Going for the Goal: Major Sports Leagues Discuss their Commitments to Fighting the Climate Crisis at NYC’s Climate Week

Professional hockey, baseball, basketball and NASCAR are teaming to address the climate crisis at NYC Climate Week

By Madison Gusler

12/29/2024

Hard Rock Stadium (Scott Lake)

In February of 2020 my dad had the opportunity to attend Super Bowl LIV hosted at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. I was excited, for several reasons; I’m a football fan, I’d been in Miami a few weeks prior and was amazed at some of the infrastructure being set up for the event, and I was excited to watch JLo and Shakira perform the halftime show. But the one aspect of the game I was most ecstatic about was the Superbowl being plastic free.

That year Hard Rock Stadium met its pledge to phase out 99.4% of its single use plastics – so plastic free with the exception of souvenir soda cups and ice cream helmet bowls available to fans. The stadium now sells drinks in recyclable aluminum cups and water in cans. They also provide reusable water bottles for staff.

This amazed me. Not only was an NFL team introducing efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, they were using their influence as the host of a national event to reach an audience that may not be as concerned with climate issues. This ‘zero-waste Superbowl’ made headlines, not only for raising awareness on climate issues, but also showing that it is possible to make change on a large scale.

I was inspired by the potential of sports as an effective method for conveying sustainable ideas to wider, uninterested audiences. So was the Green Sports Alliance, an organization working with the NFL to plant trees in the host city, offset Superbowl energy use and reduce waste. Having realized the sustainable potential of sports years earlier, the Green Sports Alliance has been doing great work promoting sustainability in the sports industry, which is why I was excited to attend their Climate Week event in collaboration with Solutions House NYC and Futerra, Major League Greening.

Attending this talk were representatives from the NHL, NBA/WNBA, MLB, and NASCAR (the NFL representative was unable to attend due to health issues). Heads of sustainability from each league were present to discuss their work with the Green Sports Alliance, the progress they’ve made in their space on reducing carbon emissions and decreasing their contributions to the climate crisis, along with their plans to continue making these efforts.

They made clear that this momentum is a collaborative process, these leagues meet quarterly to share best practices and draw on their collective knowledge and experiences to overcome obstacles and find solutions. Some of the major themes I noticed among this group is their focus on innovation, authenticity and messaging.

“Sports has a real opportunity to drive this type of awareness,” said Omar Mitchell, VP industry growth and sustainability at the NHL. The NHL has been committed to environmental sustainability since 2010, following a mandate from Commissioner Gary Bettman to promote sustainable business practices across the league. While introducing environmental efforts into the league, the NHL has made efforts to be authentic and accountable, providing sustainability reports since 2014.

“Cold weather and freshwater are integral aspects of hockey as a sport,” said Mitchell. A warming climate will have a direct impact on the sport and culture of ice hockey. “Research has shown, by 2050, 30% of all natural ponds in Canada will no longer freeze. We need to make sure that we’re addressing these concerns in a meaningful way and something that is relevant.”

 Often when you try and speak about sustainability, it falls a little flat. But once you start talking about it in terms of innovation, technology, and new opportunities to reach audiences, then it seems so much easier to sell.

—Aileen McManamon, a board member with Green Sports Alliance

These groups have worked to meet their communities and consumers at their level, from education to adaptation on climate solutions. This includes helping stadiums update their waste management processes, using more efficient lighting options, and providing insights that help stadiums save on expenses.

This last season, NASCAR has decided to focus their efforts on how the league approaches recycling. “It’s more than just putting bins in a racetrack and expecting people to do the right thing,” explains Riley Nelson, head of sustainability at NASCAR. NASCAR events often occur in very rural spaces, where household recycling isn’t always a norm, so the league attempts to meet fans at their level and promote education within their communities.

“Every single event looks different because every single community looks different and we can’t assume that the same community is going to have the same reaction,” said Nelson.

Annie Horn, social responsibility program director at the NBA/WNBA, discussed their recent efforts to improve climate communications between the league and their fans. Horn discusses the NBAs new partnership with The Cool Down, a climate media company. They are working together to create fun, engaging, educational and approachable content for their fans about the work the NBA/WNBA is doing to become more sustainable.   

“Often when you try and speak about sustainability, it falls a little flat,” said Aileen McManamon, a board member with Green Sports Alliance. “But once you start talking about it in terms of innovation, technology, and new opportunities to reach audiences, then it seems so much easier to sell.”

While I appreciate these sports working to reduce their carbon footprint and recognizing the potential they have to inspire change among a vast audience, after attending this talk, I don’t think they’ve done enough to educate the public. They discuss working to embed their environmental practices into their leagues and reducing waste in every aspect of their business, which are all good things. But this idea of getting your house in order before engaging the public in a meaningful way doesn’t translate. 

I think it’s important to not only showcase environmental practices, but to explain changes these industries are making. This summer NASCAR introduced an EV race car to wide disapproval by fans who feared this historic league was going to change in a way that’s vital to the sport. The immense blowback may have been avoided if they explained from the beginning that they weren’t trying to change the league but just educate and further awareness around the technology. 

All these changes mean nothing if they don’t explain the thought process and reasoning behind them. The NHL should go beyond reducing their emissions and becoming more energy efficient, and begin discussing the impact of a warmer climate on their sport with their fanbase. They need to explain that these changes are not made as an inconvenience for attendees, but a decision made to help reduce their contributions to the climate crisis. This would inspire discussions about the crisis’s impacts on the sports and our world, while showcasing that simple changes that go a long way are possible, inviting sports enthusiasts to join them in the attempt to make the world a better place.