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Toyota and BMW Spend $4.5 Billion on Sports Sponsorship

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A new report has revealed that major car brands, including Toyota and BMW, are spending $4.5 billion on sports sponsorship a primary way of promoting theirgreen credentials in a bid togreenwash their image despite their active lobbying against the introduction of stronger climate action.

Authored by the thinktank New Weather Institute and the Badvertising campaign, the report, titled Dangerous Driving: why sport should drop sponsorship from major polluters, found that Toyota and BMW alone have more than 120 active partnerships and sponsorships across at least 23 different sports.

Most of these deals are centred around sustainability claims. Toyota, for instance, pays to be the International Olympic Committees key partner concerning sustainable mobility solutions, despite plans to sell 110 million internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2040, increasing global CO2 emissions by 7.4 billion tonnes.

Big polluters target sports marketing because of the strong emotional connection many people have with sport, said the report.

Yet the industry itself is increasingly exposed to the impacts of global warming, including disruption to play, health concerns of participants and spectators, and declining participation.

The report points out that alongside damaging carbon emissions, ICE vehicles also cause lethal air pollution, leaving athletes and spectators at risk, and maintain sedentary lifestyles, posing threats to sport and all its participants.

It also notes that UK codes for advertising state that advertising must not encourage behaviourgrossly prejudicial to the protection of the environment, making Toyotas marketing claims potentially in contravention of this very rule.

Given the scale of their emissions contributing to global heating, such deals, certainly within the world of sport, should be ended, it said.

Toyota has been reported to be the most obstructive car company in the world when it comes to potentially strong climate policy, the third most obstructive company overall, behind fossil fuel majors ExxonMobil and Chevron. It also has the largest number of active sports sponsorship deals, and the highest market share (10.5%).

The report makes detailed mention of Toyotas sports sponsorship deals in Australia, including their extensive 20 year partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL), which is the biggest sports sponsorship deal in the countrys history.

Just as it did with tobacco products over the last halfcentury.

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