Levelling Up Sustainability in Cue Sports

(In the photo: Diane Wild, Secretary General, WCBS and Geert Hendriks, Co-Founder, bloomUp)

Cue sports are entering a new era. The World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) has partnered with bloomUp, a leading agency in sports and sustainability, to build a stronger and more responsible future for the sport.

The collaboration will unfold in two key phases:

Phase 1 (2025–2026): Testing & Learning
Four flagship events — one from WCBS and one from each of its member federations (IBSF, UMB, WPA) — will undergo sustainability audits. Each event will be evaluated using a Sustainability Maturity Matrix, a standardized framework for measuring sustainability performance. This approach is aligned with the international GRI reporting standards and is increasingly being adopted by Olympic International Federations.

Phase 2 (2027–2028): Building the Future
Based on the outcomes of Phase 1, WCBS will develop its first Sustainability Strategy & Operational Plan, which will include:

• A benchmark of current practices
• Stakeholder engagement to shape priorities
• A materiality matrix to identify key issues
• Concrete targets, KPIs, and actions
• A roadmap for communication and commitments with partners and sponsors

“Cue sports have a global stage, and with that comes a global responsibility. Partnering with bloomUp allows WCBS to take meaningful steps towards embedding sustainability at the core of our events—benefiting not just our athletes and fans, but also the wider community.”
— Mr. Farouk Barki, President, WCBS

“We’re excited to work with WCBS to transform sustainability from a vision into a concrete action plan. The Sustainability Maturity Matrices will provide a strong, data-driven foundation that we see increasingly adopted by International Federations to drive meaningful progress.”
— Geert Hendriks, Co-Founder, bloomUp