As if Australian rugby union star David Pocock wasn’t busy enough dragging his team into the latter stages of the ongoing Rugby World Cup in Japan, the back-row forward has roped some of his teammates into an initiative to tackle climate change.

Pocock, out-half Bernard Foley and utility back Dane Haylett-Petty have struck a partnership with a scheme that aims to compensate for CO2 emissions from the squad’s heavy travel itinerary.

The trio are working with a start-up called FEAT (Future Energy Artists), which was established by Heidi Lenffer of Australian band Cloud Control as a way of offsetting emissions from the band’s tours.

FEAT allows performing artists to invest in a solar farm project called Brigalow in Queensland, which aims to power more than 11,000 homes for 30 years.

Pocock, already well known for his efforts tackling social injustice and environmental issues, got in contact with Lenffer and had a chat over coffee.

“That’s the beauty of Instagram,” Lenffer wrote in her FEAT blog.

“It’s rare to find such a genuine, deeply-considered and passionate advocate for social change as David Pocock,” she said.

Lenffer did a bit of digging on what Pocock’s own emissions from work-related travel this year were, and it turned out it was well over 1000 tonnes of CO2 – the same as 54 Australian households in a year.

“When I emailed through the numbers to him, his response resonated with me — shocked and saddened by the inescapable reality of his profession,” she said.

Pocock told the UK’s Guardian newspaper: "As an athlete, you’re in a somewhat similar position to artists in that there’s no escaping what you do requires travel, and I’m very conscious of my personal contribution.

“It’s ridiculous to think that changing lightbulbs and that sort of thing is enough. Those days are over. We need a big system change.

“This is a much bigger issue than sport … It’s an existential threat,” he added.

“But I really believe that sport is at its best when it’s challenging society to be more inclusive, to be more forward thinking, and hopefully this is an area where sport can play more of a role, because we certainly aren’t getting the leadership from our politicians.

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