Improving event experience through sustainable mobility

Background

World Skate, the international federation governing all sports performed on skating wheels, has made sustainability a growing part of its mission to modernise the sport and its global events. As the body responsible for Skateboarding Olympic qualification competitions, the federation recognises that large international events bring energy and opportunity, but also environmental impact.

In 2025, that commitment took a tangible form. During the World Skateboarding Tour Rome Street event, the federation launched its first sustainable mobility initiative in partnership with Lime, a global provider of shared electric scooters and bicycles.

This collaboration reflected World Skate’s ambition to weave sustainability into the everyday experience of skateboarding – from the way events are organised to how athletes and teams move around host cities. The aim was to make low-carbon travel both practical and visible, while encouraging participants to consider how small, individual actions can add up to a collective difference.

Challenge

Skateboarding is a sport rooted in city life. Its athletes, fans and culture are shaped by streets, plazas and the movement of people through urban environments. Yet this same mobility creates a challenge for global events. In Rome, where public transport is often inefficient and unreliable, moving between venues, hotels and practice areas becomes particularly difficult. As a result, hundreds of athletes, officials and staff frequently resort to taxis or ride-sharing services, increasing both travel costs and traffic congestion. 

World Skate identified mobility as one of the key areas where it could reduce its environmental footprint while also inspiring change among its community. The challenge was to make sustainable transport not just an option, but an appealing and integrated part of the event experience. At the same time, the federation wanted to ensure that communication about the initiative supported its wider commitment to reducing waste and promoting digital solutions.

Approach

To meet this challenge, World Skate’s marketing and sustainability teams worked together to pilot a micro-mobility programme during the 2025 Rome event. Through a partnership with Lime, the federation offered athletes and national federation staff 30 discounted e-scooter and bicycles rides (70% off) active throughout Rome and Ostia from 31 May to 16 June.

The initiative was promoted entirely digitally, through the official event bulletin and our World Skate Infinity App, ensuring that participants could easily access all information without printed materials. This digital-first communication approach supported the federation’s “no paper, no waste” philosophy and demonstrated how sustainability can be integrated into every operational detail.

By placing Lime scooters and bicycles at key points around the event venues, participants were able to move efficiently between competition areas, hotels and training zones and the city. The scooters and bicycles offered an accessible, low-emission transport option that complemented the urban nature of skateboarding itself – youth, urban and sustainable

Results and impact

The response exceeded expectations. More than 300 riders used the Lime scooters and bicycles over the two-week period, completing more than 2,000 rides and saving an estimated 600 kg of carbon emissions compared with conventional transport.

The initiative was well received by athletes and staff, many of whom shared their experiences on social media, turning sustainable mobility into a visible part of the event culture. Feedback suggested that participants appreciated both the convenience and the environmental message behind the programme.

Encouraged by this success, World Skate is now exploring how to extend the partnership to other events where Lime operates, using the Rome experience as a model for future activations. The pilot also provided valuable insight into how sustainability can be introduced through simple, well-structured collaborations that are easy to communicate and measure.

Lessons learned

The Rome experience showed that meaningful sustainability progress often begins with small, practical steps. The Lime partnership demonstrated that reducing environmental impact can go hand in hand with improving the event experience for athletes and staff. It also proved that digital communication can be a powerful tool for both efficiency and environmental responsibility.

World Skate found that micro-mobility is an effective entry point for promoting sustainable behaviour. It requires minimal infrastructure, fits naturally within the lifestyle of athletes and urban sports communities and delivers visible results. Beyond the environmental benefits, the initiative created a shared sense of purpose and pride among participants, reinforcing the idea that sustainability is everyone’s responsibility.

This project represents the first stage in a broader journey. World Skate plans to expand its sustainability work across all areas of event management, from mobility and materials to waste reduction and office operations.