While social responsibility and accountability were originally conceived for profit-driven enterprises, these principles have now permeated into nonprofit organizations of all kinds, including those in the sports sector (1, 2). The global trend toward sustainability has infiltrated the sports industry, with growing recognition of the need to mitigate the environmental impact of sporting events (3). This is particularly relevant for winter sports highly dependent on the natural environment and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Sustainable winter sports events are increasingly feasible through the integration of renewable energy, stakeholder engagement, and innovative management practices. The transition toward sustainability in winter sports is essential, given the environmental impacts and challenges posed by climate change.

In the last 10 years, sustainability has taken on significant importance in the sports industry. Professional sports clubs and national-level sports organizations have increasingly integrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their operations, moving beyond traditional philanthropy toward strategic social engagement. CSR in sports is driven both by normative stakeholder expectations and the need for legitimacy in an increasingly scrutinized public environment (4). Especially in European professional football, CSR initiatives are systematically embedded within club operations through foundations, community programs, and environmental policies (5). Many clubs have shifted from ad hoc charitable actions to structured CSR programs that align with both business strategies and social objectives, promoting brand value, fan loyalty, and community trust (4, 6). Initiatives often include education, health promotion, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship, illustrating a broader conception of responsibility (7). Environmental sustainability, specifically, has gained prominence as organizations seek to minimize their ecological footprint through green stadium operations, waste management, and renewable energy use (8). Stakeholder perceptions of CSR initiatives greatly influence their success. Authenticity is key: CSR activities perceived as genuine—especially when communicated via credible, familiar sources such as players or local representatives—are more positively received (9, 10). Furthermore, the geographical proximity of CSR efforts matters; local community initiatives generate stronger support compared with distant activities (11). The role of organizational culture and leadership is also critical. Decision-making about CSR is often decentralized, shaped by leaders' personal values and external stakeholder influence rather than purely economic imperatives (4, 12). In many contexts, clubs balance strategic interests with altruistic motives, reinforcing their social role while safeguarding competitive advantage. Overall, CSR has become a fundamental component of strategic management in professional sports organizations, embedding societal engagement within club identity and operations and positioning sports as a platform for broader societal change (5, 8). The same we can observe in the case of the mega sports events’ sustainability approach. There are more and more studies on this topic (1, 13), while non-mega sports and winter sports sustainability challenges remain understudied.

To aid winter sports event managers and organizations in their efforts to enhance the sustainability of their events, published materials, programs, and organizations providing advice in this area have been developed/established. For example, there are several international environmental initiatives by the United Nations Environment Program (14) and an international standard for sustainable event management—ISO 20121 (15). International sports federations also started to be active in this matter. The Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) elaborated a strategic plan that incorporated sustainability policy (FIS). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is recognizing sustainability for winter sports, especially addressing the impacts of climate change on venues and the sport's future. They are working with host cities and regions to establish long-term sustainability policies, encouraging the use of existing venues, and minimizing the Games' carbon footprint (IOC).

The presented study helps fill a gap in the literature by exploring contemporary challenges related to sustainability in winter sports events, specifically in the context of previous research. To this end, we understood how winter sports organizers (WSOs)—defined in this study as institutions involved in organizing non-mega winter sports events, such as national sports federations, winter sports clubs, and sports associations—perceive and address sustainability issues.

While existing studies provide valuable insights, most have concentrated on general public events or large-scale sports and cultural events. There remains a limited focus on non-mega winter sports events, which are crucial for the grassroots development of winter sports. This oversight is particularly significant given that winter sports face unique vulnerabilities to climate change impacts unlike any other sports discipline (16, 17, 115, 116). This article intends to contribute to this emergent area of research and practice by examining the principal challenges faced by winter sports organizers and highlighting underdeveloped areas of inquiry within this context. By adopting the perspective of winter sports organizers, this study identifies and reviews key challenges, aiming to enrich the understanding of sustainability issues in non-mega winter sports events.

In doing so, it contributes to a literature in understanding of current practices in sustainable event management, assisting sports managers with framing “best practice” environmental sustainability strategies for winter sports organizers at the medium and small level. Our study makes three contributions. First, it identifies approaches to sustainability in winter sports events. Second, it throws light on how important sustainability is for WSO as a grassroots organization. Third, by analyzing our dataset through the prism of neo-institutional theory, we provide a better understanding of whether or why WSO have acknowledged their sustainability efforts nowadays.

To identify gaps and narrow aims of this research scoping review of literature was performed. The starting point of this study is the sustainability concept in the sports industry. Following it, we need to disclose the characteristics of winter sports and their contemporary challenges. Finally, a classification of winter sports events research in the context of sustainability was provided to understand why it is still worth researching sustainability in winter sports events management.

The research process is elaborated into two steps. The first research step is the scoping review, and the second step is based on quantitative data from the survey. The chosen process provided the foundation for the development of an online survey for WSO representatives.

The first step was divided into two content analysis stages. The detailed process of content analysis selection is presented in Table 1. The first content analysis classified groups of topics and problems related to sustainability in winter sports operations. In this step, keywords used in the search were sustainability, winter, and sport. Results not related to any winter sports activity were excluded to focus on problems in winter sports. This first content analysis of the scoping review was performed using open-access academic literature accessible from the Google Scholar database, supported by searching professional reports in Google. The second content analysis in the scoping review was performed to identify the main research aims and key future research directions (mostly repeated among identified sources). Papers were limited by the topic relevance to “sustainability in winter sports events.” In both content analyses, selection was performed till the moment when aims, problems, and limitations started to be repeated. It means that the number of selected papers was saturated (50, 51). The database for that was limited to papers in open access, indexed in Scopus and Google Scholar. Out of 26 papers, 9 of them are referenced in Table 2 [identified aims (problems) and future suggestions were repeated in other collected sources]. Papers chosen were eligible based on the criteria being contemporary, therefore from 2020 to May 2024. Based on the literature review, three research questions were elaborated and presented in the first results section.

In the second step (survey), we used a purposive sampling method in nature (60) and aimed to identify what Patton (61) described as “information-rich” cases relevant to the research topic. This approach is particularly suitable when the goal is to explore specific instances of a phenomenon in-depth, rather than to generalize findings across a broader population (62).

To implement this method, collaboration was sought from winter sports organizations mostly in European countries such as Switzerland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Armenia, and France. Selected countries and winter sports organizers from them were based on the assumption that a significant number of these countries have a long tradition of winter sports (63).

A total of 51 winter sports organizers participated in this study, primarily consisting of small to medium-sized organizations that manage non-mega sporting events. Participants were identified using a snowball sampling approach, whereby initial contacts recommended additional relevant organizations. These organizations were subsequently invited to participate via email and phone. Each organization selected a knowledgeable representative—such as a staff member, owner, or member of the organizing committee—who was qualified to respond comprehensively about their respective sustainability initiatives and management practices. Participants were asked to complete a detailed survey comprising 49 items. It should be noted that, although this sample size is suitable for exploratory research purposes, the snowball sampling method used here introduces a potential selection bias, thereby constraining the generalizability of our findings. To enhance external validity and facilitate broader applicability, future research should consider adopting probabilistic sampling techniques or triangulating survey data with additional qualitative or quantitative data sources.

For the purpose of this study, “best practice” was defined as methods or techniques that yield significant positive sustainable outcomes, whether in specific areas or across multiple aspects of an event's operations.

The study's literature review was used to provide the foundation for the development of an online questionnaire for distribution to participants. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: kind of organization, challenges, and best practices. The main part about challenges was elaborated as five-grade scale (Likert) questions to rank them later. In other sections, we elaborated mixed types of questions (closed-ended and open-ended).

The questionnaire was piloted by sending it to a selected group of academics and industry experts from the winter sports Erasmus+ project. These individuals were asked to consider the questionnaire's length, layout, content, ease of completion, and clarity of question wording. Feedback obtained through this means was then used to make amendments to the questionnaire prior to its distribution in June 2024. Data collection took place over a period of 2 months. This process resulted in 51 usable responses (examples of questions in the survey can be found in the Appendix).

Descriptive statistics and regression [Cronbach's alpha, ordinary least squares (OLS)] were employed to analyze and interpret the data using a spreadsheet-based analytical tool. OLS regression served as a supplementary model to evaluate the reliability and consistency of responses. However, with a relatively small sample size (51 observations) and snowball sampling, the application of OLS regression may raise concerns regarding the robustness of the results, particularly due to potential outliers, influential data points, bias, and violations of critical regression assumptions.

To answer the third research question, a content analysis was performed. The researcher analyzed the content of the open-ended question about best practices to become familiar with the data, enabling the identification of emerging themes and concepts. While existing literature offers a framework of potential themes to guide data interpretation, the researchers observe, consistent with Thornberg and Charmaz (64), that themes naturally emerge from the analysis of the text and data itself. Additionally, to support the answer to the third research question, secondary material (content data) about best sustainable practices in winter sports was analyzed (including reports, websites, internal policies, and strategic documents derived from WSOs). So finally, the content analysis was used to classify the most common best practices included two types of materials: open-ended questions in the questionnaire directed to WSOs and secondary material derived from WSOs. The study used a manual attribution analysis. This approach is more sensitive to context than computerized analysis, as both words and their context are identified (65).

It is important to acknowledge that the small sample size in this study would limit its applicability if the goal were to generalize findings to all public events. However, as this inquiry was exploratory in nature, it intended to examine patterns and generate insights rather than establish broad generalizations.

The scoping review was the first stage of the presented study. It is comprised of two content analyses. Table 3 presents the results of classified groups of topics and problems related to sustainability in winter sports operations. This classification emerged from the search for three key words: sustainability, winter, and sport.

Based on Table 3 results, we distinguished four groups of sustainability problems in winter sports events and organizations: winter tourism and sports impact on climate change, winter sports environmental impact, winter sports economic impact, and winter sports social impact.

While the pursuit of sustainable winter sports events is promising, challenges remain. The economic reliance on winter tourism in certain regions can hinder the adoption of sustainable practices (54), as growth strategies often prioritize immediate economic benefits over long-term environmental considerations. Additionally, the variability in environmental impacts and management practices across different locations complicates the establishment of universal sustainability standards. Nonetheless, the integration of renewable energy, stakeholder engagement, and innovative technologies presents a viable path toward achieving sustainability in winter sports events.

Key research lines that are related to sustainability in winter sports events are presented in Table 2.

Based on that, we can say there is limited focus on medium and small winter sports organizers. Not enough focus on aspects other than the environmental aspects of sustainability. Authors in analyzed papers identified limitations of the identification of best practices [e.g., (49, 55)]. In response to this literature’s limitations, the study focused more widely on the sustainability idea than just environmental aspects and elaborated three specific research aims constructed as research questions:

What are the most significant challenges faced by WSOs (non-mega event organizers)?

The Results section is divided into three parts. The first one related to challenges classification and understanding, and the second one focused on winter sports sustainable practices. The third part is a discussion and comments on the obtained results in reference to the assumed goals.

Regarding the first research question on challenges, the findings were somewhat unexpected. Despite the widespread movement and policy emphasis on sustainability, traditional challenges continue to be at the top of the ranking (Table 4). The top five “big issues” for winter sports organizations (WSOs) include infrastructure, finances, and human resources. Only sustainable snow management and weather conditions, as proxies for environmental challenges, are explicitly related to sustainability.

Previous research in sports management utilizing institutional theory (18) has demonstrated that sports organizations often engage in socially responsible behaviors as a mechanism to maintain legitimacy in response to external institutional pressures. However, extant literature often focuses on professional sports leagues, national associations, regional clubs, national Olympic committees, and mega events, all of which operate under markedly different institutional conditions compared with small and medium-sized winter sports organizations (WSOs).

From an institutional theory perspective, WSOs are embedded in less formalized and less scrutinized environments. In the absence of binding international sustainability regulations and limited visibility among global stakeholders, these organizations are subject to fewer explicit coercive pressures to adopt sustainable practices. Nevertheless, institutional theory posits that WSOs may still encounter normative and mimetic pressures originating from local communities, national federations, athletes, media, and sponsors, which subtly influence their sustainability behaviors.

Furthermore, the study's results align with the tenets of institutional logic. As suggested by Oliver (21), organizational behaviors often reflect institutionalized norms rather than active strategic choices. Thus, it is plausible that the observed gap in WSOs' sustainability engagement has itself become institutionalized within their operational frameworks. This observation invites critical reflection on how WSOs might leverage their latent capacity to advance sustainability initiatives more effectively (101).

It is important to acknowledge that winter sports activities such as skiing are inherently associated with environmental impacts. Practices such as artificial snow production and excessive water consumption are deeply embedded in the daily operations of winter sports events (102, 103). Although sports managers and personnel are well-positioned to contribute to mitigating these impacts, it is unrealistic to expect them to unilaterally resolve complex environmental challenges (104). A comprehensive, strategic approach is recommended—one that accounts for available organizational resources, competencies, and meaningful stakeholder engagement (105–107).

Such an approach should include long-term strategic planning, the cultivation of internal and external stakeholder partnerships, and collaboration with specialized environmental organizations to maximize collective impact. Additionally, the findings of this study align with the conceptual framework of “waves of environmentalism” proposed by McCullough et al. (108), which conceptualizes sustainability engagement as a dynamic, cyclical process characterized by periods of advancement and regression. While the current study offers a cross-sectional view, future longitudinal research would be instrumental in capturing how WSOs evolve in response to sustainability pressures over time.

Regarding the second research question, the study reveals that mature organizations (those that have already implemented impact reporting) show a negative correlation with sustainability challenges. Such organizations have managed traditional problems effectively, enabling them to focus more on sustainability initiatives. It is somehow in line with the literature review. Previous studies on sustainability in winter sports events often focused on mega, giga events (see Table 3). It raises a question for future research: Is there a correlation between organizational maturity and sustainable maturity in WSOs or even sports organizations broadly? In non-sports organizations, this kind of study was already performed deeply (109, 110), but it seems that from the sports perspective, it is a gap to fill.

Referring to findings for the third research purpose (Table 7) in the literature, we observe two notable surprises: one positive and one negative. The content analysis of the literature (Table 4) reveals that studies have already explored social aspects and governance issues in winter sports. In our study, based on the analyzed materials and their content, we found that practices in these areas are developed. This is further supported by survey responses, where social issues are ranked low among the challenges. It may mean the WSOs do not need to pay too much attention to solve this challenge because they are already used to it. Particularly, non-mega event organizers tend to have close relationships with their regional stakeholders.

The negative surprise, however, is the underdevelopment of air pollution practices in the data we analyzed. This is not due to a lack of practices, but rather because the existing practices are insufficient to address the problem effectively. According to studies cited in the literature review (Table 3), transportation is often identified as the most climate-sensitive sector, with its impacts closely tied to global warming and climate dynamics. Thus, the solutions currently provided, along with measures such as progressively limiting access to winter sports regions, are inadequate.

Cross-sector comparisons offer valuable insights for potential adaptation. In European professional football, stadiums have implemented environmental management systems that include low-emission transport options and energy-saving infrastructure to reduce air pollution during matches (111). The World Athletics has also promoted an air quality project for monitoring and traffic reduction strategies during events (112). Furthermore, environmental justice frameworks in sports management emphasize the need for inclusive air quality strategies that consider the unequal exposure to pollution among different communities (113). Finally, research on tourism and air quality highlights how poor air conditions can deter attendance and reduce destination competitiveness, reinforcing the importance of proactive air pollution mitigation during large-scale events (114).

Finally, returning to the literature review on key issues in sustainable winter sports, one area highlighted in this study is snow and ice management. This topic is extensively covered in the literature (see Table 3, points 1.3, 2.4, and 3.1) and is also among the top five issues identified in the study (Table 4). Other sustainability-related challenges ranked highly in this study include economic and financial performance, particularly in the context of energy management.

The study found traditional challenges, such as infrastructure, finances, and human resources, still dominate organizational priorities, overshadowing explicit sustainability issues such as snow management and weather conditions. Furthermore, organizational maturity discovery may suggest that mature organizations may be better positioned to integrate sustainability practices effectively than smaller sports organizers.

This study advances theoretical understanding in the domain of sustainable sports management by refining and extending the application of institutional theory to the context of non-mega winter sports events. While institutional theory has previously been employed to explain sustainability practices among large, high-profile sports organizations (18), this study highlights the distinctive institutional environment of small and medium-sized Winter Sports Organizations (WSOs). These entities operate under lower coercive pressure, reduced visibility, and limited access to resources compared with their professional and mega event counterparts. Moreover, the observed gap between sustainability awareness and implementation is interpreted through the lens of organizational culture theory (25). This insight extends theoretical debates by foregrounding cultural inertia as a barrier to sustainability in grassroots sports, an area largely overlooked in previous studies. The study also contributes to the ongoing dialogue on environmental strategy in the context of McCullough et al.'s (108) “waves of environmentalism.” It suggests that WSOs are predominantly situated in the early or transitional phases of environmental engagement, characterized by reactive and low-intensity initiatives.

Overall, this paper contributes to theory by situating WSOs within a distinct institutional and cultural ecology, expanding sustainability studies in sports beyond elite and mega event settings, and integrating underused theoretical tools—such as organizational maturity—into the analysis of grassroots sports sustainability.

The study does have limitations. Firstly, its focus on small and medium-sized WSOs limits generalizability, especially since institutional pressures vary significantly between organizations. Moreover, the reliance on self-reported data from WSOs could introduce biases or inaccuracies in the assessment of sustainability practices and challenges. Snowball recruitment via professional referrals likely skews the sample toward more visible or better-networked organizers or the same “mind” organizations. It means it could boost (overestimate) some challenges (similar ones for the network) and underestimate others that were not significantly represented. For example selection may (1) overestimate the salience of challenges typical of more mature sustainability adopters—such as stakeholder pressure and expectations, compliance communication, and monitoring/measurement (e.g., tracking emissions an reporting to sponsors)—and (2) underestimate challenges that are more acute among less-networked organizers, such as volunteer/staff capacity limits, time and expertise gaps, and access to infrastructure or public support. Relatedly, the prevalence of formal sustainability initiatives in our data may be upwardly biased relative to the broader population of small and medium winter sports events. These considerations constrain generalizability and should be borne in mind when interpreting the relative importance of specific challenges reported. The study is also limited in its scoping review process. It is worth mentioning that the review process in both steps was limited by time till May 2024 and used limited databases (Scopus, Google Scholar). In the following study, there are some paths worth developing such as how the sustainability approach is evaluated over the years (longitudinal analysis) within changes in strategies or policies. The next limitation is the focus on open-source literature review, which may introduce bias by excluding proprietary or industry-specific sources. As a result, relevant insights from private sector reports, internal sustainability audits, or unpublished best practices—particularly those implemented by commercial sports organizations—may not be reflected. Future research could benefit from some case studies incorporating such sources to provide a more comprehensive understanding of air pollution mitigation strategies in sports event management.

Based on these limitations, future studies should include comparative analyses between small- and medium-sized WSOs and larger sports entities to provide deeper insights into institutional pressures and their effects on sustainability practices. To further develop the third research question—focused on ranking and evaluating best practices from the perspective of Winter Sports Organizations (WSOs) stakeholders—a future quantitative approach could be employed. This would involve translating insights from qualitative methods into structured survey items and testable hypotheses, enabling more robust statistical analysis. To enhance representativeness and confidence in the findings, future studies should consider probabilistic sampling techniques and the integration of multiple data sources, such as combining survey data with qualitative interviews or secondary datasets. Broader and more diverse sampling would also support deeper statistical exploration. In this study, an additional ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model was used to examine relationships between the willingness to implement sustainable practices, actual implementation, and the perceived importance of sustainability challenges.

Additionally, incorporating objective measures of sustainability performance could strengthen the reliability of findings. Future research might also explore longitudinal designs to better understand how organizational maturity influences sustainable maturity over time, providing clearer guidance for strategic sustainability integration across different types and sizes of sports organizations.