A Greener Super Bowl?

To call the Super Bowl a green event would obviously be grossly inaccurate. But it does bare mentioning that the National Football League is beginning to make progress toward an eventual (one can hope) carbon neutral Super Bowl.

The air travel alone for both teams and NFL staff members emitted 571 tons of greenhouse gas. Of course none of that takes into account the air travel of the spectators or the vast array of environmentally hazardous products, processes or carbon emissions involved in staging the actual event. Bottom line, there is a long way to go.

However, for the first time in league history the NFL used Renewable Energy Credits to off-set the 571 tons of carbon travel mentioned above. In addition, through a series of local initiatives, the NFL began laying a framework for future Super Bowls by which they could lessen the impact on the host city's environment. To give you some idea of the new green-friendly activities the NFL got involved with for Super Bowl XLII in Arizona, here is a brief list:

Solid Waste Management/Recycling - Comprehensive solid waste management will be implemented at major NFL event facilities. This project diverts waste from local landfills through recycling and reusing potential waste materials. Targeted sites include University of Phoenix Stadium, the NFL Experience football theme park, and the Super Bowl XLII Media Center.

Prepared Food Recovery - Extra prepared food from Super Bowl events will be collected for donation in partnership with Waste Not, a local food recovery organization, with support from other major food banks in the area. Food recovered through this effort will go to soup kitchens, shelters and other local organizations that provide meals to people in need.

Materials Donation - Decorative materials, building materials, office supplies and other reusable items will be recovered and donated to local nonprofit organizations. Some materials are appropriate for reuse while others will be used as fundraising auction items. The local United Way chapter is arranging for distribution of these items to regional nonprofits. A local company, Dircks Moving, is supplying collection and storage services for all donated materials following Super Bowl events.

Sports Equipment and Book Donation Project- The Super Kids-Super Sharing Sports Equipment and Book Donation project was developed in partnership with the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL Youth Education Town (YET) and more than 50 schools in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Students will bring usable items to their schools in January. These items will be collected and donated to schools and youth organizations throughout the area.

Greenhouse Gas Reduction/Renewable Energy - Renewable energy will be used at the University of Phoenix Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLII, and the NFL Experience Football Theme Park located nearby. Salt River Project, the local utility company, is providing the power from renewable energy projects in Arizona and California. Energy sources include wind, solar, geothermal and landfill gas.

Reforestation Projects - Several thousand tree seedlings will be planted as part of the NFL's overall greening program. Two large reforestation projects have been developed at the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and the nearby White Mountain Apache Reservation. Both of these areas were devastated by wildfires five years ago. Local partners include the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Salt River Project (SRP), the US Forest Service, Home Depot Foundation, the Arizona State Foresters Office, and RBF Consulting, a local environmental engineering firm.

Actually, the NFL planted a total of 10,000 trees in the Arizona area. Does the NFL have a long way to go before anyone calls the Super Bowl a Super Green Event? No doubt. But I do think they deserve credit for making strides and putting this on their radar screen. You don't make the largest spectacle in the world carbon-neutral overnight, in one year, or even three years. But you have no chance of getting there without taking some initial baby steps. Applaud the NFL for doing just that - taking a step in the right direction.

"When we talk about all these tree plantings, are 10,000 trees enough to absorb the carbon dioxide from all of our events? I'm not even going to make that determination," he said. "But here's what we decided about this. We're going to go ahead and do what we're going to do anyway, and if we wait for all the arguments about how many trees to plant and how valid is this and how valid is that, you know, we might be talking about Super Bowl 52 instead of 42." - Jack Groh, NFL

source [CP]
source [NFL]

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