FINAL WHISTLE www.stadia-magazine.com Showcase 2020 162
Kelley Martin, director of operations at
the Green Sports Alliance looks to the
future of the sports greening movement
ecently, hundreds of climate change
advocates swarmed the eld during halftime
at a Harvard versus Yale football
game, drawing attention to the need for
urgent climate action. It’s clear to see that
business as usual not going to serve our
industry any longer.
At the Green Sports Alliance, it leverages the cultural
and market in uence of sports to promote healthy and
sustainable communities where we live and play. It has
been successful in creating valuable resources for our
industry in the core areas of energy, food, procurement,
transportation, venues, waste, and water. It just completed
a refreshed playbook on greener cleaning in sports
facilities, educating users on how to reduce adverse impacts
on the health of athletes, fans, and the environment. 2020
will feature resources on e-waste, zero-waste initiatives,
and more, as we continue to positively impact the current
actions of our industry.
In 2019, the United Nations launched the Sports for
Climate Action Framework with two key objectives: to
promote a set of principles for the global sports community
to adopt in order to combat climate change; and to use
sports as a unifying tool to drive climate awareness and the
action among global citizens.
Dozens of stadia, professional sports teams, and
universities have signed on, committing to support
the pledge by implementing ve UN Climate Action
Principles pertaining to promoting environmental
responsibility, reducing overall climate impact, educating
for climate action, promoting sustainable and responsible
consumption, and advocating for climate action through
communication. e time for the sports industry to act is
now. Increased consumer awareness of the global climate
issue at hand translates into business risk if it doesn’t act
immediately. In the meantime, there is continued business
risk if the sports industry is not seen as doing enough
to actively participate in driving meaningful change to
its operations.
e Alliance encourages stadia to support the UN
Sport for Climate Action Plan using a forward-thinking
lens and that we all move towards an action-oriented
approach. One way to work towards implementing the ve
Climate Action Principles is via the implementation of
formal measurement and tracking systems at each stadium.
Sustainability measurement tracking allows benchmarking,
assists with optimizing e ciency, ROI and cost-savings,
and gives an opportunity to share, educate, and advocate
for climate action by providing insight on how a venue may
reduce its overall climate impact.
Utilizing measurement programs provides vital insight
into maintenance needs, weatherization information, and
tracks over-usage trends of water or energy per building
zone. is information, coupled with fan and sta reviews,
contributes to overall wellness and occupancy satisfaction,
improving the guest and employee experience. All of these
aspects are crucial for undertaking systematic e orts to
promote greater environmental responsibility within the
sports industry.
We need to unite together to signal to the sports
industry market that the time to create real climate action
is now. We have the opportunity to leverage the cultural
in uence of sports – we need to do it today, and we need
to do it boldly. We are all playing for the next generation
and we must be held accountable by our industry peers
to do the right thing. ■
e Green Sports Alliance is the environmentally-focused trade
organization with members from around the sporting world (teams,
leagues, conferences, venues, corporate partners, governmental agencies,
athletes, and fans) committed to creating awareness and dedicated to
creating meaningful change towards a more sustainable future.
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
Auditoria Online Reader Inquiry Service ......... 123
Belden ................................................................... 43
Bosch Rexroth AG ................................................. 95
Bose ......................................... Outside Back Cover
Buckingham Group Contracting ....................... 115
CEIA SpA ............................................................... 11
Cisco ................................................................. 58-59
Cox Architecture ................................................... 99
Daktronics ........................................................... 135
Forward Associates Ltd ..................................... 111
Funktion-One Research Ltd ............................... 119
GSM Sella GmbH................................................. 131
Harman ............................................................ 16-17
IDOM ..................................................................... 8-9
Iowa Rotocast Plastics Inc ................................ 147
KSS Design Group Ltd ................................... 26-27
L-Acoustics ........................................................... 25
Manica Architecture ............................................. 22
M-E Engineers Inc ................................................ 33
MEIS Architects ............................................... 34-35
Midstream Lighting ............................................ 139
Mondo SpA ........................................................... 107
Musco Lighting .........................Inside Front Cover
Oak View Group ................................................... 69
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics ................ 143
Sidekick USA ............................. Inside Back cover
SMG Sportplatzmaschinenbau GmbH ............ 155
Stadia Online Reader
Inquiry Service ............................... 77, 91, 127, 155
Stadium Managers Association ......................... 13
Unitech System ................................................... 151
Vanguardia Consulting ....................................... 87
Vision4Venue GmbH .......................................... 103
THE FUTURE OF
SPORTS AND
SUSTAINABILITY
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