How Sports Stadiums Are Going Green

TIME

Climate Pledge Arena's unparalleled commitment to sustainability earned it the title of the world’s first net-zero certified stadium last year. But it's not alone. Around the world, sports venues and stadiums are taking similar steps.

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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:02 Last year, Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Krakens,

00:06 was certified as the world's first net zero stadium.

00:09 Fans get free rides on the city's monorail to home games,

00:13 an incentive to leave cars at home.

00:15 The arena's deep fryers and dehumidifiers

00:17 run on electricity from renewable energy sources.

00:20 Game notes and statistics that were previously printed

00:23 are now emailed to journalists and managers.

00:26 And the water that comes out the back of the electric-powered

00:28 boney is collected from the stadium's roof.

00:31 Around the world, other sports venues and stadiums

00:38 are taking similar steps.

00:40 The roof of the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam

00:42 is covered by more than 4,200 solar panels, which,

00:46 alongside a wind turbine and a giant stadium battery,

00:49 help power the venue.

00:50 At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta,

00:52 energy efficient design reduces electricity usage by 29%.

00:56 And fans are offered a free bicycle valet service

00:58 on game days.

00:59 In 2008, Nationals Park in Washington, DC,

01:02 became the first stadium in the US

01:04 to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

01:06 certification.

01:08 The stadium installed energy efficient floodlights

01:10 and diverted 83% of its construction waste

01:13 from landfills.

01:14 Since then, more than 50 stadiums in North America

01:17 have received LEED certification.

01:21 There's no authoritative estimate for the sports

01:23 industry's climate impact.

01:25 There are indications that travel-to-games,

01:27 combined with construction of stadiums,

01:28 accounts for the majority of emissions produced.

01:31 The most obvious way to reduce emissions

01:32 associated with construction is to avoid

01:35 building new stadiums altogether.

01:36 But less drastic steps can make a difference too.

01:39 Climate Pledge Arena, for example,

01:41 reduced emissions by retaining the 44 million pound

01:44 roof from the original Seattle Center Coliseum.

01:47 Travel-related emissions, meanwhile,

01:49 can be difficult to cut.

01:50 But one potential solution is to adjust

01:52 how tournaments are structured to reduce flight times

01:54 as much as possible.

01:56 On top of these challenges, stadiums

01:58 must ensure their efforts result in meaningful change.

02:01 Otherwise, they risk being accused of greenwashing.

02:03 Last month, the Intuit Dome, the future home

02:05 of the Los Angeles Clippers that aims

02:07 to be the most sustainable arena in the world,

02:09 quietly backed out of a deal with carbon credit trader

02:12 aspiration after US regulators opened an investigation

02:15 into whether the firm had misled customers

02:18 about the quality of its offsets.

02:19 In Seattle, Kraken fans certainly

02:24 seem to be buying into the climate-driven mission.

02:27 On online forums, fans question whether giveaways

02:29 are compatible with waste reduction efforts

02:32 and whether they can bring reusable cups into the venue.

02:34 And a survey of season ticket holders

02:36 showed that free public transport

02:38 is the second most popular benefit after access

02:40 to playoff tickets.

02:41 Efforts like these demonstrate that sports venues

02:44 and the central role that they play in many communities

02:46 can encourage fans to take a more sustainable mindset.

02:50 (gentle music)

02:53 (gentle music)

02:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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