Month: February 2023

Half-way milestone crossed in ambition to save 800 million tonnes of CO2 emissions for customersProgress doubled in sustainable packaging and access to energy at the same time

RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, February 16, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, recognized as a leading sustainability practitioner by independent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, announced today strong annual sustainability impact results alongside its 2022 financial performance.

“Despite increased geopolitical and economic uncertainty, in 2022, we remained focused on accelerating the transition to a cleaner and fairer world,” confirms Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric’s Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer. “The close integration of corporate strategy, quality and sustainability is a factor of success to provide digitization, electrification, efficiency and sustainability solutions that tackle today’s energy, climate and cost of living crises.”

Schneider’s Sustainability Impact (SSI) program includes 11 global targets to be met by 2025 complemented by hundreds of local goals led by regional and country teams. It contributes to Schneider Electric’s six long-term commitments, spanning ESG considerations, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The company publishes progress on all these goals every quarter in a dedicated report.

Here are some highlights of the Schneider Sustainability Impact in 2022:

Schneider Electric becomes one of the first corporates in the world to get the Net-Zero targets for its entire value chain validated by the Science Based Targets initiativeSchneider Electric’s solutions and services helped customers save and avoid 440 million tonnes of CO2 since 2018, with more than 90 million more in 2022 aloneOn top of that, the company’s top suppliers reduced their own CO2 emissions by 10% through its Zero Carbon project, and the Group initiated supplier engagement to advance decent work standards in its supply chain45% of all packaging from the company is now made without single-use plastic and use recycled cardboard, up from 21% in 2021The company also expanded access to green and reliable electricity to 5.5 million people through its solutions and projects in 2022About 70,000 people benefited from its energy management training programs as wellSchneider Electric launched its Sustainability School for all employees, so everyone can really understand the Planet and People challenges and do more at work and also in their personal lives

Overall progress made to fight Climate change, improve Resource efficiency, reinforce Trust and Equal opportunities, and empower all Generations contributed to a full-year Sustainability Impact score of 4.91/10, well above the target of 4.70 for the year. This result is an integral part of Schneider Electric’s short-term incentives for more than 64,000 managers in the Group – an example of how it lives up to Impact company principles.

Related resources:

2022 Schneider Sustainability Impact reportFull 2022 Financial and Extra-financial releaseSchneider Electric Sustainability reportsLatest ESG ratings and awardsSustainability Disclosure DashboardSustainability.com page link for more

About Schneider Electric 

Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.

Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.

We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.

We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.

www.se.com 

Discover the newest perspectives shaping sustainability, electricity 4.0, and next generation automation on Schneider Electric Insights

PITTSBURGH, February 16, 2023 /3BL Media/ — DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) and SidelineSwap, the world’s largest online marketplace for new and used sporting goods, are building on the success of the 60 trade-in events they executed in 2022, and are expanding their partnership to offer a series of 200 trade-in events in nineteen states through the first half of 2023.

At these trade-in events, DICK’S athletes can exchange their used sports gear and receive DICK’S gift cards to use towards their next purchase. Athletes also have the option to donate all or a portion of their trade-in value to select local sports organizations. Items that do not qualify for trade-in can be donated or recycled responsibly.

DICK’S athletes who attended the trade-in events in 2022 received $88, on average, for their used gear and nearly all customers surveyed said they would be interested in reselling their used sports gear at least once per year. 

Trade-in events in 2023 will be held at DICK’S locations in Pennsylvania, California, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. More detail on store locations and dates for upcoming events can be found on: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/s/dicks-trade-in-by-sideline.

According to Brendan Candon, CEO of SidelineSwap, “Last year’s trade-in events with DICK’S clearly showed that DICK’S athletes loved the convenience of trade-in events, and enjoyed being able to easily turn their used sports & outdoors gear into credit to spend at DICK’S.”

“With the start of the spring sports season approaching, this is a great time for families to take stock of what they have and what they need,” said Peter Land, Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer at DICK’S Sporting Goods. “SidelineSwap is a terrific partner that’s supportive of our efforts to make an impact in the re-commerce space.”

DICK’S Sporting Goods athletes who attend trade-in events at select DICK’S locations can simply bring their used gear to the event and it will be evaluated by SidelineSwap buying experts using SidelineSwap’s proprietary trade-in software and value guide.

To date, SidelineSwap has helped millions of athletes trade-in and resell their used gear and is part of the larger global resale movement. U.S. households are sitting on 23.6 billion unused items worth $580 billion, and used sports gear accounts for approximately $20 billion of these unused items. 

About SidelineSwap:  
SidelineSwap – the world’s largest online marketplace for sporting goods – makes it easy for athletes, fans and sports families to safely buy and sell their gear.   Founded in 2015, SidelineSwap has enabled athletes to earn more than $100,000,000 to date by reselling the extra gear they have at home.  Buyers can expect to find great value on a wide range of inventory across all sports, and sellers can quickly & easily turn their used sporting goods into cash or shopping credit.  SidelineSwap was one of the fastest growing marketplaces on Andreessen Horowitz’s A16z Top 100 marketplace list for 2020, and is the resale partner of choice for leading sports & outdoor brands.

CONTACTS:  Doug Smith, SidelineSwap, doug@sidelineswap.com

About DICK’S Sporting Goods:
DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) creates confidence and excitement by personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, the leading omnichannel retailer serves athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in more than 850 DICK’S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream, Public Lands, Going Going Gone! and Warehouse Sale stores, online, and through the DICK’S mobile app. DICK’S also owns and operates DICK’S House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile app for scheduling, communications, live scorekeeping and video streaming.

Driven by its belief that sports make people better, DICK’S has been a longtime champion for youth sports and, together with its Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to support under-resourced teams and athletes through the Sports Matter program and other community-based initiatives. Additional information about DICK’S business, corporate giving, sustainability efforts and employment opportunities can be found on dicks.com, investors.dicks.com, sportsmatter.org, dickssportinggoods.jobs and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

CONTACTS: Amanda Bonzo, DICK’S Sporting Goods, amanda.bonzo@dcsg.com

February 16, 2023 /3BL Media/ – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) has opened the and is accepting nominations for its 2023 Inner City 100 (IC100) Awards – the 25th annual list celebrating the 100 fastest-growing small businesses located in under-resourced communities – until April 28, 2023.

Representing 25 industries in 57 cities nationwide and more than 7,000 employees in 2022, the IC100 celebrates the power, resiliency, and commitment of small businesses in under-resourced communities. From 2017 to 2021, the 2022 IC100 companies averaged 421% revenue growth (95% increase over 2021) and created more than 4,000 jobs (3% increase over 2021). Of these 100 winners, 50% are BIPOC-owned/led, and 50% are woman-owned/led, the latter of which is a record-high number in the program’s history. See the full 2022 IC100 list here.

“As ICIC nears its 30th year of driving inclusive economic prosperity, this year’s IC100 is a special opportunity to recognize these small businesses which are both economic drivers – creating more than 4,000 jobs over the past four years in these incredibly challenging times – and champions for their communities through their donations of time and resources to local organizations and charities,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman.

ICIC will announce the IC100 winners in person during the culminating ceremony of its Annual Conference this December.

About the Inner City 100 (IC100) Awards

Every year since 1999, ICIC has identified and celebrated the nation’s fastest-growing businesses in under-resourced communities through the IC100 award. These companies have demonstrated that it is possible for companies located in under-resourced communities to grow and thrive, and that there are competitive business advantages to locating and operating businesses in these communities – the premise that led to ICIC’s founding in 1994 by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter.

To be eligible for the 2023 IC100, companies must be independently-operated, privately-held, for-profit businesses with revenues of at least $50,000 in 2018 and $500,000 in 2022, and headquartered in an under-resourced community. Recognizing that concentrated poverty exists within metropolitan areas outside of big cities (and that poverty overall is suburbanizing), ICIC defines under-resourced and underserved communities as large, low-income, high-poverty areas located in the urban and suburban parts of all but the smallest metropolitan areas.

2022 Inner City 100 Winners by the Numbers:

Average Company Age:19 YearsCities Represented:57States Represented:28Industries Represented:25Woman-Owned/Led:50%BIPOC-Owned/Led:50%Veteran-Owned/Led:2%LGBTQ+ -Owned/Led:4%First-Time Winners:36%Hall of Famers (won IC100 5 or more times)22%Average Four-Year Revenue Growth Rate:421%Average 2021 Revenue:$16MMTotal Jobs Created:4,011Total Employed by IC100 Winners in 2021:7,260

 

In addition to unveiling the ranking of each business on the IC100 list, ICIC recognized the following three companies with special awards:

Business Growth Award

Printfresh, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based clothing brand, was founded in 2016 by textile designer and fashion entrepreneur Amy Voloshin and her husband (and business partner) Leo Voloshin. A majority woman-owned business, Printfresh received the Business Growth Award for being ranked the #1 fastest-growing company on the IC100 in 2022.

Chevron Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award

Aspire Construction and Design, an Atlanta, Georgia-based general contracting company, was honored with the 2022 Chevron Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award named in honor of ICIC’s first President and CEO, Dorothy Terrell. The award quantifies tangible ways that thriving businesses from under-resourced areas invest in and enhance their communities.

FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship Award

Sisters Traveling Solo, LLC, an Atlanta, Georgia-based solo travel company for women of color, was awarded the 2022 FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship Award. This award recognizes one IC100 winner for its embodiment of FedEx’s values and commitments to diversity, global trade, empowering entrepreneurs, and creating employment opportunities.

The full list of 2022 IC100 winners, organized by city, state, and ownership (Veteran-, BIPOC-, woman-, LGBTQ+-led) is available online now. Please click here to access an Excel version of the list.

To nominate a business for the 2023 IC100 award, please click here.

If you are interested in applying for or learning more about ICIC’s eight tuition-free small business programs, please click here to fill out our brief interest form.

To connect with an ICIC subject matter expert or a 2022 IC100 award winner, please contact André Ledgister at aledgister@icic.org or (617) 238-3012 or Jasmine Martin at jmartin@icic.org or (617) 238-3010.

About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) was founded by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization that today is widely recognized as the preeminent authority on the economies of underserved communities. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents. Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg.

###

By Ignacio Gavilan Director, Sustainability, The Consumer Goods Forum

Our relationship with plastic needs to change, and fast. The urgency around the plastics issue has been felt even more keenly since negotiations for a legally binding global plastic treaty began last month. There is no doubt that plastic can have an important role in getting people certain food, drinks and other products in a safe and reliable way. But it is critical that we use less plastic and, wherever possible, better plastic to protect the natural environment while meeting the needs of our growing global population. Ultimately, we need a better system that supports a circular economy for plastics, where it is used again and again in many forms, instead of becoming waste or pollution.

For the consumer goods sector, this means dramatically stepping up our game when it comes to redesigning plastic packaging upstream while increasing collection, sortation and recycling downstream. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of plastic packaging that is designed poorly. For example, a lot of plastic packaging still contains problematic materials like PVC, meaning that most plastic packaging still isn’t recycled and ends up in landfill or incineration.

This is why the 40 retailers, consumer brands and convertors in The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition of Action worked with industry experts, recyclers and plastics associations from over 25 countries to develop the Golden Design Rules for plastic packaging. Thirty-three leading multi-national companies have now signed up to implement one or more of these rules across their plastic packaging portfolios by 2025. These rules are a set of voluntary, independent and time-bound commitments that aim to minimise waste, streamline designs and simplify the plastic recycling process – ultimately increasing recycling.

The rules are building momentum to deliver the further design changes necessary to meet the targets laid out in the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Set up by the United Nations and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Commitment is a global initiative to create an entirely circular plastics economy.

There are nine Golden Design Rules. The first is of particular significance. It focuses on increasing the value of PET recycling. PET is polyethylene terephthalate, one of the most common plastic materials. Typically, it’s used in food containers, drink bottles and the synthetic textiles in our clothing. In fact, PET bottles represent 13% of all plastic packaging on the market. Consequently, improving PET recycling is essential to achieving a circular economy for plastics.

One of the key issues with PET recycling is the use of pigments and dyes in plastic bottles, which can make it difficult and expensive to sort bottles into different colour streams for recycling. However, recycling lots of different coloured PET bottles together means you end up with a murky, low quality recycled plastic that isn’t suitable for use in consumer packaging. Unfortunately, this means that many plastic bottles still aren’t recycled back into plastic bottles.

Golden Design Rule 1 aims to address this. It outlines that all bottles should be clear or translucent blue or green as these are the easiest to sort and have the highest material value once recycled.

There are other factors besides the bottle’s colour that can impact on its recyclability. Therefore, Golden Design Rule 1 also lays out specifications for the size of labels on PET bottles, the materials that can be use and the glue used to attach them, so that these aren’t problematic when it comes to recycling.

The rest of the rules cover topics like removing problematic elements from plastic packaging (e.g. PVC, PS, EPS); eliminating excess headspace in flexible packaging; eliminating unnecessary plastic overwraps; improving the recycling value of PET thermoformed trays; and reducing the use of virgin plastic.

Some of our members have already made fantastic progress when it comes to better plastic packaging design. For example, to celebrate Earth Day this year, soft drinks and food giant PepsiCo launched label-free PET bottles in China on e-commerce channels, following an initial launch in South Korea in October 2021. By removing both the plastic label of a traditional PET bottle and the ink printing on the closure, Pepsi was able to reduce the product’s carbon footprint throughout its life cycle and make these bottles easier to recycle. Additionally, to increase plastic circularity, Pepsi also included 24% recycled PE in the secondary shrink film.

Chemical and consumer goods multinational Henkel is working to transition many of the PET bottles in its portfolio to clear PET. In Italy, for example, Henkel’s brand Nelsen’s, a hand dishwashing soap, is using now transparent PET bottles rather than white. Also, 50% of Henkel’s global shower gel portfolio of its main brands including Fa, Dial and Bernangen are packed in clear PET.

Henkel also champions floatable sleeves on bottles instead of traditional labels, as they can easily be separated during the recycling process. To date, the company has introduced them across its fabric softener portfolio, including the Vernel brand. It will soon roll out floatable sleeves across all its sleeved bottles.

Global packaging company Amcor developed a 100% PCR and label-less PET bottle in Argentina. This launch was in partnership with Danone, global food and beverage company, and Argentinean moulded plastic Moldintec, for the water brand Villavicencio.

This innovation is groundbreaking for two reasons. First, it eliminates unnecessary plastic by removing the plastic label. Secondly, it makes the bottles more recyclable, because there’s less risk that labels or adhesives contaminate the recycling process. It also removes the need for sorting and separating labels and bottles, making it more cost-efficient.

What’s more, the new label-less bottle is made from 100% post-consumer recycled content and has a reduced carbon footprint of 21% compared to its previous incarnation.

These are just a few leading examples of companies implementing the Golden Design Rules and putting good intentions into action. This kind of innovation represents the way forward for designing plastic packaging in the consumer goods sector. Of course, there’s still much work still to be done, not least scaling these trailblazing initiatives across the whole industry. Indeed, the adoption of such practices should be an immediate priority.

The CGF Golden Design Rules provide a playbook for implementing the vital design changes that we know are needed, so that, for the sake of the planet, we can tackle the increasingly urgent problem of plastic waste and accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy.

If you want to find out more about the Golden Design Rules, or think they could be relevant to your organization, please contact us using this link and we will be able to provide more detail and answer any questions you may have.

Whole Planet Foundation is proud to announce 2023 top supplier donors! These brands are creating income-generating opportunities to alleviate global poverty through the Foundation’s microlending programs. Each one, committed to donating $50,000-$100,000 this year to fund microcredit, can be found in select stores and online on Whole Foods Market on Amazon.

Whole Planet Foundation’s top contributing supplier donor this year is Primal Kitchen! Their $100,000 donation this year will fund more than 550 microloans creating 2,790 opportunities for entrepreneur families to prosper.

Joining Primal Kitchen in this first half of the year are 2023 Supplier Alliance for Microcredit $50,000 donors Seventh Generation and Traditional Medicinals.

Whole Planet Foundation appreciates the generous support of these entrepreneurs supporting microentrepreneurs living in poverty where Whole Foods Market sources products.

Given the average first microcredit loan size of $181 across Whole Planet Foundation-funded projects, the collective support of these brands will help fund more than 1,100 microloans. These microloans are disbursed by Whole Planet Foundation’s network of microfinance partners in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, to those that are most in need of access to capital to start or develop a small business, often home-based. On average, microloan recipients support four other family members, so this meaningful support will have a ripple effect in local and global communities.

To learn more about the Foundation’s work to alleviate global poverty, visit wholeplanetfoundation.org.

MORGES, Switzerland, February 16, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Eaton, the intelligent power management company, has signed an agreement with IES, the world-renowned climate tech and building performance analytics firm, to develop approaches that will help building owners boost the sustainability of their buildings and prepare them for the energy transition.

Using digital twins, Eaton and IES will explore options for making buildings more sustainable including various combinations of EV charging infrastructure, energy storage, and renewable generation technologies to identify the most effective energy ecosystems.

A digital twin is a 3D digital representation of a built environment asset – a building or its supporting infrastructure, for example – that can be interrogated by running various scenarios to inform decisions about its future. Learning from the asset’s past performance leads to better decision-making when developing a roadmap for its future.

IES integrates physics-based simulation with the 3D model, real-time operational data, machine learning and AI to provide unique insights which will be allied to Eaton’s expertise in power management to devise high-performance strategies for building decarbonisation, energy efficiency improvement and energy cost reduction.

Delphine Clement, commercial and industrial buildings segment leader at Eaton in EMEA, said: “With IES’s expertise in buildings physics, we can show our customers how their buildings will perform before and during their energy transition journey. They will be able to examine the costs and benefits of various options to boost sustainability to help them better understand and de-risk the investments they need to make.”

Don McLean, Founder and CEO of IES said: “Digital twins will be key to our work with Eaton because they respond and behave like their real-world counterparts, translating data into essential decision support information. For Eaton’s customers, we will examine how a building is used, with a focus on both energy efficiency and user comfort, before constructing a digital twin to forecast the potential energy savings and payback periods of various applications of Eaton’s Buildings as a Grid approach.”

Eaton’s Buildings as a Grid approach transforms buildings into energy hubs that support EV charging and renewable energy generation. The aim is to help commercial building owners save money on energy bills and prepare their properties to comply with net-zero regulations.

Explaining further, Clement added: “Electricity generation is changing, and so is how we store and manage power. Transport is changing, and with more EVs on the road we need to charge them efficiently without overloading power networks. This represents both opportunity and risk for building owners. Getting electrification right will preserve the value of their buildings, as well as provide building users with a greater degree of energy self-sufficiency.”

This ambition accords fully with the ethos of IES: “The built environment accounts for almost 40% of global emissions and we’re working to get that down to zero,” said Don McLean. “Our agreement with Eaton will help to deliver highly energy efficient commercial and industrial buildings.”

About Eaton 

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and doing what’s best for our stakeholders and all of society.

Founded in 1911, Eaton is marking its 100th anniversary of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About IES

Over the last 25+ years, IES has built a solid reputation as the leading global innovator in integrated performance-based analysis for the built environment. Its Digital Twin technology facilitates the creation of resource-efficient, healthy and cost-effective built-environments of any size or purpose – supporting citizens, companies, campuses, communities, cities and even countries.

For additional information, please visit www.iesve.com. You can also follow IES on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and check out DiscoverIES for all the latest news and content.

In the new age of “all things delivered” and expedited service, it can be easy to lose sight of the environmental impact of last-mile delivery. But as the market grows rapidly and related emissions skyrocket, mobile fueling provides a key solution, explains Frank Mycroft, CEO and founder of Booster®, in a recent article for FreightWaves magazine. 
 

Pointing out that demand for urban last-mile delivery is estimated to grow another 78% by 2030, Mycroft explains how the culture of convenience prioritizes speed and ease over sustainability while exacerbating emissions in the transportation industry. The rise in demand for faster and more frequent deliveries has resulted in increased use of last-mile delivery vehicles, leading to higher greenhouse gas emissions overall. 
 

As public desire for last-mile delivery is unlikely to subside, mobile fueling, the use of alternative fuels, and increased data analytics may offer solutions to fleets as they work to keep emissions at bay. Booster’s mobile fuel delivery service provides customers with a convenient and efficient way to fuel their vehicles without going to a gas station, which reduces emissions and improves air quality by lowering the number of vehicles on the road and amount of fuel burned on fueling errands. 
 

In the mobile fueling model, a range of traditional and alternative fuels are delivered directly to the fleet vehicles in their off-hours, so each vehicle begins the day with a full tank, ready to go. For the average fleet vehicle, each off-route gas station trip takes 2.2 miles, adding extraneous emissions to a last-mile fleet’s output. In fact, with Booster’s mobile service, fleets can save an average of 525 lbs of CO2 emissions per vehicle annually. 
 

While mobile fueling alone can help stymie emissions, combining various solutions can unlock even more reductions. Booster’s mobile fuel delivery service provides easy access to renewable fuels, which are not commonly available at gas stations. These fuels can significantly lower emissions even in internal combustion engine vehicles. 
 

For the sustainability movement to positively impact last-mile fleets, sustainable and decarbonized solutions must be simple and practical to implement into existing operations. As the last-mile delivery market grows, fleet managers can combine mobile fuel delivery, data analytics, and renewable fuels, to work toward a carbon-neutral last-mile delivery market.

As one of the most-viewed single-day sporting events on the planet, people tune into the Super Bowl to experience an emotionally-charged game, view the ambitious advertising, and enjoy an entertaining halftime show (especially when Rihanna’s on stage, apparently!). 

The Super Bowl is a big spectacle that draws a lot of people and can create a lot of waste, so it’s interesting to follow how this high-profile event meshes with the even higher-profile topics of sustainability and environmentalism. There’s no question it’s becoming a far more significant and prominent focus.

This shift toward waste reduction and climate-friendly initiatives is evident, from the actions taken by the host cities and stadiums to how advertisers choose to frame what are likely their most expensive ad spots of the year.

The NFL and Sustainability 

The NFL launched the NFL Green program back in 1994. In the ensuing 30 years, the sustainability efforts undertaken by the NFL have grown to include food recovery, material recovery, recycling, solid waste management, as well as green energy and community greening projects.

By spearheading the effort to create a more sustainable infrastructure around the sport of football, the NFL has inspired and worked with stadiums and NFL team home communities to become more sustainable as well.

Sustainability at Super Bowl LVII

Let’s take a look at the role sustainability played in the 2023 Super Bowl.

Arizona and the City of Phoenix

The partnership between the NFL and Super Bowl host cities has spurred a great deal of forward momentum on the sustainability front. 

In October, the NFL launched the first in a series of community greening projects by planting 57 trees at Sunridge Park in West Phoenix to honor the 57th Super Bowl. This event was followed by a planned dozen planting and habitat restoration events resulting in over 500 trees planted across the state.

The City of Phoenix involved residents in the sustainability efforts by organizing a team of Zero Waste Ambassadors. 

According to the city’s public works department, the duties of these ambassadors included:

Educating attendees about what is recyclable and compostableEnsuring attendees place items in the correct containerMonitoring containers and reporting fill levels to Public Works staffReporting littering or other issues to Public Works staffConducting any other pertinent duties to ensure the event reaches its zero-waste goal

State Farm Stadium

While the home stadium of the Arizona Cardinals is not leading the pack in NFL stadium sustainability efforts, they have enacted some meaningful initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint. 

In 2020, State Farm Stadium entered into an agreement with the local energy providers Enel X and Salt River Project (SRP) Business Demand Response Program.

The demand response program offers commercial and other institutional organizations the opportunity to save electricity (and costs) by reducing energy expenditure during peak demand periods. According to SRP, “program participants earn payments for agreeing to be on standby and for curtailing electricity consumption in response to high electricity demand.”

This program has saved the stadium $75,000 annually in electricity costs since joining.

Teams

The Super Bowl is traditionally a three-party event: the host stadium and the two participating teams. (Fun fact: only twice in the 57-year history of the Super Bowl has the game been hosted at the home field of one of the participants!)

Here’s what each team has contributed to sustainability in their home communities.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are invested in sustainability, both as a team and at their home stadium.

Since opening in 2003, the Eagle’s home stadium Lincoln Financial Field has been continually making updates that further its sustainability. In 2018, the stadium became LEED Gold Certified. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system used by the U.S. Green Building Council to signify

The stadium earned this designation for “implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.”

In conjunction with the opening of Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles team launched their own community initiative, Go Green. One of the most unique recycling efforts to come from this effort includes a biodiesel program. Used kitchen oil is sent to reprocessors to be converted to biodiesel which is in turn used to power stadium equipment.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City-based team has enacted changes at their home base of Arrowhead Stadium that are helping bring more sustainability to the broader Kansas City community.

Notable achievements include:

An increase in waste diversion to 59.%, up from 11% in 2010The Extra Yard for the Environment program, which promotes sustainability across the communityAn installation of 308 solar panels that generate about 29,000 kilowatts of electricity a year at Truman Sports Complex

Sustainability in Super Bowl Advertising

A fair number of viewers tune in to the Super Bowl each year to watch the ads, spurring hefty investments by brands wishing to capitalize on the hype. 

Unsurprisingly, ads with a climate-centered message have increased in recent years. This year the environmental messaging was carried by car manufacturers promoting their EV offerings. The car ads that did appear were almost exclusively promoting EVs, which was a stark and noticeable change. 

Here are some of the top EV ads from this year’s game:

Why not an EV?: Starring Will Ferrell, this ad places the actor in scenes from Netflix’s most iconic shows to promote how Netflix and GM have partnered up to place more EVs in their original content.The Jeep 4xe “Electric Boogie”: Set to Shaggy’s remix of Marcia Griffiths’ Electric Boogie, this playful ad pairs shots of the Jeep 4xe with scenes of wild and endangered animals bopping along to the tune.Nissan Electrification: This ad demonstrates the durability and power of their EV technology while challenging buyers to think beyond sustainability as a reason to purchase an EV.

Sustainability Is a Smart Investment

The Super Bowl is such a massive and expansive event that the game itself can almost become a side-story. From a business perspective, it’s fascinating to see what narratives are being elevated in front of an unparalleled global audience, and what messages are being prioritized by advertisers in their most expensive campaigns of the year.

Once again this year, and maybe more than ever before, a sustainability focus was prevalent throughout. Are you ready to up your game?

Learn more about sustainability services from Antea Group.

About Antea Group
Antea®Group is an environment, health, safety, and sustainability consulting firm. By combining strategic thinking with technical expertise, we do more than effectively solve client challenges; we deliver sustainable results for a better future. We work in partnership with and advise many of the world’s most sustainable companies to address ESG-business challenges in a way that fits their pace and unique objectives. Our consultants equip organizations to better understand threats, capture opportunities and find their position of strength. Lastly, we maintain a global perspective on ESG issues through not only our work with multinational clients, but also through our sister organizations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America and as a founding member of the Inogen Alliance. Learn more at us.anteagroup.com.