Decathlon adds Planet Patrol as charity of the year with pair working together on key environmental initiatives

Decathlon UK has announced a tie up with Planet Patrol as its official new charity of the year for 2025, who will be working alongside ongoing partner, ParkPlay.

Planet Patrol is a non-profit dedicated to addressing environmental and human health issues caused by pollution, by facilitating and amplifying people powered data to inform solutions. It gathers critical evidence of litter and water pollution via its free app.

The tie up will see Decathlon UK and Planet Patrol working together on key environmental initiatives, the first being a national virtual mission. Kicking off on 1st May, this calls upon the public to use the Planet Patrol app to log their litter collection efforts, aiming to gather 10,000 pieces across the UK by the end of October and collectively measure the positive impact. All are invited to join, with prizes and incentives on offer for those actively participating.

In addition, Decathlon and Planet Patrol will be hosting a Big Paddle Clean Up event in London on 31st May, as part of National Governing Body Paddle UK’s annual environmental campaign, combining paddleboarding with litter collection and water quality testing. Further details and event signup links to be announced soon.

To further engage the public and incentivise participation, Planet Patrol community members will receive an exclusive benefit: a 10% discount on selected Decathlon products. A percentage of each sale of these designated items will be directly contributed back to Planet Patrol.

Additionally, from June through September, Decathlon will facilitate broader public support for Planet Patrol through a Point of Sale donation option. Across all 40+ UK stores, customers will be offered the opportunity to make a direct donation to Planet Patrol at the till.

"For Decathlon UK, naming Planet Patrol a Charity of the Year for 2025 goes beyond a simple partnership. It's a recognition of years of impactful collaboration. Witnessing firsthand their ability to mobilise communities with such enthusiasm to care for our waterways made it clear that deepening our support was the logical way to help more people discover the joy of our rivers and coasts as their sporting playground," says Becky Lillico, Environmental Impact and Waste & Resource Lead at Decathlon UK.

“Over the past eight years, more than 60,000 people have joined Planet Patrol, combining environmental action with sport and using our free app to log over half a million pieces of litter data and water quality readings - a powerful demonstration of what collective action can achieve,” says Lizzie Carr, Founder at Planet Patrol.

“Now, our exciting partnership with Decathlon builds on that momentum, expanding our reach and amplifying our impact. We’re aiming to record over 10,000 pieces of litter in just six months - an ambitious target that reflects Decathlon’s continued commitment to our data driven mission and to empowering even more people to take meaningful action for the planet.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Green retail will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.