Meet the speakers: Corporate greenwashing in Ugandan sport is a new trend
Environmental and science journalist Sharon Muzaki, a research fellow at the Knight Science Journalism Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joins Play the Game 2025 to speak about the tension between genuine environmental initiatives and corporate greenwashing in Ugandan sports.
What motivated you to investigate sustainability in Ugandan sport?
I was motivated by optimism about sport’s power to promote sustainability, but also by a concern about corporate greenwashing in Ugandan sport.
The Uganda Olympic Committee has launched several initiatives, such as the “Race to Zero” carbon emission campaign and other education workshops, to integrate sustainability into the national sports agenda. These initiatives signal a shift towards a responsible sport that is concerned about the environment.
However, these efforts co-exist with rising concerns about greenwashing, as many multinational corporations with poor environmental records, including oil and gas companies, invest in Ugandan sports sponsorships, which project a false image of sustainability.
What are the most important findings of your research?
While national sports bodies like the Ugandan Olympic Committee are making genuine efforts towards sustainability, such as reforestation, climate education, and eco-friendly infrastructure development, their efforts are being undermined by corporate greenwashing.
Many corporate partners in sports adopt environmental branding without enacting real change. Sustainability remains on paper. Sports organisations lack the capacity to critically regulate environmental claims made by sponsors, making them vulnerable to greenwashing. Sport can be a powerful platform for environmental advocacy, but this potential is compromised when sustainability is used only as a public relations tool.
Have sports organisations and corporate sponsors responded to your research?
I am still writing on my paper, but I will soon share my findings with them and hope it will cause reflection and engagement both within the Ugandan sports system and among the corporate sponsors in sports.
To serve as a true agent of climate resilience, sports organisations must foster transparency, adopt robust sustainability metrics, and demand accountability from corporate partners.
How widespread is corporate greenwashing in Ugandan sport?
Corporate greenwashing in Ugandan sport is a new trend, and it is growing. Many companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and most of the water companies are sponsoring sports organisations and tournaments in Uganda where regional tournaments often attract larger crowds than the national leagues.
However, corporate partners often adopt environmental branding without significant action. There is an urgent need for transparency, accountability, and stronger regulatory frameworks to ensure that partnerships genuinely support environmental goals.
How are you planning to follow up on your research on sustainability in Ugandan sport?
One of the ways is to study the results of a campaign that the Uganda Hockey Association came up with in 2022, saying that for each goal scored during the season, they would plant a tree and try to bring the Ugandan forests back to life.
I also plan to evaluate how different government structures and cultures in other countries close to Uganda are handling corporate greenwashing in sport. And I hope that one day my paper will be used as a political reference for climate action and sustainability in Ugandan sport. That is my ultimate goal.
