal of ascending to an altitude of (5,895m) then attempted the Obstacle Course Race in the volcano crater at 5,750m.

The competition was completed with a 2-day, 2-stage run, descending a total of 4,248m through five climate zones to the final destination. The event was a great success and more than that, all of the athletes took back home not only the experience, but also world records. 

But behind this event is an incredible story of social responsibility. 

To carry out the event, the organizers decided to transform this competition into an initiative with strong social purposes, benefiting the whole local community, materializing the objective of social responsibility. 

“Because of this, more than 10,000 people in the community ended up reaping the positive financial benefits.”

The event relied on the paid labor of about 390 local workers, men and women, who received good salaries, food, accommodation, and even high value in tips. 

Because of this, more than 10,000 people in the community ended up reaping the positive financial benefits, including the families of these workers and the people involved in the local business activities. 

It is important to remember that the event took place after a time when the local community had been out of work for almost two years because of the consequences of the pandemic, which turned out to be an extremely valuable economic and social  stimulus for the whole community. 

All the waste production, organic and inorganic rejects, were collected, separated, cleaned, and dispensed in an ecologically correct way, with these actions carried out by all participants, athletes, workers, and organizers. 

In addition, the expedition’s Chief Guide was included in the challenge to break the world records to ensure that Tanzania was also represented in this achievement, serving as a symbol of pride and inspiration to all his compatriots. 

“Social responsibility must be a commitment by everyone, not only by the organizations when carrying out their activities, but also by the people, professionals and individuals who lead these organizations.”

This is just one example, but through this example, it is possible to demonstrate that social responsibility can be achieved in sport events, depending on a purposeful planning that has this objective during the whole process of organizing the event, and especially the willingness to cause positive impacts for the benefit of the entire society. 

Social responsibility must be a commitment by everyone, not only by the organizations when carrying out their activities, but also by the people, professionals and individuals who lead these organizations, because by understanding that we can all make a step further for the benefit of society, we will be able to turn sport into a true transformation instrument for society, bringing social welfare, dignity and peace for all mankind.

Michel Cutait is a Senior Executive Manager dedicated to the World of Sports. He is currently working as Deputy Secretary General for the World Obstacle (FISO – Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles) and as Strategy Advisor for the  Brazilian Triathlon Confederation. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Masters  in Law in Brazil, Marketing in Australia and a Masters in Sport Administration and  Technology at EPFL (AISTS Programme) in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Sport And Storytelling: The Ever-Growing Importance

Michel Cutait, Deputy Secretary General for World Obstacle, the international federation for obstacle sports, provides some thoughts on why sport needs the stories around it more than ever in the social media era.

Storytelling techniques have transcended the limits of literature, and have gained space in different markets and industries, including the world of sports. 

With the expansion of communication channels, driven by digital technologies, social networks, and so many innovative platforms that are bringing people, leaders, companies, organizations, entities, and also nations closer together, storytelling has become an essential tool to generate public engagement, but mainly to create deep and lasting relationships between all parties involved. 

Sports are an inexhaustible source of inspiring stories that bring messages of motivation, discipline, overcoming, determination, triumph, and fair play. 

“The public has stopped playing a passive role in this constructive process and is no longer satisfied with just watching the games or supporting their favorite athletes.”

It’s not new that storytelling has been used by the sports industry, but not exactly as a central strategy in the main objectives of sports organizations, the promotion of the sport and its disciplines, the organization of events and competitions, and the representation of the interests of athletes and  participants. 

Promoting sports, organizing a world championship or creating athlete rankings is no longer enough, because the public has stopped playing a passive role in this constructive process and is no longer satisfied with just watching the games or supporting their favorite athletes. They want to be part of  history. 

Engaging the public has become a very complex task, requiring much more dynamic, broad, agile, and efficient strategies than before. Catching the public’s attention has become a challenge for all stakeholders in sports, which is why storytelling has gained a prominent role in this mission. 

Without proposing a formal definition, in general, storytelling is a process that uses narratives and stories to tell a fact or a sequence of facts that can be real or fictional and that seeks to deliver a central message to a wide or specific audience. 

In the construction of storytelling there are particular elements that are very important to ensure a successful narrative. 

The environment or context needs to be well described so that the audience can place themselves in the story. 

“Causality and transformation are also essential elements because they are precisely the link between the facts that are being told and the message that will be delivered in the end.”

The public or target audience can be defined by their specific characteristics, but understanding their identities, needs, and preferences will really make a difference if the message is meant to reach the right people. 

The protagonist and coadjuvants are the characters in the story that will captivate the audience with their qualities, weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, and personalities.

Causality and transformation are also essential elements because they are precisely the link between the facts that are being told and the message that will be delivered in the end. The protagonist and the coadjuvants need to face this journey to create the thread to the end of the story. 

The concept and idea behind the story is precisely the message that is underlying the narrative, it is the concrete foundation that serves as the ground for the entire sequence of facts that will be experienced by the characters. 

There must also be surprise and emotion, because this is the critical moment when the characters are confronted with the transformation that will attract, capture, and fascinate the audience. 

In sports, as in literature, stories can be told in many different ways, such as comedy, drama, tragedy, romance, and all the other genres that are part of the epic human journey. And each style has a message to be delivered. 

It is not an easy choice, neither is it simple to create a Storytelling that is simultaneously interesting, captivating, intriguing, and exciting. So the construction of the narrative needs to be done with enough attention to reach the final objective of creating a strong bond with the public. 

“They are truly powerful strategies to engage the public, to attract their attention, to generate emotional bonds, to inspire future generations.”

In the world of sports there is an infinite number of stories that can be shared, about the athletes and their struggles, determination, and resilience; the competitions, the games, the races, the fights, and all the obstacles that need to be overcome to win the gold medal or first place; the friendship, loyalty, and unity among the teams; the message of peace between nations; and also the legacies that are being built in favor of the entire society. 

Stories are everywhere, they are waiting to be widespread around the world, they are truly powerful strategies to engage the public, to attract their attention, to generate emotional bonds, to inspire future generations, and to create deep relationships, which, in the end, will be the foundation for the sport to continue growing and developing at the heart of society.

Michel Cutait is a Senior Executive Manager dedicated to the World of Sports. He is currently working as Deputy Secretary General for the World Obstacle (FISO – Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles) and as Strategy Advisor for the Brazilian Triathlon Confederation. He studied a Masters in Sport Administration and Technology at EPFL (AISTS Programme) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Five Key Targets To Aim For To Achieve Good Governance In Sport

Governance is always a key topic of sport, and even more so in times of crisis, such as over the past 12 months while Covid has been causing havoc with sport all across the world. Therefore, in our new Member Insights piece Michel Cutait, Director of Development at World Obstacle (FISO), has offered some of his thoughts on this key area of sport and his five keys for good governance.

The concept of governance is not something new in sports, much less in other industries, especially those involving private companies and corporations. 

One of the most important purposes of governance in the corporate world, in for-profit organisations, has been to  protect minority shareholders, but it has also fulfilled other functions, mainly to assure to the market that these  companies adopt clear, transparent, trustworthy and legal management practices, generating a perception of trust  and security for all investors and stakeholders. 

The objective of this article is not to define the concept of “governance”, however, only to outline: governance is the whole set of rules, practices, conducts and procedures that organisations must adopt to the market to ensure the sustainability of their activities. 

This is already a reality in companies and for-profit organisations that relate more intensely to the market, and also in those that aspire to gain competitiveness and participation in market-share. 

“The application of governance in sports organisations not only represents an evolution of institutional practice but has become a competitive differential.”

The concepts of governance are more than adequate for the world of sport, especially for non-profit sports organisations, it is no wonder that some years ago many of these organisations began an irreversible movement  of adaptation, improvement and innovation in relation to the best practices of governance. 

It is worth saying that a major achievement in recent years was the creation of the “Governance Task Force (GTF)” in November 2015 by ASOIF with the objective to promote and ensure a culture of good governance in the  organisational structures of International Federations, work from which has just been released in the Third Review of IF Governance (2020). 

The application of governance in sports organisations not only represents an evolution of institutional practice but has become a competitive differential that allows all stakeholders to have a clear perception that their relationships with a specific entity are protected in a serious, transparent and responsible manner. 

There are five important characteristics that summarise the best practices to explain what the concepts of Governance can offer to sports organisations.

Responsibility

The first, and perhaps the most important, is responsibility. In this aspect, sports organisations need to offer,  first of all, professional management. Based on procedures, routines and practices that are adopted according to  a well-defined, clear and systematic methodology, which drives the business from the beginning to the end of all  stages of the process. 

Responsibility also requires that leadership be provided by competent, experienced and active professionals in the  market; needs to prioritise, whenever possible, sustainability in its actions and initiatives, improving the efficiency of internal processes, generating low levels of environmental and social risks, and generating value not only for its  members, but also for all other stakeholders involved in its activities, including society itself. 

Governance in sport is key to all aspects of the sporting landscape

Also within the aspect of responsibility is the commitment to the objectives of the sports organisations, which  includes not only the positioning that these entities want to show to their stakeholders, but also the evaluation of  performance, which can be measured in several ways, not only by accountability, but also by the effectiveness of  the impacts and transformations brought to the Sport, as well as by the positive cost-benefit economy of their  projects, programs and action plans. 

Predictability

The second is predictability, which characteristic is essentially linked to planning, because in Governance,  planning demonstrates to stakeholders that the actions and initiatives adopted by sports organisations were  decided according to premises, studies and analyses that justify and support the final objectives that they intend  to achieve, and in this case, it is essential that the management of these entities be guided by the elaboration of a  budget, foreseeing all expenses and revenues that will be incurred in the organisation, and must respect, at least, an annual system of planning. 

And whenever necessary, the budget must be subject to occasional revisions when, during the current fiscal year, certain previsions prove to be innocuous, irrelevant or discordant with reality. For example, if expenditure which  was planned does not fall to the entity in the second half of the year, it must be replaced or withdrawn from the  budget.

A good example of this concept is the category of events, which, year by year, demand different solutions, require  new strategies and generate costs that are not uniform to each budget period. One recommendation for this  purpose would include formulating the budget on a zero basis, i.e. each year the entire budget must be revised, as  if a new budget were being drawn up, in accordance with the new strategic plan designed for the next year. 

Accountability

The third characteristic is accountability, which needs to be seen much more as a form of communication than  as an obligation, because by accountability, sports organisations have the opportunity to demonstrate, explain  and justify how management is being conducted in financial terms, and consequently, inform stakeholders that all  resources are used in an appropriate and responsible manner in the management of that entity. 

Relevant evidences on this assumption can easily be verified by the maintenance of its activities, the compliance with the action plan, the delivery of the events, or the result of the various programs related to elite sport,  sustainability, social responsibility, education or any other that has been designed by that entity. 

“These characteristics are essential for the adoption of governance and may be expanded as practices evolve, because, in fact, they offer much more than simple obligations and duties”

This concept is especially important to ensure to all members, especially those who are recipients of proportional  resources according to the rules of each entity, that the practices of that entity are conducted regularly, consistently  and transparently. 

Legality

The fourth is legality, and for this characteristic, basically, the management of the sports organisations must be practiced within the requirements of the law, the statutes and/or the contracts, which requirement is an essential  condition for the actions and decisions to be supported by the duties and obligations that were instituted when  these entities were founded. 

Legality is also reflected in the obligation to keep documents, contracts, mandates, licenses and permits updated,  filed and organised; in addition to accounting for all financial and fiscal records in the books and in the forms  provided by law.

Auditing

And finally, as a fifth characteristic of governance, auditing cannot be dispensed with and must be done respecting at least two scopes: the external audit, which will examine the accounts, taking as evidence the  documents that supported the accounting records, to finally offer, if possible, an unreserved report on the accounts  that were verified; also the internal audit, which goes through the conference of methods, procedures, routines and practices adopted in the administration of the entities, which is essential to verify possible mistakes, mismatches, inconsistencies, irregularities and/or non-conformities in relation to the best practices. 

Auditing also involves health and safety issues in the work environment, other related to sustainability and/or social responsibility, and even patrimonial matters when the referred entity needs to ensure the preservation of the  inventory of their furniture, equipment and materials, and of their real estate and their respective facilities, improvements and constructive state of their assets. 

Governance is necessary ‘to ensure that sport continues to be a true agent of transformation to build a better society.’

These characteristics are essential for the adoption of governance and may be expanded as practices evolve, because, in fact, they offer much more than simple obligations and duties to sports organisations, these measures  turn into very attractive, differentiated and innovative benefits and advantages: 

• help to achieve the goals and objectives formulated in their strategic plans’. 

• increase the engagement in the relationship with their stakeholders guided by trust, credibility and reliability.

• ensure a more transparent, open and collaborative environment for all their members.

• optimise internal procedures, ensuring more efficient management;.

• offer an opportunity for sponsors to encourage, support and invest in the sport.

• ensure that their activities are sustainable on environmental, social and economic aspects. 

The whole process of convergence towards the adoption of the best practices offered by governance is an irreversible and natural pathway to the evolution of the world of sport, which are essential to ensure that sport continues to be a true agent of transformation to build a better society.

Michel Cutait is an Executive Manager and Consultant dedicated to the World of Sports. After several years working in other industries, he decided to change his career to pursue his passion for Sport by doing the AISTS Master in Lausanne Olympic Capital. His work is focused on the areas of Governance, Development, Strategy, Stakeholders Engagement, Social Responsibility, Membership and Education. He is currently working as Director of Development for the World Obstacle (FISO – Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles) and as Strategic  Governance Advisor for the Brazilian Triathlon Confederation.