Newsletter Stories


Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Green Sports Alliance: Helping Teams and Venues

FSC US President Corey Brinkema, presenting an FSC-certified baseball bat (by Combat) to Commissioner Selig, along with Scott Jenkins, VP of Ballpark Operations for the Seattle Mariners and Chair of the Green Sports Alliance. (© Green Sports Alliance)© Green Sports Alliance

December 11, 2013


With more than 200 members,including 90 professional sports teams and 116 venues, the Green Sports Alliance has experienced dramatic growth since launching in 2011 (with six teams and five venues), a sign of the latent demand in the sector for action to enhance environmental performance. 

The Alliance, which is open to any sports team, venue, league or collegiate program, supports its members in their efforts to reduce waste, conserve energy and water, and source more environmentally friendly products, among many other ongoing initiatives and accomplishments. Members are integrating sustainability into their core operations, engaging fans, and saving substantial sums of money in the process. 

Consider these examples: 

  • In November 2013, the F1 US Grand Prix used compost collected during the 2012 races to fertilize the outside of the track, reducing waste and synthetic fertilizer. 
  • The Solar Pavilion at Chase Field, where the Arizona Diamondbacks play, includes 336 solar panels that general 100,000 kWh of solar energy, enough to power the lights for 11 home games. 
  • The Red Sox, in partnership with National Grid, Bonneville Environmental Foundation and the Natural Resources Defense Council installed a solar thermal system at Fenway Park, avoiding 18 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Rogers Arena, where the Vancouver Canucks play, has earned LEED certification and is implementing a “zero waste” policy, improving from 12% waste diversion from the landfill to 80% diversion by the end of the 2017 season.  

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Teams and venues across sports leagues are currently pushing their sustainability strategies even further, saving money and improving environmental performance.  

The annual Green Sports Alliance Summit serves as a platform for the sports community to unite around sustainability – bringing together more than 600 industry stakeholders to learn from 80+ leaders and engage their peers in meaningful dialogue around better environmental practices and proven solutions that help to advance the green sports movement. The fourth annual Green Sports Alliance Summit will take place in Santa Clara, CA July 21-23, 2014. The 2014 program will cover the day’s most critical topics in professional and collegiate sports greening via a dynamic mix of workshops, case studies, round tables, leadership plenaries,keynotes and venue tours. Held in the tech capital of the world amongst many iconic professional and collegiate sports teams, the 2014 Summit is poised to be an exciting and influential gathering. 

The Alliance has a strong commitment to sustainability throughout the annual Summit – printing all materials on FSC-certified paper and highlighting a variety of FSC products to attendees. 

At the 2012 Summit Evening at the Ballpark event, Scott Jenkins, Vice President of Ballpark Operations for the Seattle Mariners and Chairman of the Green Sports Alliance, presented an FSC-certified baseball bat to Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. Commissioner Selig was the recipient of the 2012 Green Sports Alliance Environmental Leadership Award. 

FSC is very pleased to be working with the Green Sports Alliance to advance opportunities for FSC-certified products within the world of professional sports. Stay tuned for Green Sports Alliance specific announcements in the months ahead.