Be Proud, Sports Fans: Eagles & Phillies Make Green Strides

Between the underway Eagles season and the Phillies wrapping up their season yesterday afternoon sports are on Philadelphians brains (per standard, this is Philly.)

A recent NRDC report discussed the National Resources Defense Council’s work with national sports organizations and the importance of environmental education for fans. Many teams are actively working towards sustainability within their organizations.

So what’s happening on Philly fields? Here’s a rundown on some of the strides Philadelphia teams are making.

Phillies

The Phillies ‘red goes green’ campaign has been active since 2008. We’ve discussed their initiatives in the past, here’s an update on some of the Phils green work:

• The Phillies partnered with the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society on their tree-planting campaign, Plant One Million. For every homerun scored this season by a Phils player, a tree was planted.
• They kept their spot as the MLB’s #1 purchaser of renewable energy among MLB teams. This past spring the Phillies purchased more than 22 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Renewable Energy Credits matching 100% of their electricity usage with wind and solar generation. Much of this energy is generated from local sources – including a portion from Pennsylvania-based renewable energy supplier, Community Energy, Inc.
• And, we can’t forget about Phil the Can – the interactive robot-can responsible for informing fans how to properly dispose of recyclabes.

Eagles

In 2010 the Eagles announced aspirations to be the ‘greenest stadium in the world.’ Today they are, and as a life long fan I could not be more proud! (Though I wouldn’t mind winning the next few games by more than a few points.)

Some of the policies & procedures Eagles implemented with their ‘Go Green’ campaign to achieve this awesome goal include:

• The Linc is the first stadium ever that’s capable of generating all of its own electricity. In 2010 the Eagles began installing 2,500 solar panels, 80 20-ft high wind turbines and a generator that runs on natural gas and biodiesel. The solar panels work through a tracking mechanism in the panels – the first of their kind in Pennsylvania! The panels follow the sun’s rays thropugh the day, maximizing the solar electricity generated.
• The Eagles offset 100% of their travel footprint by planting over 3,000 trees in wild refugees in Louisiana.
• Conservation… the cooking grease used to make game day grub is converted into biodiesel, which is then used to power equipment.
• The Birds have recycled and composted more waste than the trash created by 1,900 Americans per year, saving 3 million pounds of waste from landfills.

Congrats, Eagles! We’ve come a long, long way from our days at crusty Veterans stadium.

Coming soon on GPB… how to be a greener fan!