Four New Zealand athletes will be competing for more than a place on the podium when the Commonwealth Games open in Glasgow this week. High jumper Hamish Kerr, pole vaulter Eliza McCartney, javelin thrower Tori Moorby and weightlifter David Liti have each tied a climate pledge to how they perform, turning every centimetre cleared, metre thrown and kilogram lifted into a donation toward climate action.

They are part of Sport One, Carbon Zero, an athlete-led climate fund convened by High Impact Athletes, the charity founded by Kiwi Olympians Marcus Daniell and Hugo Inglis. Where offsets answer for emissions already released, the fund backs the systemic solutions that reduce the emissions yet to come, which Giving Green’s independent researchers estimate is around 10 times more effective than high-quality offsets. The funds flow, in full, to four organisations tackling the aviation, energy and infrastructure emissions behind most of sport’s footprint.

The pledges are matched to each athlete’s event. Kerr donates a dollar for every centimetre he clears in the high jump, turning a single 2.30-metre jump into a $230 donation. McCartney, who prefers not to tie her giving to results after a run of injuries, instead pledges for every 200 kilometres she flies to compete. Moorby gives for every metre she throws, while Liti, whose sport takes the group beyond track and field, pledges $2.50 for every kilogram he lifts.

They arrive in a summer that has shown how exposed sport has become in a warming world. The UK is enduring its third heatwave of the year, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup has introduced mandatory player hydration breaks for the first time in the tournament’s history. Glasgow’s organisers have also leaned in, staging a deliberately lower-carbon Games built around existing venues.

More than 120 athletes across over 20 sports and 30 countries have now joined Sport One, Carbon Zero, among them NBA Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, Olympic sailing champion Hannah Mills and The Open 2026 Champion golfer Ryan Fox. To date, the fund has raised over USD $38,000, and if the four Kiwis hit the marks they are capable of in Glasgow, their pledges alone could add a further $2,500, not including fan donations or brand matching.

Giving Green’s research suggests every USD $1 through the fund averts roughly one tonne of CO₂e, all of it passed to four partner organisations, Opportunity Green, Clean Air Task Force, Future Cleantech Architects and Project InnerSpace. To date, the fund has averted more than 38,000 tonnes of CO₂e, the equivalent carbon a forest the size of 2,500 Commonwealth Games athletics stadiums absorbs in a year.

“Representing New Zealand on the world stage, a long way from home, is everything I compete for,” Kerr said. “But like a lot of athletes, I’m also seeing and experiencing the effects of a warming climate at more and more of the events I race in, and I’d rather do something about it than look the other way. For me, that means turning every centimetre I clear into real climate solutions.”

Marcus Daniell, co-founder of High Impact Athletes and a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, said the group reflects how athletes are rethinking their role on climate.

“Two things can be true at the same time. You can love competing and travel the world to do it, and you can care about the planet and put something on the line for it,” Daniell said. “These athletes aren’t pretending sport has no impact. They’re taking responsibility in a way that fits the reality of elite sport, and backing it with action. To see these Kiwis leading that at a Commonwealth Games, turning every jump, throw and lift into climate action, is exactly the kind of honest leadership this movement was built for.”

The four will share their pledges through the Games, with Sport One, Carbon Zero inviting fans and fellow athletes to back them or set pledges of their own. You can follow the athletes and donate at socz.org.