Welcome to Sustainable Sport Solutions

The idea behind this blog is to help share best practices so please share what you have seen or done to help make sports/fitness greener.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

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.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

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-

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

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-

Thursday, February 11, 2010

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.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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