Leveraging Impact Investing and Sports to Champion Sustainability

Karaca Bingol, an MBA student from Turkey, combines a strong mathematical background with experience in social enterprise and impact investing. After completing his BSc in Mathematics at the University of Bristol, he worked with a Turkish social enterprise that launched the country’s first social impact bond. With a passion for sustainability, Karaca chose Oxford’s MBA program to further explore the intersections of sports, impact, and investment. Drawn to the Oxford SDG Impact Lab, he saw it as a unique platform to translate theory into practice and work collaboratively toward the SDGs.

Through the Lab’s masterclass series, Karaca gained valuable insights into various SDGs, which deepened his understanding of sustainability and data interpretation. Each week, experts presented on the challenges and progress of different SDGs, bridging the gap between theory and practice. “The sessions highlighted the importance of interpreting data to distinguish between outputs and outcomes,” Karaca notes. This knowledge prepared him for his role in “The Goal is Green” project with Oxford City Football Club (OCFC), where he applied these concepts to create sustainable strategies tailored to the club's needs.

Karaca’s fieldwork with OCFC underscored the power of local partnerships in sustainability efforts. By connecting OCFC with Low Carbon Hub for solar assessments, Karaca played a vital role in advancing the club’s decarbonisation efforts. “Witnessing the optimism as both parties discussed the potential of solar energy for OCFC was incredibly rewarding,” he reflects. Throughout the project, Karaca found interdisciplinary collaboration to be invaluable, as his team drew on each member’s unique strengths, combining them to build a holistic sustainability plan for OCFC.

This experience has fortified Karaca’s commitment to a career in impact investing, where he aims to integrate social and environmental responsibility into business strategies. He remains dedicated to exploring how sports can serve as a catalyst for advancing the SDGs, recognising its potential to inspire positive change from grassroots to professional levels. Reflecting on his time with the Lab, he describes it as “Collaborative, Insightful, and Rewarding,” and advises future participants to engage deeply with stakeholders, valuing local expertise and connections to amplify their projects' impact.