Enacting environmental commitments and initiatives in Australian Olympic sport: an actor-network theory perspective

Rationale: Existing studies on sport and environmental sustainability have overlooked the role of actors and elements influencing the integration of environmental considerations at central levels of the operations of sport organisations. Approach: This paper uses Actor-Network Theory and semi-structured interviews to identify and critique actants and moments of translation embedded within the Australian Olympic sport network. Findings: Seven actant roles were identified within the Australian Olympic sport organisations’ network structures enacting environmental commitments and initiatives: interrogators, custodians, coordinators, providers, amplifiers, bottlenecks, and distant disruptors. In addition, economic imperatives, environmental enlightenment, and the redesign of sport experiences were identified as transformative moments in the process of enacting. Practical implications: This research informs environmental policy development in the research literature and policymaking aiming to adopt and promote environmental commitments in sport. Research contribution: We argue that the enactment of environmental commitments and initiatives within Australian sport organisations is a dynamic, transformative process in which all parts of organisational actants (internal and external to the organisation; human or non-human actants) contribute to action, playing multiple roles empowering and constraining (at times, simultaneously) environmental sustainability transitions.