Protect Our Winters: Update on British Cycling and Shell

When British Cycling announced its partnership with Shell, the folks at Protect Our Winters wrote an open letter to British Cycling setting out their concerns and asking for British Cycling to end the agreement. They also offered a free Carbon Literacy Training session to British Cycling. Around 18 months on, Protect Our Winters has issued an update on the steps that have been taken since the letter was written.

With just 150 days until the Summer Olympics, the British Cycling Team is in full swing, training rigorously and gearing up to seize the podium and we wish them the best of luck. 

Following our open letter expressing deep concern over their partnership with fossil fuel giant Shell, we’ve continued our dialogue. As a result, we’ve delivered a comprehensive climate training session. We’re hopeful that they’ll integrate the learnings, so that they not only excel athletically,  but also bring ethical excellence to the Summer Olympics.

What we covered:

• We successfully delivered a comprehensive climate training session to 11 senior members of the British Cycling team, including executives and the CEO.
• The session delved into critical aspects of climate change, covering its causes and impacts alongside effective strategies for addressing this urgent issue.
• We provided insights into fossil fuel extraction, shedding light on Shell’s reprehensible actions—such as backtracking on green targets, prioritising marketing over renewables, and engaging in abhorrent extraction practices exemplified in the Niger Delta.
• We introduced a partnership selection framework to instigate a more rigorous screening process for future partnerships.

The training was met with positive reception, evidenced by active engagement from all participants. We cautiously view this as a step towards reconsidering future partnerships with entities like Shell.

British Cycling has expressed a commitment to future collaboration and plans to share their updated strategy when it is ready for review. While cautiously optimistic about the potential for positive change, we stand firm in our critique of partnerships with the fossil fuel companies who have actively worked against science, resulting in disastrous impacts on our sports, communities, environment, and nature.

Despite a lack of specific commitments regarding their Shell partnership, we are encouraged by the ongoing dialogue and will persist in our advocacy for the termination of this ill-advised partnership alongside other similar partnerships. 

As public budgets tighten, whilst fossil fuel investments soar to record highs, the allocation of funds to sports is poised to dwindle significantly. It’s crucial for governing bodies to prioritise ethical standards and refrain from granting unwarranted social approval to organisations that put profit over climate, particularly amidst the emergence of additional detrimental partnerships in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Your support is instrumental in driving meaningful change, and we look forward to updating you on further developments as the Olympics approach. 

Find out more about Protect Our Winters here.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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