A review and synthesis of environmentalism within the Olympic Movement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to delineate shifts in environmental sustainability leadership in the Olympic Movement through a historical narrative. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted and data were analyzed chronologically. Findings Four eras are identified, distinguished by different leadership and levels of commitment toward the natural environment: public-driven environmental sustainability, host city-driven environmental sustainability, International Olympic Committee-mandated environmental sustainability and environmental regression. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to secondary data collected through a systematic literature review. Practical implications The findings inform a list of best practices for Olympic environmental sustainability, grounded in evidence of past successes and lessons learned from environmentally insensitive events. Originality/value This is the first historical narrative and synthesis of environmental leadership in the Olympic Movement, a topic previously covered in studies focused solely on the institutions responsible for hosting the event, ignoring external parties and the deep history of environmentalism dating back to the 1930s, or focusing just on actions, ignoring the actors who drove the environmental movement.