Fair Play For Planet and KPMG France have published the results of their survey on responsible sponsorship, conducted among sports actors, business partners, and experts.
The results show a widespread awareness. 83% of sports ecosystem actors believe that the responsible nature of a sponsorship influences the perception of the partner brand. 80% of sponsors say they integrate responsible sponsorship into their corporate strategy, with 70% incorporating CSR criteria into their project choices. 9 out of 10 actors state they pay attention to CSR commitments made by sponsors, with 44% doing so systematically.
Persistent Barriers
75% of sponsors admit they do not have specific criteria to evaluate the responsible nature of a project. “Sports sponsorship must now meet increased requirements for responsibility, transparency, and results. The lack of common frameworks to measure commitments still limits its potential,” said Gauthier Acket, Head of Global ESG at KPMG International. “Defining clear, measurable, and auditable criteria is essential to ensure credibility and stakeholder trust.” This is an urgent task as 92% of actors believe sustainability criteria will be important or even indispensable within 3 to 5 years.
