Newsletter Stories


Wednesday, 05 December 2018
New Paper Playbook for Sports Organizations

December 5, 2018


Professional and collegiate sports organizations use a lot of paper - in concessions, restrooms, promotions, marketing, office operations, and cleaning. Yet after surveying its membership, the Green Sports Alliance (an organization representing 600 organizations across 15 leagues) – found that few had formal paper policies in place. And while recycling and composting were top of mind, the concept of responsible sourcing of paper products was still somewhat novel.

In response, the Alliance, FSC and the Environmental Paper Network developed the “Paper Use Playbook” to serve as a resource to sports teams, leagues and venues. The Playbook includes sections on why forests matter, how to eliminate wasteful use of paper, and how to choose responsibly. The Playbook also highlights case studies of America’s Cup, Marriott International, the London and Rio Olympics and the Portland Trailblazers to provide examples of organizations working to use paper responsibly.

The Playbook was sponsored by Kimberly-Clark Professional, for which FSC and our partners are extremely grateful.

In the months ahead, FSC will be working with the Green Sports Alliance and Environmental Paper Network to identify partners in the sports sector who want to apply the lessons from the Playbook to their own operations. We will also begin hosting webinars and other events for sports organizations, to help raise the importance of paper use and support their efforts on the path to sustainability.

If you are a sports organization interested in learning more, please contact Brad Kahn.

Read the Paper Use Playbook.