FRBC Recognised for environmental leadership in sport

We’re delighted to share two exciting pieces of news that highlight our commitment to making rowing both inclusive and environmentally responsible.

Fulham Reach Boat Club has been featured as a national sustainability case study by Sport England and shortlisted for the BASIS Community Initiative Award 2025, recognising how we embed environmental action and community engagement into everything we do.

As a charity and Sport for Good Centre of Excellence, our mission is simple: to transform lives through rowing while protecting and celebrating the River Thames — the heart of our sport and community.

Our approach reflects our philosophy:

“The health of our space, that’s the place for our health.”
From tackling social inequalities to restoring the natural environment, we’re proving that sport and sustainability go hand in hand.

Over the past two year, we’ve:

• Launched our first electric coaching boat and installed an open to the community emergency charging pontoon, cutting emissions and helping other river users transition to clean energy.
• Hosted monthly river clean-ups, removing more than 2 tonnes of litter from the Thames.
• Run citizen science water-quality testing with River Action UK and Earthwatch Europe — building vital data to monitor the river’s recovery following the Tideway Tunnel project. See our visualised water-quality data here.
• Delivered environmental workshops and wildlife sessions as part of our community rowing and Free Water Sports Weeks, inspiring the next generation of river stewards.

Being recognised by BASIS — the British Association for Sustainability in Sport — is a huge honour. It celebrates not just our environmental work but the incredible efforts of our volunteers, partners, and young people who make this progress possible.

We’re proud to show that community sport can drive real environmental and social change — on the water and beyond. 

You can watch the Sport England Sustainability Case Study video and learn more about our environmental initiatives here.

If you’d like to get involved, share ideas, or support our sustainability work, we’d love to hear from you!