Press Release - London Marathon - 3/28/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

             London Marathon Events working with Trees Not Tees

    Participants can opt out of receiving an official finisher's T-shirt
                         and plant a tree instead

London Marathon Events (LME) announced today (Tuesday 28 March) that it 
will be working with Trees Not Tees throughout 2023 to offer participants 
in its running events, including the TCS London Marathon, the option to opt 
out of receiving an official finisher's T-shirt and have a tree planted 
instead.

The scheme is part of LME's ongoing commitment to reduce its environmental 
impact and will see Trees Not Tees plant a sapling in its sustainable 
reforestation project in the UK for everyone who takes up this option. In 
return, participants will receive a personalised digital certificate, 
including a photo of their tree – and a what3words geolocation so they can 
visit their tree if they'd like to.

LME's work with Trees Not Tees is one of several sustainability initiatives 
for 2023 aimed at reducing the environmental impact of its events, with a 
particular focus on lowering carbon emissions, cutting waste and improving 
circularity. Full details of the sustainability initiatives around the 2023 
TCS London Marathon will be announced in April.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director at LME, said: "We are fully committed to 
reducing our environmental impact and we're working to introduce more 
initiatives every year to achieve this. We know that finisher's T-shirts 
are an important part of many people's event experience, but we also know 
that many of our participants share our passion for environmental 
sustainability.

"Working with Trees Not Tees to offer the option to have a tree planted 
instead of receiving a T-shirt is the next positive step forward for LME as 
we continue our commitments to event sustainability."

The Trees Not Tees option will be offered at the following running events 
organised by LME that feature finisher T-shirts in 2023:

- TCS London Marathon
- The Big Half
- Vitality London 10,000

One of LME's long-term objectives is to help drive positive change in 
environmental sustainability through its own actions and inspire its 
stakeholders and partners to do the same. More information on environmental 
sustainability at LME's events can be found here.

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