40-15 : Marcus Daniell is showing the green game for a cleaner sport industry
- Victor Fontaine
- Nov 5, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 6, 2019
The sport industry has still a long way to go to be more environmentally friendly but it is getting there. Marcus Daniell, kiwi professional tennis player, explains his fight for the environment in the tennis industry.
Could you present yourself ?
I am Marcus Daniell, professional tennis player from New Zealand. I grew up on a sheep and beef farm in Wairarapa and have always had an affinity for nature and wilderness. I became a vegetarian a couple of years ago after being confronted by whale sushi in Japan, which made me question my biases and beliefs and research the ethics and environmental effects of eating animals.
You are known as a "green tennis player", could you explain your campaign to make professional tennis more environmentally friendly?
The first and most visible battle is with plastic water bottles. On tour it is quite common for the athletes to be provided with 33cl bottles, which means we could go through 15-20 bottles a day in order to stay hydrated. This is ludicrous. There are liability issues around requiring sealed water bottles, which are understandable, but at the least we should be able to drink from 1.5L bottles to reduce usage, and be provided with recycling options.
The second battle, and the one that I feel most strongly about, is with emissions from air travel. Every tennis player, coach, physio, trainer, and official flies at least 150,000kms per year for the job. This equates to insane amounts of emissions. I personally use a third party company to offset my flights, but what I’m pushing is for the tour to be the first professional sporting body to completely offset its travel. This would have a huge impact environmentally.
What are your motivations and how do you proceed (partners, support, actions)?
I’m motivated by my love for nature and my desire to live an ethical life. In terms of getting things done, at this stage I make as many improvements in my own life as possible (vegetarianism, carbon offsets, travel choices in the off-season etc.) I speak openly about my reasons for becoming vegetarian and have done numerous interviews and TV spots explaining my reasons. I am also trying to influence the ATP tour’s decisions through its political structure and player council. This is not an easy task, and is annoyingly slow.
What is your biggest barrier to make tennis greener and how could people help?
Just exasperation at how hard it is to do something that doesn’t make people more money! These choices don’t necessarily equal more profit for any organisation, and convincing people to change without strong incentive is very difficult. It seems that too many people are too worried about getting more for themselves while the world dies around us. In first world countries we have the luxury to be able to make informed, ethical choices for the planet without losing quality of life. I wish more people would consider the bigger picture.
BEING GREEN - The portrait & point of view of Marcus Daniell
If we had to describe yourself as the following items, what would you say and why ?
An animal: A sea wolf - lean, fast, love the ocean, love my pack, can get a predatory look in my eye when I’m on a tennis court!
A movie: Ooph, tough one. Les Intouchables, just because I love the human connection.
A music: Bon Iver - Skinny Love. One of my favourite songs ever and evokes a lot of emotion for me.
When you were young, how people described you ?
Full of energy, skinny, interested in too many things to be able to focus on one thing.
What do you admire in others ?
Integrity, honesty, a strong moral code, discipline, and will power.
Looking at your routine, what are your daily actions toward the environment?
Vegetarianism while on tour, and vegan when I’m able to cook for myself. I’m using my small public platform to advocate for ethical decisions around eating animals and protecting the environment. I limit plastic usage as much as possible. I limit consumerism as much as possible (no unnecessary purchases of clothes, cars etc.). I use public transport whenever possible, and try to keep unnecessary flights to a minimum. I use Atmosfair to offset my travel emissions at the end of each year. I donate a percentage of my income to Effective Altruism’s animal welfare fund. I think above all, I try to maintain a constant awareness of how my actions affect the world around me and use that awareness to make better decisions.
What is your vision of the environment in 20 years?
Humanity has finally realised that we need to act drastically to save our environment and governments have fully got on board. The majority of the planet are eating plant-based diets and regulations on emissions are super strict. This is my dream, but honestly in 20 years I think we will still be fighting to get the necessary amount of attention paid to the health of the planet.
If you had a magic power, what would you do to save the planet?
I would give everyone a deep education about how personal choices impact the future of the planet, and instil in every person a profound love for nature.
If you were the CEO of a big corporation, what would you do?
I would make the mission to be the first corporation that is both profitable and positive for the environment.
One example is the B Corp label :
If you had one question to ask to one person, who will be the person and what will be the question?
Donald Trump - Why?
Thank you Marcus for answering these questions,
To read and watch other portrait of green activists and entrepreneurs, visit https://kiwikore.wixsite.com/greentech-blog/accueil
Comments