Climate Pledge Arena's unparalleled commitment to sustainability earned it the title of the world’s first net-zero certified stadium last year. But it's not alone. Around the world, sports venues and stadiums are taking similar steps.
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00:02 Last year, Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Krakens,
00:06 was certified as the world's first net zero stadium.
00:09 Fans get free rides on the city's monorail to home games,
00:13 an incentive to leave cars at home.
00:15 The arena's deep fryers and dehumidifiers
00:17 run on electricity from renewable energy sources.
00:20 Game notes and statistics that were previously printed
00:23 are now emailed to journalists and managers.
00:26 And the water that comes out the back of the electric-powered
00:28 boney is collected from the stadium's roof.
00:31 Around the world, other sports venues and stadiums
00:38 are taking similar steps.
00:40 The roof of the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam
00:42 is covered by more than 4,200 solar panels, which,
00:46 alongside a wind turbine and a giant stadium battery,
00:49 help power the venue.
00:50 At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta,
00:52 energy efficient design reduces electricity usage by 29%.
00:56 And fans are offered a free bicycle valet service
00:58 on game days.
00:59 In 2008, Nationals Park in Washington, DC,
01:02 became the first stadium in the US
01:04 to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
01:06 certification.
01:08 The stadium installed energy efficient floodlights
01:10 and diverted 83% of its construction waste
01:13 from landfills.
01:14 Since then, more than 50 stadiums in North America
01:17 have received LEED certification.
01:21 There's no authoritative estimate for the sports
01:23 industry's climate impact.
01:25 There are indications that travel-to-games,
01:27 combined with construction of stadiums,
01:28 accounts for the majority of emissions produced.
01:31 The most obvious way to reduce emissions
01:32 associated with construction is to avoid
01:35 building new stadiums altogether.
01:36 But less drastic steps can make a difference too.
01:39 Climate Pledge Arena, for example,
01:41 reduced emissions by retaining the 44 million pound
01:44 roof from the original Seattle Center Coliseum.
01:47 Travel-related emissions, meanwhile,
01:49 can be difficult to cut.
01:50 But one potential solution is to adjust
01:52 how tournaments are structured to reduce flight times
01:54 as much as possible.
01:56 On top of these challenges, stadiums
01:58 must ensure their efforts result in meaningful change.
02:01 Otherwise, they risk being accused of greenwashing.
02:03 Last month, the Intuit Dome, the future home
02:05 of the Los Angeles Clippers that aims
02:07 to be the most sustainable arena in the world,
02:09 quietly backed out of a deal with carbon credit trader
02:12 aspiration after US regulators opened an investigation
02:15 into whether the firm had misled customers
02:18 about the quality of its offsets.
02:19 In Seattle, Kraken fans certainly
02:24 seem to be buying into the climate-driven mission.
02:27 On online forums, fans question whether giveaways
02:29 are compatible with waste reduction efforts
02:32 and whether they can bring reusable cups into the venue.
02:34 And a survey of season ticket holders
02:36 showed that free public transport
02:38 is the second most popular benefit after access
02:40 to playoff tickets.
02:41 Efforts like these demonstrate that sports venues
02:44 and the central role that they play in many communities
02:46 can encourage fans to take a more sustainable mindset.
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