Well-being of sport club members: the role of pro-environmental behavior in sport and clubs’ environmental quality

Individuals’ mental health and subjective well-being have become increasingly important in public health policy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pro-environmental behavior in sport and clubs’ perceived environmental quality on the subjective well-being of sport club members in Germany. Data were collected using an online survey of club members in five team/racket sports (i.e., basketball, football, handball, ice hockey, and tennis; n = 3,038). The outcome of interest is subjective well-being which is measured with the WHO-5 scale. Pro-environmental behavior in sport is captured by the monthly carbon footprint resulting from traveling to training sessions and pro-environmental actions in sport. The results of regression analyses show that pro-environmental actions in sport have a positive effect on members’ well-being. Individuals producing a higher carbon footprint when traveling to training sessions report lower well-being, but the effect is overlapped by pro-environmental actions in sport. Members who perceived their clubs’ environmental quality as higher scored higher on well-being. The number of weekly sport hours had an inverse u-shaped effect on well-being, with the diminishing returns by additional sport hours being offset by pro-environmental actions. Collectively, these findings suggest that protecting the natural environment goes hand in hand with individuals’ well-being and public health goals in the field of mental health.Survey data from sport club members in Germany are used.The lower the carbon footprint from traveling to training, the higher the well-being.Pro-environmental actions and clubs’ environmental quality improve well-being.Pro-environmental actions in sport overlap the carbon footprint.They also offset diminishing returns from increasing weekly sport hours.