SUSTAINABILITY

The Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge is pleased to announce that its 2024 series of events has achieved certification from the Council for Responsible Sport!

The Council’s rigorous certification process tracks and documents event performance in five areas of social and environmental responsibility:

• Planning and communications
• Procurement
• Resource Management
• Access & Equity
• Community Legacy

The Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge could not have achieved this certification – the first of its kind in Bermuda – without the support of many sponsors and community partners, including including Aspen Bermuda Limited, the race’s Official Sustainability Partner, as well as Butterfield & Vallis, Bermuda Craft Brewing, Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Corporation of Hamilton, and Recycle Bermuda.

We look forward to working with our partners, sponsors, the Council for Responsible Sport and YOU – our participants – over the coming years to improve our sustainability and reduce our environmental footprint!

As one of the largest sporting events on the island, we want to keep making meaningful changes in how we run our event in an effort to reduce our climate impacts, both locally and abroad (where many of our products are sourced), while also making nature-positive contributions to Bermuda’s environment.

We invite you to join us on our journey to make the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge a race that is both fun and sustainable – that way you can come back and enjoy it in the future, the way so many others have. Below you’ll find information on how we’re helping participants go green, as well as how we’re holding ourselves accountable.

Improving the sustainability of a 3-day race weekend requires careful planning and consistent communication with participants, vendors, and members of the local community.

• Our event produces an entirely digital event programme to reduce paper waste. This online format allows participants and spectators easy access to course maps, race start times, and other important information about race weekend events.
• All of the races in the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge weekend have been planned to minimise impact on the local environment. No permanent infrastructure needs to be constructed; many of the start/finish lines are located close to the official race hotel; group transportation is available to/from other host hotels; and existing water/sewage infrastructure is utilised where available.
• Prior to the start of the race weekend, the Executive Committee notifies the public and members of the local community of upcoming road closures via notices in the local paper, letters/emails to local business and churches that will be impacted, and announcements on the race’s social media pages. The road closure notices are also made public via the Official Event Programme.
• The event’s sustainability initiative is communicated in the Official Event Programme, pre-event newsletters, and via social media to encourage participants to take part before, during, and after the event.
• A post-event survey is sent to all participants to solicit feedback on how to improve the event for the following year, and this feedback goes to our sponsors and the Executive Committee!

What we buy matters. And, although we are limited because we have to import most of our products, we can still choose to make more sustainable purchases and work with vendors to help create a longer-term, consistent demand for these items.

• The Official Event Programme, the Volunteer Guide, and the Butterfield Mile Programme are all produced digitally and available online versus printed and handed out at the respective events.
• Beginning in 2024, our event featured participant t-shirts, volunteer t-shirts, and 1/4-zip long sleeve shirts produced by Scimitar and made from recycled sustainable fabric.  We’re proud to partner with Scimitar, as they also embrace sustainability practices throughout their corporate value chain.
• Also in 2024, in response to feedback that our awards contained too much plastic, the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge debuted NEW awards made from a 100% renewable, sustainable resource: coconuts! They were a big hit and are returning for 2025!
• Much of the signage used throughout the weekend, such as the mile markers, sponsor banners, and Expo/number pickup signage, is designed to be re-usable year after year.
• In addition to their “swag bag,” participants also receive access to a virtual race bag filled with discounts to local restaurants and merchants, reducing the need for paper coupons and flyers at number pickup.
• In 2024 we debuted a new “Where to Eat” page on our website highlighting some of the restaurants that regularly feature local produce and seafood on their menus. Dining at these restaurants is a great way for participants to support local farmers, bakers and fishermen, which helps Bermuda reduce its dependence on imported goods.
• All event signups and registrations take place online, including purchases for Pre-Race Pasta Dinner tickets, shuttle tickets, and race registrations. In addition, all participant communication takes place digitally.
• All vendors at the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge Expo are local businesses, many of them female and/or minority owned.

We should all be mindful of ways to reduce our waste production, energy usage, and water consumption – and this is particularly true for those of us living on a small island! Making smarter choices in these areas will also help reduce our carbon footprint, which means better choices for the future as well.

• The Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge is working more closely with Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Corporation of Hamilton, and Recycle Bermuda to develop more efficient waste management plans that (with your help!) will improve the percentage of waste that is diverted to recycling and compost facilities.
• At the Finish Festivals you will see signs designating separate bins for recyclables (tin, aluminum and glass), general waste, and compostables. Remember, plastic is not recyclable in Bermuda; however, it does go to the Tynes Bay waste-to-energy facility, where production supports Bermuda’s energy grid.
• Butterfield & Vallis is working with us to reduce the amount of plastic used at water stops throughout the weekend.
• The Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge uses pre-event newsletters and social media posts to encourage participants to bring their own re-usable water bottles to carry with them throughout the weekend. This small action discourages the purchase of single use plastics on the island and prevents plastic waste.
• Goslings will be offering re-usable cups for participants to enjoy their rum-based cocktails in during the Finish Festivals on Saturday and Sunday.
• Bermuda Craft Brewery will be offering aluminum cups for participants to enjoy their craft beers in during the Finish Festivals on Saturday and Sunday.
• A concerted effort is made to donate excess shirts and race gear from previous years to local charity and youth sports organisations.
• Participants are encouraged to calculate their carbon footprint and offset their travel-related carbon emissions by purchasing certified emission reductions from a variety of UN-certified projects around the world.

We believe that running has the ability to create positive change, both environmentally and socially. It is important to all of us at the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge that our events are inclusive and all participants feel welcome.

• The Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge is run under the auspices of the Bermuda National Athletics Association and abides by their guidelines pertaining to access and equity.
• As an event, the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, creed, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status among any of its participants, community partners, sponsors or vendors.
• In order to encourage safe and healthy training, and to get participants to the starting line injury-free, the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge provides free online training plans for multiple races across a range of running experience levels. In advance of the 2025 event, we will also be partnering with Alchemy Fitness Studio, the official gym of the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge, as they provide a special strength training program and discounted gym memberships for BTC participants.
• As the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge is an event run under the auspices of the Bermuda National Athletics Association, it also serves as a major fundraising activity for BNAA’s Youth Track & Field Programme, which provides scholarships to some of Bermuda’s young, talented athletes to attend regional and international competitions such as CARIFTA and the Island Games.
• Beginning in 2025, the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge will offer a 10% discount on registration for participants 65 and older (classified as retirement age) and 18 and younger (classified as student age) to promote more equity among age group participation by taking into account possible economic considerations.

We know the work doesn’t end when you cross the finish line! As a local race, it is important to us that our event leaves a positive social, economic and environmental contribution to the community.

• A big part of our sustainability initiative is a “legacy project” that we’ve started with the support of Aspen Bermuda Limited in partnership with the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS). In December 2021, BZS launched their Micro Forest Project modeled on work conducted by renowned Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. His method is now used around the world to grow urban forests that promote native biodiversity and the creation of valuable carbon sinks. In the near future, a new Micro Forest location will be debuted along the PwC Bermuda Marathon route. This community initiative, in addition to being a part of the wider BZS Micro Forest Project, will provide an opportunity for Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge participants and volunteers to give back to the local community by helping to clear, reforest and maintain the plot.
• We also hope that our event supports local businesses and brings money into the local economy. All of the vendors at the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge Expo are local businesses and we promote local merchants, restaurants, and food suppliers in our virtual race bag and on the “Where to Eat” page of our website. Many small businesses are booked as entertainment along the race courses and at the Finish Festivals on Saturday and Sunday.
• Participants are invited to run in support of one of six local charities, or they can choose to support a charity that supports a cause close to their heart. Donations can be made online during the registration process. Participants can learn more by visiting the “Fundraising” page of our website.