(B08) Game Changers from Coast-to-Coast: Journey to Zero Carbon and Waste

What if a sports venue could contribute to a more sustainable future? Sports facilities provide a unique opportunity for far-reaching impact and engagement, from the individual fan to surrounding communities. In this high-energy, interactive session, join sports sustainability movement leaders from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Climate Pledge Arena, their consultants, and the Green Sports Alliance as they highlight how their journeys to zero in waste and carbon are changing the sports industry and beyond. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is the first professional sports stadium in North America to achieve LEED Platinum and the first in the world to achieve TRUE Platinum for Zero Waste certification and LEED Zero for Waste certification. Their team will break down how design strategies along with community and industry partnerships allowed them to achieve success on this journey, and will go into detail on zero-waste strategies (and beyond) that can be achieved as part of everyday activities on all sized project. Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle is on a journey to become the first arena in the world to achieve Zero eCarbon certification from the International Living Future Institute while simultaneously targeting a zero-waste goal through supply chain initiatives. The Climate Pledge Arena team will walk you through how they’re approaching decarbonization by using sustainability frameworks and strategies that reach beyond the walls of the Arena into the community. Both venues are members of the Green Sports Alliance, which has partnered with ArcTM to provide the Play to ZeroTM platform for sports and entertainment venues and accelerate an industry-wide response to climate change. Participants will walk away from the session with a better understanding of how a variety of sustainability strategies – both large and small – can work together on personal, building, community, and industry levels to instigate change beyond just their facility.