Sporting events use a massive amount of energy and create a lot waste. No matter what color your favorite team’s jersey is, they could all use a little more green!
Professional and collegiate sports leagues are starting to catch on to the need to be more green and they’re getting help from the National Resource Defense Council. In 2010, the NRDC helped create the Green Sports Alliance. The Green Sports Alliance is a non-profit that aims to help sports teams, venues and leagues enhance their environmental performance. They bring together venue operators and team executives with environmental scientists who help them develop solutions for their environmental challenges. They take a look at every aspect of the game, from purchasing decisions to transportation choices, to find ways they can reduce their environmental impact.
Some of the actions taken by teams and venues who participate in the Green Sports Alliance include the installation of solar panels and green roofs, recycling programs, energy retrofits in venues and water and energy reduction programs.
One sport that seems to stand out with their promotion of green practices is NASCAR. When you first think about NASCAR, you probably picture all those cars producing a lot of unnecessary emissions. And you wouldn’t be wrong. But NASCAR recognized that and has been promoting their green program for several years now. They use solar power in some locations and have an active tree planting program to counteract the emissions produced on-track. They claim to be the sports leader in renewable energy and to have the largest recycling program in sports. Whatever the facts may be, they promote and encourage green living every week during their race which at least gets the message out to a wide audience.
All of this is definitely a great start. Any time leaders in our society (which, let’s face it, includes athletes) promote green living, it sets a great example for the rest of us and shows everyone that this is the new norm. Green living is now just a necessary part of everyday life.
So – let the green games begin!