Michigan Going Green

University of Michigan to Host First Zero Waste Event at Crisler Arena
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/120110aae.html
Dec. 1, 2010

Students at the University of Michigan are taking action to make a ton of garbage disappear -- no magic involved -- as Crisler Arena hosts its first-ever zero waste basketball game this Saturday (Dec. 4) against Harvard. From the cups to the uniforms, use of recyclable materials will be the No. 1 priority.

Hosting a zero waste event means doing all you can do to make sure as little waste as possible goes to landfill. The event is being coordinated by the Student Sustainability Initiative.

"After being approached by the SSI about doing a zero waste game, we felt that it would be a great opportunity to use an athletic event to help educate the community and our guests about the benefits of recycling and composting as well as bring an awareness to some of the other sustainability initiatives we have taken on campus," said Shelly Fabrizio, director of operations and events.

The Student Sustainability Initiative is a collaborative group of leaders in campus organizations, environmental groups, and student governments interested in making the university a more sustainable place.

"Our goal is to reduce the amount that people throw away and helping the campus community become more aware of how much they use, how much they discard, and how they might increase recycling and composting so they are sending less into landfills," said Ryan Smith, a member of the Student Sustainability Initiative.

During the game, all cups, plates, forks, napkins and trays will be made of natural materials that can break down to eventually become nutrients in soil for agricultural applications.

For example, all of the cold drink cups and trays will be made of a corn-based material called polylactic acid that resembles clear plastic and can be fully composted.

Instead of trash barrels positioned along the concourse, two bins will be placed at each waste station labeled "recycling" and "composting."

At each waste station, volunteers from student organizations across campus will educate patrons about the proper disposal of their waste, as well as, communicate the benefits of composting and recycling.

A typical game at Crisler Arena generates about 35 cubic yards (or about 1 ton) of trash, while only about 1 cubic yard of recycling is generated.

"For the zero waste events into the future, we hope to reduce this amount of trash by up to 85 percent," Smith added.

The university will partner with the nearby Tuthill Farms and Composting to take the compostable waste. The farm has the capacity to take all sorts of food and compostable wastes and break them down into soil nutrients. Tuthill Farms presently works with the composting program at the Ross School of Business.

In addition to the recycling and composting stations at the game, the U-M men's basketball team will unveil new uniforms made from 60 percent recycled materials. Designed and developed by adidas, the uniforms are 30 percent lighter and dry twice as fast as previous uniforms. The new Michigan uniform absorbs moisture in less than three seconds as a result of adidas CLIMACOOL fabrics.

To see all of the U-M's sustainability activities, visit: www.sustainability.umich.edu

Contact: Kim Broekhuizen, Public Affairs, (734) 936-5190

Zero Waste Game Fact Sheet
‐ U‐M has made a major commitment to sustainability at the highest levels in
teaching, research, operations and engagement.
‐ For the first time in Crisler Arena history, U‐M will host a zero waste basketball
game on December 4 at the U‐M vs. Harvard match up.
‐ Zero waste means taking measures to use recyclable and compostable materials
that create as little waste as possible sent to the landfills.
‐ The university athletics events are a large part of the culture at U‐M and a great
opportunity to make an impact in waste management. For example, a typical game
at Crisler Arena generates about 35 cubic yards (or about 1 ton) of trash, while only
about 1 cubic yard of recycling is generated.
‐ Students are major players – and drivers – of the university’s sustainability efforts.
At Crisler Arena’s zero waste effort there will be approximately 70 dedicated
student volunteers from student organizations across campus.
‐ During the game, all cups, plates, forks, napkins and trays will be made of natural
materials that can break down to eventually become nutrients in soil for agricultural
applications.
‐ The zero waste effort was organized by the Student Sustainability Initiative in
collaboration with the Athletics Department, the Graham Institute, and U‐M Ross
Net Impact.
‐ The zero waste initiative began in 2009 with a zero waste tailgate and continues to
grow as the university strives to institutionalize the idea and practice.
‐ The new Michigan basketball uniforms are made from 60 percent recycled
materials.
‐ U‐M Athletics has the largest stadium‐recycling program among universities in the
United States.
‐ U‐M recently adopted a single‐stream recycling, the recycling system through
which paper and container recyclables are collected in the same bin.

The Eagles Soaring

The Philadelphia Eagles are at it again. They are unveiling three new green initiatives to be in place later in 2011. They will install 100 wind turbines on the upper rim of the stadium, install elsewhere on the roof (and facade) 2,500 solar panels, and build a cogeneration power plant in the parking lot that can run on biodeisel or natural gas.

Solar and sports

A recent article in Business Week highlighted that the invest some teams have made in solar will not pay a dividend for a number of years. While some facilities are installing numerous green initiatives, solar has been close to the bottom of the list since it really does not pay. Solar arrays on a roof also can reduce the ability to sell sponsorship naming rights to place on a roof and reduce the amount of load bearing weight that a roof can support. For example, Progressive Field in Cleveland installed 1,300 square feet of solar panel at a cost of $180,000 in 2007. The panels produced 29,000 kilowatt hours over the past three years, but the facility uses 17 million kwh per year so the panels only make a small dent in the energy needs.

Staples Center spent $2.3 million in 2008 to build a 25,000 square foot array. The 1,727 panels supply 456,000 kwh per year out of the arenas' total demand for 21 million kwh. At 12 cents an hour they save around $55,000 a year. This means it would take more than 40 years for the project to pay for itself.

However, a recent report indicated that the cost of photo-voltaic modules have declined 40% in the past two years and the installation cost has also decreased around 10%. This could also help make solar more affordable.

Economics of Going Green

Business Week highlighted in their Oct. 11-17 magazine the cost for green energy. Some green energy sources such as wind energy has become almost so competitive with coal that it will start making sense to use more wind energy. Some other sources while reliable, are having a hard time finding banks willing to lend money. The chart below highlights the costs of producing electricity based on dollars per kilowatt-hour (range from low to high cost).

Coal- $56-63
Geothermal- $52-112
Wind (on shore)- $62-119
Biomass- $86-189
Wind (off shore)- $143-260
Tidal- $194-453
Solar (c-Si PV)- $226-424
Solar (thermal)- $238-313

Green Ideas

Great Green Ideas
The pictures did not coem through, but you can get a feel of the ideas.

Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip

A green idea that gives you a great hand workout as well. Charge your iPhone by a hand grip! This concept is called You can work it out, designed by Mac Funamizu.

Get out of the shower
20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.

Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor (imagine if this was used with aerobics)

All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.

Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity


The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).

Snow job

The following story from Veritix Sports marketing Newsletter highlights a huge waste of resources to leverage 150 tons of snow a day in Cleveland.

Baseball teams setting up ice rinks at their ballparks during the winter months has become increasingly popular over the past decade but this year the Cleveland Indians’ ballpark is taking that idea a lot farther. The Snow Days attraction at Progressive Field will include 10 snow-tubing lanes descending from a seating section; a quarter-mile ice-skating track around the outfield; a kids play area; a walking trail lit by winter lights; and a fire pit where fans can warm themselves. The attraction will require approximately 150 tons of snow to be delivered per day and will be open daily starting November 26. Tickets will be $5 for general admission and $20 for snow-tubing and ice skating. You can see an artist’s rendering here: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/snowdays.jsp. (Crain’s Cleveland Business, Sept.

Green guide to alcohol

The following link highlights a ranking of alcohol brewers based on their green practices. I do not know how they conducted the evaluation process or how accurate it is:
http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/industry/alcohol.cfm

Wal-Mart green steps

In 2005 Wal-Mart set a goal of being 100% reliant on renewable energy. Since then their efforts have been impressive. the new projects they have launched have been successful at least in one benchmark, having the renewable energy cost the same or less than traditional power. So far 90% of their efforts have met that requirement.

Since 2008, Wal-Mart's solar facilities at 31 stores in California and Hawaii have cut energy costs by $1 million. The solar panels produce up to 30% of the facilities' energy. Wal-mart has also opened new stores that are 25% more energy efficient than prior stores. Even its travel fleet, through better route planning, has become 60% more efficient.

Wal-Mart is second to Kimberly-Clark (177 million kilowatt hours through biomass) by producing 37 million kilowatt hours through biomass, solar, and wind power.

San Diego Deals

The San Diego Padres (MLB) held Go Green Saturday at their September 4 game. As part of the environmentally friendly day, the team offered a ticket package that included four game tickets and four round-trip fares on the MTS trolley/bus system. The team also set up a free bike-parking pavilion near the ballpark. Plus, the transportation organization NCTD offered 2-for-1 fares for all Padres fans on the Coaster. The team also purchased carbon offsets for the game, held a cell-phone recycling collection program, and hosted a green expo.

Green Pens

Paper Mate has introduced a new biodegradable pen as well as a mechanical pencil. They cost a bit more and are designed to be nicer- to help justify the increased price. However, a significant portion of the devices can be recycled in nature and represents a good start to the back-to-school season.
Gil-

Longhorn Energy

Are consumers ready for Texas Longhorns Energy?
Collegiate sports brands plug into unique marketing effort By TERRY LEFTON Staff writer Published July 26, 2010 : Page 01 SportsBusiness Journal July, 2010.

For years, marketers have been employing the power of sports affinities to sell goods and services. Now there is a new and unique demonstration of sports marketing's clout — it's being used to sell electric power.

The University of Texas has signed a six-year deal with Dallas-based Branded Retail Energy, which will likely be the first of a number of deals with the company that will see some of the country's most powerful collegiate sports brands sell consumers electricity and natural gas in deregulated markets. Consequently, Texas Longhorns Energy will be available to consumers in mid-August.

The electricity will be supplied by Champion Energy Services and is being touted as 100 percent renewable energy to alumni and fans in deregulated regions of Texas. Every new account will generate funds for the University of Texas and consumers will receive Longhorns merchandise, memorabilia, access to events, ticket discounts and other benefits as incentives, including likely co-promotions with other UT sponsors.

UT has around 280,000 alumni in its home state, and 450,000 across the country. Its licensed merchandise produces the most royalties of any of Collegiate Licensing Co.'s college programs, and its Bank of America affinity credit card and associated banking program is one of the country's biggest.

While the passion is there, this is a test to see how deep it will run.

Wrapping the program around collegiate affinities and a green message of supporting sustainable energy efforts is what will make it work, said Larry Weil, a longtime sponsorship consultant, who joined Branded Retail Energy as CMO late last year.

"This is not a gimmick. This is renewable energy at a competitive price,"
Weil said. "But when you combine it with the depth of passion people have for their university, it should be a powerful marketing platform, because you can give something to your school and do something green at the same time."

UT was attracted by the promise of reducing its carbon footprint. "We don't have an energy partner, but what really appealed to us was the opportunity to fund renewable energy at our school," said Chris Plonsky, UT's senior associate athletic director. IMG College helped negotiate the deal for UT.
As a hybrid licensing/sponsorship arrangement, the deal took almost a year to complete.

For fans, changing energy providers is akin to changing telecom carriers.
The program will be promoted via in-stadium signage, program ads, as well as Web, TV and radio advertising.

"There were a lot of moving parts from a legal perspective," said longtime sports and entertainment attorney Matthew Pace of Herrick, Feinstein, who handled contracts for Branded Retail Energy on the Texas deal. "Power, just like credit cards, are tough to distinguish in the marketplace and I can see college and pro sports opportunities in the years to come."

Electric power has been deregulated in much of Texas, though curiously not in UT's hometown of Austin, since 2002. Fierce competition in major metropolitan markets (there are 50 meaningful competitors) is evident by the fact that an NFL stadium (Houston's Reliant Stadium) and an MLS jersey (Houston Dynamo/Amigo Energy) are tied to energy providers.

Branded Energy CEO Jason Helms, who conceived the idea, had seen the deregulated Texas energy market change from one that was entirely price-based, to one filled with claims of superior customer service, all supported by heavy media spends to the point where electricity providers became some of the larger prime-time advertisers in places like Dallas and Houston.

"What was needed was a stickier message," Helms said. "Everyone loves their college experience or at least has a favorite college, and here UT is at the top of the heap, so that's where we started."

Where the program goes from here is an intriguing question. There are 14 states with some form of power deregulation and some of the larger ones, like Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio, all have large state universities with huge fan bases.

Energy companies have been spending on sports sponsorships for some time.
Could this hybrid approach be the creation of a separate category? Anyone ready for Packers Power or Consolidated Yankees?

"Energy is a commodity just like credit cards, so it should work," said Rob DiGisi, a former NBA and Bank One credit card marketer, with expertise in affinity marketing, and now a consultant. "But just like credit cards, there should be rewards attached, because the appeal of a vanity plate can be short-lived. There also should be some kind of badge to demonstrate your support to your school. With a credit card, you had something to carry all the time that demonstrated that affinity tie."

Sheetrock that changes

Sheetrock has been created that can help make building walls more environmentally friendly for heating and cooling a house. The Sheetrock is made with microscopic capsules filled with paraffin wax that changes from solid to liquid when the temperature goes over 73 degrees. As the wax melts it absorbs heat and cools the room similar to how melting ice dissipates and cools water. At night when the temperatures drop below 73 degrees the wax hardens which releases heat back into the room. This new product called phase-change drywall is produced by national gypsum and might be produced commercially if there is enough demand.

Environmentalist Jerks

A recent article in Popular Science (August 2010)highlights a recent study that just being exposed to green products (seeing a green TV ad or going into a health store) created a halo effect that makes people more charitable. However this effect changed quickly. After a green purchase, the green consumers were more likely to lie and steal. Thus, the green consumers think they are receiving a license to do bad things since they have done good thing. The goal is for people to do the right thing without thinking they should receive something for it. Just do it for the environment without expecting to receive any "moral capital."

PSA from the Orioles

The Orioles have released a great PSA encouraging fans to recycle. Here is the link: http://www.fancans.com/.

Plastic Everywhere

Some interesting plastic facts-
every person produced 6.3 pounds of plastic that ends-up in landfills each year
Plastic accounts for 16% of all municipal solid waste in the US
50-80% of the waste littering beaches, oceans, and seabeds is plastic
In 2007 6.8% of the total plastic recovered for recycling- this represents recycling 37% of plastic soda bottles and 28% of plastic milk/water bottles
Reusing plastics takes 50% less energy then creating new plastic
300 million metric tons of plastic will be produced throughout the world in 2010
50% of all plastic is made for disposable purposes, 25% goes into long-term usage such as piping, around 40 million tons become textile fibers such as nylon and polyester
Four million tons of BPA are produced every year
A plastic bottle will take 450 year to degrade completely in a marine environment

MLB going greener

MLB announced for Earth Day in April a new software system that will collect and analyze environmental data to help stadium operations throughout the league. The different sport leagues will all be getting more involved in environmental causes, but the message is not always successful for some major events. For example, the World Cup in South Africa later this week is expected to generate a carbon footprint of 2.75 million tons (a nine fold increase over the World Cup in Germany four years ago)) and double the carbon footprint form the Beijing Olympics.

One interesting green step was taken by Nike which has made the Jerseys used by nine teams from recycled plastic bottles from Japan and Taiwan. Each jersey is made from around eight plastic bottles melted and made into a thread- which uses around 30% less energy than manufacturing regular polyester.

From Athletic Business, June 2010.

Stange Fuel sources

Busienss week highlighted some unusual sources of altenrtive fuels. The chart highlighted some very unusual sources such as choclate waste, dirt diapers, turkey parts (beaks, bones, and feathers), human fat (stopped by the governement after a doctor was using real human fat from liposuction surgery), pig urine, beef by-products (mixed with diesel to help power trains), coffee grounds, and cow manure. The cost of innovation!!!

Green Biking

Los Angeles is planning to spend $230 million on 1,700 miles of bicycle paths to be completed by 2015. Besides paths, there will be changing rooms, showers, and bike storage areas. This could be the trend of the future in the US where we are so accustomed to using our cars. Fro example, Houston residents make 95% of their trips by car while in Tokyo 68% of trips are made by bike, subway, or through walking. Other mass transportation projects to reduce reliance on cars are being proposed or developed in Copenhagen, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Jerusalem, and other major cities.

Recent Survey

A recent survey highlighted in Buildings magazine (June 2010)showed that 53% of over 300 respondents to a survey highlighted they had a strategic energy management plan. The majority of those who had plans were in the medical computer/high tech areas while the retail/chain facilities only had energy management plans with 40% of the respondents in that industry segment. A smaller percentage (42%) had a dedicated energy manager.

Who is greener?

A recent CNBC survey highlighted the greenest ten states in teh US based on water quality, legislation, and other variables. Here is the list:

1. Washington
The Evergreen State is living up to its nickname. According to Greenopia, Washington made the top stop because of its high number of LEED buildings, green businesses and renewable energy sources, such as Energy Northwest's Nine Canyon Wind Project.

2. Vermont
One of the state's renewable energy sources is the Searsburg Wind Power Facility, which can power some 1,400 homes a year. Vermont has also attracted a number of green businesses to the stat. Some 100 of them operate within its borders.

3. New York
The Empire State is cited as having low water consumption per capita compared to other states, according to the report. New York also has a large number of green businesses, some 3,000, according to Greenopia.

4. Oregon
Oregon has one of the highest recycling rates in the country at almost 50 percent, according to Greenopia. It was also cited for having a large number of green businesses relative to its population. There are about 600 green businesses in Oregon, according to Greenopia.

5. California
The Golden State gets a large amount of its energy from renewable sources, such as eSolar's Sierra SunTower, pictured here, which can power up to 4,000 homes in Southern California.

6. Nevada
One of the state's renewable energy sources includes ACCIONA's Nevada Solar One. Completed in 2007, it can power more than 14,000 homes a year.

7. Maine
Greenopia cited the high number of LEED-registered and -certified buildings in the state in placing i among the greenest. This Hannaford supermarket in Augusta, Maine achieved the highest-level LEED certification. Opened last year, it has solar panels, utilizes recycled materials and a partial rooftop garden that helps keep the store cool.

8. Colorado
The state has one of the highest concentrations of green businesses, according to Greenopia. In December 2009, solar-power company SolarCity opened a sales office in Westminster, Colo. and has plans to expand into the Denver area.

9. Minnesota
A higher number of green businesses and Leadership in Energy and Environmental. LEED, registered and certified buildings helped propel Minnesota into the top ten. Target Field, pictured at left, achieved LEED silver certification (the third-highest level). The baseball stadium, which opened in April, has recycling stations, water-saving fixtures and utilized recycled building materials.

10. New Hampshire
The state's winning quality, according to the report, is its low energy consumption and emissions per capita.

Discover Magazine article

Discover Magazine had a great feature in the June 2010 issue where they highlighted energy trends…and here are some of them. Residential and commercial energy consumption amounts to 72% of all electricity and 13% of all fossil fuel used in the US. It is estimated that by using more natural light for buildings electricity for lighting usage could be reduced 30-60%. Natural ventilation could help reduce AC usage 20-40% and using natural shading could decrease AC usage another 10%. Lastly, more stringent energy regulations and policies could save another 50-75%.

Currently our energy usage is broken down as follows:
Petroleum- 37%
Natural gas- 24%
Coal- 22%
Nuclear power- 8%
Biomass- 4%
Hydro energy- 2%
Geothermal, Solar, and wind- 1%
Amazingly 57% of all energy is lost during generation, transmission, and use.
The significant amount of lost electricity highlights why we need to implement more smart grid based systems. Transportation is one area with significant energy waste. For example light-duty vehicle consume 3.4% of all energy used in the US. However, these vehicles only convert around 20% of the fuel they consume into useful energy.
The article went on to highlight the potential for biofuel and fuel cell systems. However, one of the most striking facts was that while we graduate around 1,000 college graduates exit each year with training in electrical-power engineering, we will need more than 7,000 such trained professionals in the next five years. Thus, we are not as a country producing enough trained professionals to help lead us to energy efficiency.

TSI Implements Sustainability Program

TSI Implements Sustainability Program
May 11, 2010 3:17 PM
http://clubindustry.com/forprofits/tsi-ecosteps-20100511/

NEW YORK -- Town Sports International Holdings Inc. (TSI) has launched at all of its facilities an EcoSteps initiative, a fully integrated sustainability program, the company announced.

“A healthy planet means healthy living for all of us, which is why we’ve made a company-wide commitment to lessening TSI’s impact on the environment,” COO Martin Annese says. “EcoSteps is a natural extension of our company’s mission to improve health and fitness. More efficient, more environmentally sustainable clubs will give our members better opportunities to work toward both a healthier body and planet.”

TSI aims to reduce energy usage by 20 percent, water usage by 5 percent and recyclable waste by 75 percent during the next three years. This long-term program, which TSI will be working on closely with community leaders and sustainability experts, will educate employees and members about how they can participate to help achieve these goals.

Annese continued, “The plan has been 24 months in the making and takes a holistic look at our entire operation to figure out how to not just “go green” but also how to become more efficient in the process.”

TSI has established a Sustainability Steering Committee reporting directly to Annese.

Additionally, TSI has instituted energy management systems at more than 60 clubs throughout the 158-club network in the United States. It has completed lighting retro-fit projects at 20 clubs, with an additional 30 clubs under way. One hundred of TSI’s clubs and its six regional corporate offices have recycling programs.

The company also is participating in the EPA’s Climate Leaders program with five-year greenhouse gas emission reduction goals pending. In addition, TSI uses the Green Revolution, power-generating exercise equipment, and it has an 80-kilowatt photovoltaic solar platform at its Elmsford corporate office as part of a renewable energy pilot program.

Water wars

The big battle in the future will be over water. One of the biggest users of water are sport fields. In our effort to have the greenest fields possible we sometimes- no normally- over water grass. Grass normally does not need a lot of water from the end of August until the beginning of April. However, many lawns/fields are still water extensively at times when the grass no longer needs as much water. By knowing when the grass should be watered, a facility could possibly save a lot on their water bills and save water! A recent survey showed that hospitals use 7% of their water usage for irrigation. Hotels/Motels used 16%, and schools used 28% of all their water for irrigation. The primary usage for schools are their fields.

National standard

Would we be more inclined to pursue sustainable solutions if we had a national law/standard for recycling? A recent article highlighted the recycling programs underway in Nova Scotia. Organic materials are collected by the municipality and sold to landscapers for use on grounds, golf courses, etc... Every bottle has a 10 cent deposit with 50% being returned to the municipality to cover composting costs. Yard waste is collected in green bin and 20 bags of leaves are collected twice a year. To encourage recycling, the government allows free recycling at municipal facilities. All "old" style dumps are now closed and any new landfills use a bathtub style waste repositories, and new treatment strategies.

Maybe if our government was willing to take some risks and make some hard laws with stiff penalties we might be able to launch some more aggressive disposal/recycling initiatives.

Give me data

The U.S. Green Building Council in 2009 announced that as a pre-condition to LEED certification, new projects will need to provide data concerning energy and water usage. This is designed to address a disconnect between what is designed by architects and engineers- versus what really is going on. Thus, performance information can be compared with actual results. Thus, if a builder claims that a certain amount of energy will be saved by a given fixture, the data will need to be collected to prove accuracy of the claim(s). One of the key benefits to this data will be benchmarking for future facilities to determine what the real results are for various green construction/facility management efforts.

One of the future trends we will see grow over the next couple years are smart meters. besides tracking critical data, these meters can control energy usage. Thus, if peak electrical costs occur at a given time, a smart meter might let the temperature in a building increase one or two degrees during that time to minimize electrical usage then and to save more money. In the future these systems will control all electrical and heating/air conditioning system to dramatically save money.

Safeco Field Green Efforts

Safeco Field getting greener as more garbage composted
In the first three ballgames at Safeco Field this year, 70 percent of the service ware — cups, plates, even eating utensils — used by Mariners fans and employees was recycled or composted.

By Susan Gilmore

Seattle Times staff reporter

PREV of NEXT


MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Pam Moore drops finished bottles into the recycling bin at Safeco Field, where the Mariners are ahead of the game on meeting Seattle's new recycling/composting law.
In the first three ballgames at Safeco Field this year, 70 percent of the service ware — cups, plates, even eating utensils — used by Mariners fans and employees was recycled or composted.

That's a huge increase from last year, when 38 percent didn't go to a landfill.

Seattle Mariners spokeswoman Rebecca Hale said the emphasis on keeping food-serving-and-eating items out of the trash will save the team about $100,000 a year in landfill fees; last year, the team saved $60,000.

Beginning July 1, Seattle will become the first city in the nation where all single-use service ware must be either compostable or recyclable. That means Seattle will stop sending 6,000 tons of plastic and plastic-coated paper products to a landfill, or 225 shipping containers of waste.

While the law doesn't go into effect until July 1, the Mariners decided to start now with the beginning of its season.

There are just 17 garbage cans at Safeco Field, said Scott Jenkins, vice president of ballpark operations. All the others have been replaced with 300 compost containers and 200 recycling bins.

The Mariners have contracted with Cedar Grove Composting to handle the waste. Plastic bottles make up the largest single number of recyclable items at Safeco, Hale said. Beer "glasses" and the cardboard packaging for bobbleheads are plentiful, too.

At Safeco, crews sift through the garbage to pull out plastic bottles. Almost everything else is compostable. Even the plastic beer glasses and eating utensils can be composted. Jenkins said virtually all that's left as garbage are potato-chip bags, wrappers for licorice ropes and tiny condiment containers.

The key to success, said Jenkins, is educating the fans, who want to throw away their beer glasses and plates.

"We're early in the learning curve, but are doing really well," he said.

He envisions a 70 percent compost and recycling rate this year, and it could even get as high as 85 percent.

Dick Lilly, with Seattle Public Utilities, said the July 1 change is part of a package of laws passed by the Seattle City Council, that included a ban on Styrofoam packaging and the failed effort to put a fee on plastic and paper bags.



He said the packaging industry has stepped up to the challenge; there were 70 food-service products that could be recycled or composted two years ago and now there are 600 approved by Cedar Grove.

"As this thing rolls out, restaurants need to do a lot of customer education," said Lilly.

He admitted that this could mean higher costs to the restaurant, but he doesn't think they will be noticed by customers.

Josh McDonald, a state and local government affairs spokesman with the Washington Restaurant Association, said his group is concerned about the costs. "Some (pieces) will be close to even, and some will be 100 times more per piece. When you add it up, that means increased costs."

He acknowledged that Seattle will be one of the few places in the country with such a broad edict. "Because we're the only place in the country to have these requirements, the packaging is still thought boutique and with it will carry a boutique price tag."

McDonald said restaurants operate on a 4.5 percent profit margin and 11,000 jobs were lost in the last quarter because of the economy, so there is a concern about the extra costs that will be generated by the new packaging rules. He didn't know whether the costs would be passed on to the customers or simply absorbed.

Lilly said the average restaurant can save $200 to $400 a month just by composting kitchen food waste.

He said the new ordinance can bring a $250-a-day fine, but the city doesn't plan to impose it, particularly at the beginning when education is needed.

"As long as we know a restaurant chain is making an effort and talking to us, we're usually OK with that," he said.

Hale, with the Mariners, said it will take a little more manpower at the stadium to sort through the recyclable containers, but she believes it's worth the effort if it saves money. She said the hard part will be teaching fans from out of town. Half of the fans come from outside King County.

"For them, it's new and mysterious and they may default to the garbage, even if we put a recycling bin next to it," Hale said.

In 2005, recycling at Safeco was at 12 percent of the waste. In 2006, it rose to 18 percent, then 25 percent in 2007, 31 percent in 2008 and 38 percent in 2009.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com

Southern Cal growing solar

Southern California Edison is expected to install roof-top solar collectors on numerous (100-125 warehouses) roof tops to develop almost 1.5 sqaure miles of roof-tops. The energy from thsi installation is expected to produce enough electircal energy to power 162,000 homes.

Portland LEED

From the April 15, 2010 IAAM newsletter.

In conjunction with NBA Green Week, a league-wide sustainability awareness initiative from April 1-9, the Portland Trail Blazers commemorated the Rose Garden’s LEED Gold certification with a LEED plaque unveiling ceremony on April 9 at the Rose Garden’s North entrance.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver joined Trail Blazers President Larry Miller, Senior Scientist Allen Hershkowitz of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a representative of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to officially recognize the Trail Blazers becoming the first major pro sports team to earn a coveted LEED Gold rating from the USGBC.

“We are proud of this achievement, not only for the progress it represents for our organization, but because it reinforces Portland’s leadership as America’s greenest city,” Miller said. “We see this as an ongoing commitment to sustainability throughout our operations, not just a one-time event. By doing that, we hope to encourage visitors to the Rose Quarter to think and act more responsibly to reduce their own impact on the environment.”

Throughout Green Week, adidas outfitted all 30 NBA teams with 50 percent organic polyester shooting shirts featuring the NBA Green logo. Players also wore NBA Green headbands, wristbands and socks made from 45 percent organic cotton to further promote greater environmental awareness.

“Green Week showcases the NBA’s ability to inspire positive action and is another example of why the league has an outstanding reputation as one of the world’s most responsible sports organizations,” Hershkowitz said. “A healthy environment benefits everyone, and the NBA's continued incorporation of that understanding into its operations proves it takes its commitment to environmental protection seriously.”

Green v. Dollars

When the battle is between green and green (cash), green is king. That is that green efforts have gone by the wayside for many when economic realities come to play. A recent Gallop poll released on Tuesday of 1,014 Americans produced record low responses associated with the environment. Approximately 53% of respondents indicated that economic growth takes precedence to environmental issues. Only 50% worry a "great deal" about drinking water pollution, 33% are concerned about the loss of rain forests, and 31% are concerned about the extinction of plants/animals. Other findings include:
46% today are concerned about waterway pollution, down from 72% in 1989.
44% today are concerned about toxic waste contamination of the air/water, down from 69% in 1989.
38% today are concerned about air pollution, down from 63% in 1989.
28% today are concerned about global warming, down from 41% in 2007.

Gil-

Green Health Clubs

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) just released its first ever Green/Sustainability Survey. Over 130 clubs participated in the study. Results include:
70.7% indicated senior management had a positive perspective on implementing green practices.
33.1% indicated that going green was a high priority.
65% believed implementing green practices would differentiate them from their competitors.
35% indicated that senior management believes green strategies will increase membership growth.
48.9% responded that senior management believes that green practices would increase profits.

For more information visit www.ihrsa.org/research.
Gil-

Many Green Firsts

There is always marketing gold in claiming you are the first or only of a given kind. This impacts LEED certification as well. In the rush to become the first, there are many permutations being explored by marketing wizards. Athletic Business in their March, 2010 magazine list some of the green firsts:

The first athletic facility to receive LEED Platinum is the University of Florida's Heavener Football Complex.

The first recreational center that received LEED Platinum is the Carbondale (CO) Recreation and Community Center

The first college recreation center to receive LEED Gold is the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs recreation Center

The first sports arena in North America to obtain LEED Gold is the ShoWare center in Washington.

The first football stadium to receive LEED certification (Silver) is the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium

The first MLB stadium to receive LEED certification (Silver) is Nationals Park in DC.

The first baseball stadium of any type receiving LEED certification is at Penn State University.

The first athletic complex to receive LEED certification (Silver) is at the University of Connecticut.

The first LEED certified ice rink is at Bowdoin College.

In 2010 two new sport facilities might join the list including the first Platinum recreation building at the University of Arizona and the first LEED Gold arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gil-

Various Green iniatives

The Latest Pan Stadia magazine had a good green facility article new LEED facilities including Target Field which uses solar reflective material on the roof canopy, was built adjacent to public transportation options, and uses low flow water fictures designed to save 4.2 million gallons a year.

The first real LEED sport facility in the US was the Penn State Medlar Field, a $30 million facility that included water efficient landscaping, uses wind powered turbine, and used almost 76% construction waste recycling rate. Another one was the $34 million Detroit Lions trainign center and office which used bamboo flooring and the team took efforts to preserve surrounding wetlands.

The new Target Center has installed a new 2.5 acre green roof which uses pre-grown mats with various native plants. Teh roof used over 11 miles of sustainable, water-efficient irrigation lines and a leak detector that can pinpoint any potential leaks. The builder used 95% of the old roof as building amterial. The system can grab almost an inch of rainfall without any runoff, which can help reduce one million gallons of rain drainign into the Mississippi each year.Green roofs are also being built with several Olympic facilities in England.

Talking about roofs, Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium has a unique bio-frame roof that uses 50% less steel than a regular cantilever roof. You can watch the construction at: http://www.mopt.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-178/.

Lastly, Croke Park in Dublin revealed that the 82,000 capacity stadium generated more than 4,500 tons of C02 annually. Fans have been able to offer carbon offset pledges to benefit the afcility. If a fan uses public transportation or uses less electricty cooking the Gaelic Athletic Association is able to aggregate these energy reduction pledges into CO2 ofsets. Whiel the program was meant to run for six years, the facility became carbon neutral after just one year form the fan offsets.
Gil-

Learning from the airlines

Green America's Real green Newsletter (Winter 2010)has a scorecard for airlines. The airline industry generates enough recyclable waste thrown away to annually amount to 9,000 tons of plastic and 4,000 tons of aluminum. The newspapers and magazines thrown away are enough to fill a football stadium with a pile 230 feet tall. Here is the scorecard

Delta B-
Virgin America B-
Virgin Atlantic C
Southwest C
Continental D
Jet Blue D
American D
British Airways D
AirTran D
United F
US Airways F

Green jobs

The following are some interesting web sites that highlight some green jobs.

greendreamjobs.com
greenjobs.net
jobs.cleanedge.com
jobs.greenbiz.com
jobs.grist.org
renewableenergyjobs.com
jobs.treehugger.com

Wave of green

Maybe the next source for renewable energy will be at the beach. Several companies are already testing energy production systems off the coast of Scotland and Spain to harness the power generated by waves to generate electricity. Imagine stadiums built on the coasts using wave energy to help reduce their electrical needs from the grid.
Gil-

Fuel Cell in a Box

Bloom Energy has unveiled a fuel cell product that can power a small office building, and a home version the size of a bread box could be sold withing a decade and be the size of a bread box and cost around $3,000. Similar systems are already being purchased by some large companies such as Wal-mart, FedEx, Google, and Coca-Cola for around $700-800,000. The systems use air and a fuel (natural gas, ethanol, biogas, etc...) to stimulate oxygen ions that react to create the fuel. Ebay for example uses the industrial version to supply power for 2-3,000 employees and shaved $100,000 of their energy bill.Coca-Cola will deploy the system in a CA plant and they hope to provide 30% of their energy needs and reduce its carbon footprint by around 35%. based on tax and government incentives the systems can pay for themselves in around three years.

Professional sport sustainability report

Mark McSherry has conducted two surveys of professional sports to examine green practices. Some of his findings (from 57 pro teams) include:
Executives are 6 times more likely to expect green programs to increase profits rather than decrease profits.
Almost 50% of the responding teams are developing or considering developing sustainability plans with long/short-term goals.
Over 75% are/will be measuring recycling rates.
Only 20% are or plan to measure greenhouse gas emissions
One quarter of all respondents have a full-time employee dedicated to green efforts or the teams plan to hire someone in that capacity.
About 35% of the teams indicated that the current economic crisis is impacting their green plans.
Almost 50% of the executives thought that implementing a green business strategy will increase profits (up from 38% in 2008).

Sonoma State Recreation Center

The recreation center at Sonoma State College has been built with green in mind including significant use of natural lighting, natural ventilation, fluorescent lighting attached to occupancy sensors, radiant heating in the floor, and solar panels on the roof. More and more recreation centers are becoming the focal point for campus green initiatives.
Gil-

Green Olympics

By Greg Menken Wednesday, February 17, 2010, MediaPost Publications


Sporting Enterprises Race To Be Green

With the opening of the Winter Olympics, athletes race downhill for gold while sporting brands and corporate sponsors compete for green.
Vancouver is the first Olympics to make sustainability part of its official mission statement and claims to be the most eco-friendly games in history. Not to be outdone, the 2012 London Olympic Planning Committee has already declared that it will be the "most green and sustainable" games ever.
While it is difficult to imagine a stadium filled with guys drinking beer out of their hats and sucking down hot dogs as a model of eco-living, the race for green in sports has begun. The Philadelphia Eagles launched its "Go Green" program in 2003, and other teams and leagues have followed suit -- Fenway Park uses solar power for hot water; Yankee Stadium's structural steel is from nearly all recycled sources.
Like the Olympics, other sporting events are going green. MLB's All-Star Games have successively increased their sustainability measures. Last year, the USTA's U.S. Open officially went green, focusing on renewable energy, materials procurement, waste diversion and public awareness.
As sporting events go green, so must corporate sponsors. Lexus, IBM and Canon all played roles at the U.S. Open. As AdAge reports, "'It won't purely be about who's going to pay the millions for [the sponsorship] but what is the sustainability package they bring to the table,' according to sustainability consultant Andrew Winston."
In Vancouver, Coca-Cola pledged its first zero-waste, carbon-neutral sporting event, making the company one of the first major brands to undertake such a complex effort. Why? As AdAge reports, "'... we know from the research that sustainability is important to all of our customers. It has an impact on how customers are perceiving our brand,' says Coke's Thierry Borra."
This fact is not lost on the sports industry. According to a poll of sports executives released by the Sports Business Journal, eco-efforts are being driven by business decisions and the desire by brands to be seen as green leaders. The poll showed that 87% of sports teams are incorporating green because it is an important issue or for its PR value. When asked where sports properties can make the biggest green impact, the second-highest response (29%) was by leveraging the brand to increase awareness of green initiatives.
This last point makes the strongest case for going green in sports. While sporting events may not have the environmental impact of other businesses such as heavy industry, they do have one thing these industries don't -- a large and engaged audience.
It's unlikely that many energy consumers know much about their energy company. However, many of us know every detail about our favorite teams -- it is this audience that provides such a powerful platform for sports to leverage sustainability efforts and communicate a green message to build their brands.
The risk here, of course, is failure. Should Coke fail to deliver on its aggressive green promises in Vancouver, or should London 2012 fall short, these brands and their third-party partners such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and World Wildlife Fund, would be subject to criticism and accusations of greenwashing and loose standards.
Thorough planning is the best way to mitigate such risks -- Coke's planning began with a pilot program in the 2000 Olympics. By taking a deliberate, open and honest approach, sports enterprises can successfully increase their competitive positioning among consumers, and go for the gold.

Greg Menken serves as Vice President and Director of Sustainability at Beckerman Public Relations (www.beckermanpr.com), where he handles the firm's green and cleantech accounts. A LEED AP, Greg is also an active member of the U.S. Green Buildings Council. Reach him here.

SMA tidbits

The following are some facts gleaned from the Stadium Managers Association Conference in Orlando.

The NFL launched their green team program in 2008 and 1/2 the teams in the league are now members.

MLB asked teams to report their energy and recycling data in 2008.

In Seattle every facility over 5,000 square feet needs to monitor and report their greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprint.

Some facilities are highlighting that electricity costs consume almost 15% of their total operating bills.

One study conducted by Aberdeen examined 6,300 companies. Of those who developed energy conservation programs, the best in class saw an energy reduction (electrical) of just 9%. The average reduction was only 2% and the laggard programs actually increased electrical usage/expenditures by 19%. Thus, developing a green program and not giving it the right resources can actually cost more money.

Ford Field has changed it lighting to more energy efficient lighting.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are launching a dry cooler project.

The Texas Rangers are recycling grass clipping, oil, and water.

The St. Louis Cardinals have reduced their energy bills by changing their lights, which helped produce a savings of $10,000 from their utilities.

Several MLB teams have become Energy Star partners including the Braves, Indians, Brewers, Cardinals, Reds, Mariners, and Nationals. On the NFL side three teams have become partners including the Packers, Broncos, and Seahawks.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a commitment form their owners to help go green and and they launched a Go Green program. In 2007 the team purchased 20% of their energy from renewable sources and 2008 purchased 14 million Kilowatt hours from renewable sources-becoming the first NFL team to buy all their energy from renewable sources.

A study showed that fans are willing to walk up to, but no more than 46 feet to throw something into a recyclable container- otherwise they will throw an item into the regular trash. Thus, more recycling bins are needed throughout every stadium.

Gil-

Global-Spectrum doing the green thing

Global-Spectrum's management of the Philadelphia Phillies' ballpark (Citizens Bank Park) helped make the club/park the envy of all other teams in the league. The team/park have purchased biodegradable supplies, purchased renewable energy and a significant recycling program. The goal was to expand from the 2008 recycling rate of 15% which included 251.16 tons of cardboard/white paper and 95.72 tons of plastic, glass,and aluminum.

In 2009 the team did not just do well on the field, but did well in recycling. The club started in April with a 16% recycling rate which included 179.75 tons of trash and 34.82 tons of recycling. The rate grew through the rest of the season and ended in September with an 18% recycling rate which included 213.64 tons of trash and 37.98tons of recycling.

Winter heat

The Olympic Games in Vancouver have a number of green elements. One of the more interesting elements is the conversion of sewage to heat and to warm water. The sewage is drained and then sent through a heat pump that transfers thermal energy to hot water. This heats provides 70% of the annual energy needs needs for the Olympic Village. Pipes buried under the street help transfer the hot water to the buildings. After heating the pipes and water, the sewage is sent back to the sewer system for treatment. This is only one of numerous elements such as green roofs, water recovery systems, transportation systems, group gardens, rooftop solar collectors, and other unique features.
Gil-

Stadium Managers Association

I am currently at the Stadium Managers' Association Conference in Orlando. I was very impressed with several sessions that focused on sustainability. A number of teams are doing their part whether trying to harvest water to recycling grass clippings. A number of stadiums have already developed a partnership with Energy Wise and a number are examining LEED options.

One point that was driven home was that getting and maintaining LEED certification are two different issues and that a number of sport facilities might have received LEED certification, but will they be able to maintain that certification? Are they able to purchase supplies locally and from renewable sources, etc....? Thus, we still face a number of challenges, but efforts are being undertaken.
Gil-

Green Night

The Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL hosted “Go Mean and Green Night” on February 5. The promotion focused on energy conservation and environmental awareness. The City of Charlotte Solid Waste was on hand to promote recycling and collect recyclables; 1-800-GOT-JUNK set up a display touting their services; fans were encouraged to wear green to the game; there was a special ticket deal for fans that took public transportation to the arena; and proceeds from the game benefited OurEarth.org, 1% For The Planet, and Global Green USA – Build It Back Green. (PR)

From Veritix Sports Marketing Newsletter, Feb. 11, 2010, Vol. 9, #5.

It smells like a Rose!

The Rose Garden, home to NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers, has achieved LEED Gold status. The certification, awarded by the US Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental programme, rewards best practices for a building’s energy, water and natural resource performance.

“The announcement by the Portland Trail Blazers that the Rose Garden has achieved LEED Gold certification is an authentic milestone in the greening of professional sports,” said Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist and director of the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Sports Greening Initiative. “Never before has any major league sports arena or stadium achieved LEED Gold status, and it represents an accomplishment with likely consequences well beyond professional basketball.”

The Rose Garden’s sustainability initiatives include ensuring that more than 60% of its waste is diverted from local landfills, including strategies such as post-event sorting. Extensive recycling stations for visitors and a food-waste composting programme with vendors help divert more than 800 tons annually.

The arena, which benefits from a central urban position, also offers good transportation choices for visitors, with more than 30% of attendees choosing public or alternative transportation. The team subsidises transit passes for staff, and uses bikes and electric vehicles for on-site operations.

From Stadia Magazine. http://www.stadia-magazine.com/news.php?NewsID=19232

Changes in California

http://mikes.prof-in-constr-ind-network.com/2010/01/14/governor-schwarzenegger-announces-first-in-the-nation-statewide-green-building-standards-code/

The article above higlights the California Building Standards Commission adoption of a new standard for facilities built in California requiring them to comply with Green Building Standards Code called CALGREEN.

Sustainable Promotion

VERITIX UPDATE, 1/28/10.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (currently a member of USSF D-2, but will join Major League Soccer in 2011) launched the GreenZone Sustainability Kick program last season in an effort to decrease the amount of solid waste generated at its venue on game days. In partnership with Metro Vancouver and the City of Burnaby, the program’s goal is to “raise environmental awareness by providing a means to recycle or compost most of the materials from snack and beverage purchases at home matches.” The program was promoted through signage and in-game messages, and during the 2009 season the amount of solid waste that was recycled or composted jumped from 10% to 70%. (RS)

Green HR

By Greg Menken Wednesday, January 20, 2010 in MediaPost publication:
Beyond Green PR: Green HR

According to research by Harris Interactive, 36% of American workers would be more inclined to work for a green company, while 59% believe their companies aren't doing enough to improve environmental performance.
Research by the Kenexa Research Institute found that companies supporting sustainability initiatives increase employee engagement levels. These initiatives increase employee pride, overall job satisfaction, and willingness to recommend their employer as a good place to work. Another report from Brockmann and Company shows that companies with sustainability programs have higher customer satisfaction, higher employee satisfaction and higher revenues per employee.
Perhaps most importantly, research finds that younger employees are the most eager to work for eco-friendly companies. As our nation's demographics quickly change, companies will come under intense pressure to compete for these younger workers.
While the Harris Interactive report showed that 52% of baby boomers would like their employers to be eco-friendly, greater than 67% of Generation Y workers wanted the same. A MonsterTRAK survey showed an astounding 92% of young workers would choose to work for an environmentally responsible company.
As baby boomers phase out of the workplace, more and more workers will seek out green employers, giving these companies a competitive hiring advantage over their non-green competitors.
Moreover, the Harris Interactive report showed that nearly a third of workers would be willing to sacrifice salary for the satisfaction of working for a green company. Again, Gen Y workers align much more strongly on this point than baby boomers, with Gen Y workers willing to sacrifice 6.2% of salary, as opposed to only 2.5% for baby boomers.
This evidence makes it clear that companies must take their green marketing beyond their external audience and engage their own employees and potential employees. By extending green marketing beyond PR and into HR (human resources), companies will attract better staff, achieve greater worker satisfaction, and increase profitability.

Great idea. If consumers and employees are equally engaged imagine what we can do.

Two Green Strategies from the Pros

The following are from the Veritix sports markeitng newsletter.

You probably offer recycling services in your venue, but what about outside in the parking lot where tailgaters congregate and produce a lot of waste? This past season, 30 tons of cans and bottles were recycled by tailgaters at 10 Carolina Panthers games (and the Meineke Car Care Bowl). The recycling efforts were organized by a group called Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, which set a goal of collecting 20 tons throughout the season. Recycling bags were donated by Bojangles’ and distributed by volunteers. (PR)
The Minnesota Twins are installing a custom-designed Rain Water Recycle System (RWRS) at their new ballpark, Target Field, as part of a sponsorship deal that makes the system's designer, Pentair, the "Official Sustainable Water Provider” for the Twins. The sustainable water system will be the first of its kind at any major sports venue. The system will capture, conserve, and reuse rain water. It is estimated that the system will reduce the need for municipal water at the venue by over 50%, and save more than two million gallons annually. Pentair’s Everpure tap-water filtration systems will also be installed throughout the

Green Golf Balls

I just found out through one of the members on our Linkedin group about a great concept from south of the border. ECOBIOBALL has developed an ecological and biodegradable golf ball with fish food in its core. Thus, if you hit it into a lake, you are feeding the fish. Thus, you never have to worry about hitting three balls into the lake anymore. You can visit their site at www.albusgolf.com.
Gil-

Creating our own energy

Go Green Fitness in Orange, Ct is putting its muscle where is mouth is. Instead of just talking green, the fitness facility is saving and generating green. Through modifying its spinning cycles, a typical 20 bike spinning class can produce over the course of a year 3.6 megawatts of energy. This is enough power to light 72 homes for a month. The facility also utilizes passive house design principles and construction methods to create an air-tight building envelope. Furthermore, through ambient lighting they receive 100% of their daytime light.

Eating right

Eating correctly is good for you and the environment. A news story by Stadia magazine highlighted the following information about efforts to encourage healthy eating:

Cardiff City Stadium joins Healthy Stadia Network


Cardiff City Stadium has joined the Healthy Stadia Network, making it the first Welsh stadium in this prestigious European programme. Compass Group UK and Ireland’s Sport, Leisure and Hospitality sector, which has operated the catering contract at Cardiff City stadium since it opened in July 2009, worked closely with the stadium and its Community Foundation team on the application to join the network, and will continue to link the work of the programme with new healthier options for matchday public in the stadia and kiosks. This will include providing school children with a piece of fruit and a healthy drink option when visiting the ground.

“We’ve been working to promote healthy eating messages both to children and young visitors to the stadium, through creating healthy kids meals for under 16s, as well as introducing a ‘Fresh Fruit Friday’ to encourage Cardiff City Stadium employees and visitors to reach their five a day target,” said Jane Cook, general manager, Compass Group, Cardiff City Football Club.

Compass Group’s Sport, Leisure and Hospitality sector runs the catering contract at the stadium, providing food and beverages for 150m of public kiosks, 14 private hospitality boxes, two restaurants, a banqueting suite and the chairman’s lounge.

Paperless

Should college and professional teams stop using paper? Maybe we can get rid of all paper tickets, programs, media guides, etc... Will reducing the paper used decrease our enjoyment of the game?

Many colleges are now putting their media guides online so it might just be a matter of time when everything is electronic. I think the purest can survive. I rarely see anyone scoring programs anymore, as an example.

Gil-

The future is not far away!

Where will green go in the future? Some of the intriguing ideas being discussed include:

Tests are currently being undertaken to generate electricity from movement- everything from foot traffic to cars can become part of the solution where their movement can generate electricity. Imagine 70,000 fans walking around a stadium generating energy. Imaging a race track where every time a car travels it uses gas, but generates electricity.

PG&E aims to supply 250,000 customers with power generated from space by 2016. The CA utility will utilize technology from Solaren Corp. for 200 megawatts of electricity generated by an orbiting solar cell plant that will send energy to earth through microwaves.

Several companies are developing spray on solar cells that utilize plastic coatings containing microscopic particles of different compounds that act as solar cells. The material can be sprayed onto a roof, rather than installing solar cells. Because the coating can even work on cloudy days, it is expected to be up to three times more effective then current solar cells.

The future is looking very bright.
Gil-

Need a plan?

After doing a significant amount of research on sustainability in sports, I have come to a conclusion. We do not know what we are doing! I do not mean this in a mean way, but in a systematic way...we are lost. Most of the sustainable or green efforts I have seen to date have focused on one activity or random efforts designed to generate publicity or increase morale.

However, for any sustainable efforts to succeed you need a plan. Strategic management focuses on identifying where a company wants to go and then helps establish specific steps to help reach that point. We need the same approach with sustainability. We need sport sustainability plans (SSP's) for every sport organization. These plans need to have a mission statement, specific measurable goals, objectives to help reach those goals, and specific tactics that advance the objectives. Similar to a business plan, an SSP can make sure that everyone in the organization is on the same page and that every initiative is undertaken for a specific reason.

What types of plans have you seen or would you recommend?
Gil-

Gil-

Sustainable Standards for the Olympics?

From FM World.

ISO standard for major events coming

The International Standards Organisation is developing a standard promoting the sustainable management of major events such as Olympic Games.

ISO 20121 is likely to be in place by the time of the London Olympics in 2012, a statement from the ISO said.

Fiona Pelham, chair of ISO/PC 250 committee that is developing the standard, said it will provide a “framework for event planners, venues and other members of the event supply chain who implement, maintain and improve sustainability within their way of working”.

ISO 20121 will take a management-systems approach requiring identification of key sustainability issues like venue selection, operating procedures, supply chain management, procurement, communications, transport and other aspects.

“The future ISO standard will make a great difference to the event industry,” said Pelham. “Just imagine the change in thinking that could follow as the international event industry starts to systematically address their negative social, economic and environmental impacts.”

The first meeting of the committee is set for later this month. Around 30 countries are already involved as participants or observers of the committee’s work.

The UK’s standards institute BSI developed a national standard, BS 8901, after London was granted the 2012 Olympics. The BSI work “generated international interest,” the ISO said.

Among the organisations to have expressed support for an International Standard are the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which hosted the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

How are we Marketing Green?

Green Marketing More of a Trend Than a Fad

Environmental Leader and MediaBuyerPlanner partnered to study Green Marketing through the audiences of five industry publications to help determine if it's a staple or a fad. The report found that 33% of respondents said green marketing was more effective than their normal marketing efforts, with just 7% saying it was less effective. The remainder either did not detect a difference between their regular marketing efforts and their green efforts, or did not know which was more effective. Additional information from the Executive Summary is included for your perusal, and purchase information is available from a link at the conclusion of this Brief.
Companies that view themselves as the most green spend the most on green marketing, observes the report, while those that see themselves as least green spend just a fraction of their marketing budgets on such tactics. Marketers are backing up their beliefs of the company's level of "greenness" with marketing campaigns, rather than creating green campaigns to be part of the trend. The research suggests that management first buys into "greenness" and, later, green marketing, rather than beginning green marketing efforts simply out of a desire to appear green.
71% of firms indicated that they were in the "somewhat green" to "very green" categories, but they tended to believe their customer base thinks them less green than they really arr. This belief is persistent among the respondents, and may indicate why green marketing is on the rise.
Here are some of the key findings explained in the study:
82% of respondents indicated they expect to spend more on green marketing in the future. Among manufacturers, that number is significantly higher. At least half, if not more, of respondents plan to engage in online marketing efforts in the future.
28% of marketers themselves think green marketing is more effective than other marketing messages, compared to 6% of marketers who think it is less effective. Management is even more optimistic, with 46% of them indicating a belief that green marketing is more efficacious. Just 23% of those in operations think green marketing is more effective.
Companies with smaller marketing budgets tend to spend more on green marketing. Firms with a marketing budget of under $250,000 spend just over 26% on green marketing, while those with budgets of more than $50 million spend 6% on green marketing.
The most popular medium for green marketing was the internet, with
• 74.2% of respondents having spent money online, followed by
• Print (49.8%
• Direct (40%)
• Outdoor (7%)
• Radio and TV (7%)
• Mobile (6%)
29% of marketers with budgets between $10 million and $50 million, and 25% of those with budgets of more than $50 million, used outdoor, compared to 7.3% for all marketers.
Mobile was also a popular medium for marketers with the highest budgets:
• 14% of those in the $10 million to $50 million budget category spent money on mobile
• 16% in the more than $50 million budget category spent money on mobile
• Compared to 6% for all marketers
Those firms that used the most trackable media are also those that said green marketing worked better than the average marketing message.
• 48% of respondents who employed direct marketing in their media mix said that it was more or much more effective, much like those who used internet (43%)
• That contrasts with those respondents who had employed TV, 25% of whom said it was more effective than average, indicating that green marketing works better than those who don't or can't measure results think it does.
Direct-oriented media showed the more positive results when asked if customers would pay more for green products or to a green company:
• Of the people who used the two least trackable media, TV and outdoor, only 29% and 25% respectively indicated that customers would pay more
• That compares to 44%, 42% and 46% for internet, print and direct respectively
Larger companies are more likely to target employees rather than customers:
• Companies with media budgets of more than $10 million annually showed a much higher proclivity to have their own employees as their target audience, with customers being targeted in only 70% of their efforts
• Firms with budgets less than $250,000 were about 80% more likely to target customers directly, and only about half targeted their own staff
50% of marketers themselves indicate they have complete or consultative control of green marketing, while 57% of PR folks say that have control of the sustainability program. Sales and operations, on the other hand, are skeptical that marketers have so much control of the sustainability programs, with just 41% and 21% respectively saying control lies in the hands of marketers. However, those in management tended to agree that control of the sustainability program is in the hands of marketers, at 50%.
About half of companies reported that they are consciously taking steps to become more green. The most popular actions are:
• Conserving energy in operations, at 59%
• Changing products to reflect greener values (such as changing ingredients, packaging or intended use), at 54%
And the Executive Summary observes that nearly half of respondents said the decision-makers at their companies hold green marketing in high regard, compared to just 15% who hold it in low regard. Companies with decision-makers who have a low regard for green marketing tend to be those with the larger marketing budgets between $10 million and $50 million per year, where more than a quarter indicated that their decision-makers held green marketing in low regard. Smaller companies, concludes the report, may believe green marketing to be more effective than larger companies do.

Center for Media Research
(c) 2010 MediaPost Communications, 1140 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001

Head making a green statement

Joe Hajducky, District Sales Manager for HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports (and a graduate of our program at UNH) just sent me a press release for HEAD. They are working with Cool Earth to protect 7,000 acres of rain forest. Read the article at: http://www.head.com/corporate/cool_earth/.