Sustainability Speakers & Ambassadors: the rise of athletes with purpose.

More athletes than ever before are using their influential brand platform to promote causes, issues & campaigns beyond their sport.

Athletes driven by purpose have been around for a long time (think Muhamed Ali in the 1960/70’s and more recently Marcus Rashford’s school meals campaign in the UK during covid)) but the number of elite athletes powered by genuine purpose are increasing as they recognise they can harness their platforms as forces for good.

And importantly brands are increasingly wanting to work with this sporting talent as they recognise the power of elite performers giving back aligns strongly with their own organisations and business goals.

At AMG we bring together these elite performing athletes with a purpose away from their field of play as each of our AMG athletes is aligned to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable development Goals.

A great example of an athlete with purpose, & one of AMG’s most accomplished athletes, is double Olympic Gold medal sailor Hannah Mills OBE.  Whilst competing at the Rio Olympics she found she was sailing through huge amounts of plastic & other rubbish and was determined to use her global platform to do something about the dirty waters.  After winning Gold she went on to set up The Big Plastic Pledge to encourage fans & fellow athletes to change their plastic consumption for the better.  She also became one of the first International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sustainability Ambassadors allowing her much bigger influence to drive change.

In 2021 Hannah also co-founded Athletes of the World to campaign for more positive change from elite athletes with fellow international athlete (& rower) Melissa Wilson.  On the water she continues to lead by example as Strategist & Purpose Champion for the GB SailGP team (F1 on the water & THE #1 sport powered by purpose!) and led the first ever Women’s America’s Cup Team for GB in Sept 2024 (& the Youth Team as well).

When she’s not competing Hannah is often a regular & passionate storyteller on the speaker circuit inspiring audiences around the world with her athlete with purpose message.  Panasonic, Intel, GoDaddy, Carlsberg, Babcock, Schroders & many other big brands have harnessed Hannah’s super powers to engage their audiences.

Hannah is not the only ‘athlete with purpose’ AMG works with as an internationally recognised speaker.

We have plenty of others with powerful human stories designed to educate, motivate & inspire including:

Globally-recognised British polar explorer (the only human to walk from Canada to the North Pole, in 2003) and marine conservationist Pen Hadow is campaigning for a North Pole Marine Reserve to protect the Arctic Ocean and often addresses conferences & events the world over with his important message.

Mitch Hutchcraft has just completed the longest ascent of Mount Everest in human history: 13,157km!  His 34km swim across the Channel, 5000km cycle from France to India, 500km run from India to Nepal & his ascent of Everest have gone down in history.  The ex-Royal Marine completed his challenge in June 2025 raising valuable funds for SAVSIM, the charity that combines military veterans mental health with animal conservation.

2016 GB Olympic Hockey Gold medallist, Crista Cullen MBE combines her incredible sporting journey with driving awareness of human wildlife conflict solutions in her homeland of Kenya.

Andy Donaldson, the legendary Scotsman based in Perth, Australia is an ocean swimmer & world record holder who regularly does swimming challenges around the world to campaign for cleaner oceans better mental health support.

Marlie Packer, England Women’s Rugby great with 110 caps, has put her hand up for a better world by becoming a brand ambassador for Prevented Ocean Plastic, the for-profit organisation making recycling a force for good.

Adrianna Brownlee, the youngest ever female in history to climb all 14 of the highest 8000m mountain peaks in the world is also an important voice in mountain sustainability campaigning for cleaner base camps and responsible production & consumption.

Paris 2024 Olympic Formula Kite Champion, Ellie Aldridge, is a proud ocean defender and clean air campaigner.

5 x Paralympian and 3 x Gold medallist, Charlotte Henshaw MBE PLY, is a proud Good Health & Wellbeing Ambassador often talking on the world stage about the importance of good health, her battle with endometriosis and her insights into the world of AI, data & technology as a user of prosthetics.  In July Charlotte sat on a panel talking about the implications for AI in sport & athletes at the UN AI For Good Global Summit.

Kylie Grimes MBE PLY, the first ever female Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Gold medallist, is a vocal spokesperson about the joys & importance of playing sport and harnessing the power of sport as a disabled athlete.

Beth Gill, GB 2022 World Marathon Canoe Champion, is highly qualified to share her stories & experience of rivers, pollution & quality.  She is doing a PHD in river cleanliness in Nottingham’s rivers thus combining her sporting & study passions.

At AMG we are proud to work with so many talented sustainability-driven speakers & ambassadors with the most incredible human stories.  Olympic & Paralympic champions, World Cup winners & World Record Holders all wanting to do more to help people, planet & communities.

Those matching high performance on their fields of play with high impact off it.

Athletes with purpose are increasingly influential in getting important messages & campaigns across to consumers & company workforces around the world.

For brands inspiring speakers, themed speaker series, content creation (film, podcasts, written, photo shoots) & brand ambassador solutions are all available options and add to their purpose-led priorities.

This sporting trend will continue to grow and more creative ideas & campaigns will fuel the importance of athletes powering positive cultural momentum.

If you are a brand or agency that wants to engage with &/or book one or more of our athletes with purpose please email mark@athletemedia.co.uk or call him on +44 7952 304340.

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