This working group was launched at the annual meeting of HEPA Europe in 2013. It has been jointly co-chaired by 4 people since September 2023: Josef Mitáš (Palacký University Olomouc, Czechia), Bengt Kayser (Switzerland), Laura Maria Lehiste (International Sport and Culture Association, Denmark) and Karim Abu-Omar (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany).

The working group aims to raise the profile of the relationship between the environment and the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA). While planetary health and climate change are among its foci, the group encompasses a broad approach to the intersections of physical activity and the physical environment (active transport, urban design, architecture, nature-based solutions, etc.). It intends to support the translation of relevant evidence into policy, practice and research, and to improve networking, share research/funding opportunities and enhance capacity-building in this field.

The group is currently collecting data from fellow scientists and policy-makers on the perceived relevance of climate change for their work.