(S)CORE FOR SUSTAINABILITY. DRIVING CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND ACTION IN MEDITERRANEAN SPORTS ORGANISATIONS

This doctoral dissertation investigates how sport organisations engage with environmental sustainability and integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their practices, with particular focus on the Mediterranean region, highly vulnerable to climate change. Grounded in Transformative Learning theory within organisational contexts, the research contributes to the sport ecology framework. The dissertation comprises three studies. The first examines how organisations construct sustainability narratives and how these narratives shape cultural representations in their organisational context. The second explores concrete sustainability practices, revealing moderate commitment, limited long-term planning, and gaps between expectations and implementation. The third introduces a self-assessment tool designed to foster critical reflection and Transformative Learning across individual, organisational, and societal levels, structured around four dimensions - Environment, Social, Governance, and Strategic Approach – with indicators and action-planning guidance. A qualitative approach was adopted across all studies, combining semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data were collected from 42 participants representing 40 team sport organisations across Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and Greece, while 18 European experts in sustainability and sports sociology contributed to the development of the self-assessment tool. Analyses employed thematic, structural, and pattern coding to identify key drivers, actors, and dialogue processes. Findings highlight organisational culture, stakeholder engagement, and recognition of environmental responsibility as key drivers, while internal resistance and limited expertise remain barriers. Collectively, the studies offer an updated understanding of sustainability in Mediterranean sports organisations and provide practical tools to support cultural, strategic, and operational transformation. The self-assessment tool reframes organisational evaluation as a reflective and educational process, facilitating SDG integration and leveraging sport as a platform for environmental education, civic engagement, and systemic sustainability.