Ever considered the environmental impact of one of your favorite team’s games?
The Philadelphia Eagles have. They say,
“The major source of game-related CO2 came from travel activities and accommodations. Fans, media, and teams traveling by air, bus, and car will generate more than 10,900 tons of CO2–about 99% of the event’s total carbon footprint.”
So what are they doing to change it?
The Eagles and Rams are two NFL teams leading the charge to go green.
The Eagles provide a few “factoids” to their fans as an encouragement to begin thinking about how important small things, like recycling, are to our environment and quality of life.
How’s this for some food for thought from the Eagles green factoids page:
WE EACH THROW OUT OUR OWN WEIGHT IN PACKAGING EVERY MONTH.
IN JUST ONE WEEK OF RECYCLING, WE CAN EACH SAVE 17 TREES.
EACH OF US GENERATES 4.5 POUNDS OF TRASH PER DAY.
So what are the Eagles doing to turn their environmental impact around?
- Utilize solar energy to eliminate 26,400 pounds of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) emissions per year–the amount of carbon emissions saved equate to planting 67 trees each year.
- Purchase enough wind energy to power all 10 home games.
- Reimburse employees who purchase wind energy through the PECO Wind and New Jersey Clean Power Energy programs.
The Eagles are the first organization to pick up this type of cost for employees.
The typical environmental benefit of a Philadelphia power company’s wind energy program is the same as planting about 11 million trees or not driving 144 million miles.
Is your favorite pro/college team doing anything to offset their environmental impacts? Do you offset your carbon footprint from traveling to your big games of choice in any way?
Share in the comments, we’d all love to learn some creative ways to follow our teams in green fashion!
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I’m here.
