The SEMS has been approved by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), which sets out a comprehensive framework for tackling priority sustainability risks and opportunities.

Developed in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the standard addresses reducing costs, limiting carbon emissions and waste, managing the biodiversity of venues, respecting human rights and achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce.

"To achieve certification, an organisation needs to demonstrate that its management system has considered all key financial, economic, social and environmental issues relevant to its operations to reduce its impact on the environment and contribute towards a stronger and more just society," World Athletics said.

"The certification was awarded by BSI, a global leader in ISO standard compliance, after a rigorous two-phase audit process that assessed how the sustainability management system at World Athletics integrated sustainability into key aspects of an event's planning and delivery.

"The system must also illustrate that it can track progress to ensure full compliance with the standard's requirements moving forward."

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe added: "Having this robust independent review of the processes and systems we're putting in place lends a lot of credibility to our efforts in making our events more sustainable.

"It shows that the path we're creating for all our events is the right one."

The SEMS, which provides detailed guidance in 15 key areas of event planning and delivery, was introduced by World Athletics in November 2021 to its licensed one-day meetings, tour events, label road race organisers and Organising Committees of upcoming World Athletics Series events.

It has run alongside the Athletics for a Better World Standard (ABW), an evaluation that measures and scores an event's achievement in sustainable delivery in alignment with the World Athletics sustainability strategy.

The ABW Standard, which is currently in its second pilot year, will be tiered, with platinum, gold, silver, bronze and recognised event achievement levels that will eventually have to be met as part of the evaluation process of all World Athletics-licensed events from 2024.

Cities bidding to host upcoming World Athletics Series events will be required to commit to a gold level achievement, making sustainability a core feature of all future World Athletics championships events.