In its most casual use, the term sustainability refers to fulfilling the needs of the current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability started becoming a main focus in business and politics in the 1990s and has been even more prevalent in recent years as the climate crisis has built in intensity. The idea of sustainability in business is having a primary focus on being as green as possible and accomplishing their goals efficiently while also being conscious of how their work impacts the environment. According to an article on the website safetyculture.com, “The general goal of a sustainable business strategy is to integrate environment and social factors into business goals, while still benefiting its stakeholders with financial gain.” Corporate Boards have begun to register companies to report on its sustainability efforts. But not all businesses have been able to meet its goals. Coca Cola utilizes many factories across the world that emit large quantities of fossil fuels and gas into the air. In 2021 Coca Cola was sued by the Earth Island Institute for falsely stating its sustainability efforts despite being “one of the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world”. This is an example of meeting the company’s goals yet not being sustainable with their work.
Although sustainability has increased as a business focus, the change has been slow. Howard Waldman, the “green dean” at Fieldston, noted that “I am depressed that sustainability hasn’t grown faster”. For Waldman, it is quite surprising that despite the public’s increased focus on the climate, sustainability has taken time to develop.
Organized sports is a big business and is an area of increased focus in the world of sustainability. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has developed a Sports for Climate Action institute that invites sports organizations to achieve global climate change guides and take more responsibility for their climate footprint.
Climate Change can actually have a large impact on athletes and the games they play. Sam Mewis, a soccer player for the Women’s National Team and National Women’s Soccer League, explains in a recent article written for “The Athletic” entitled “Climate Change, Player Safety, and the 2026 World Cup how playing games for her UCLA college team in California was always very hot and hard on the body. When Mewis was playing for the NWSL her team had a television deal to always have games at 3:30pm to maximize the audience, yet that was the peak of heat in the day, especially playing on turf which feels hotter than actual grass. Mewis describes the games as, “playing them on turf … was undoubtedly impacting the quality of soccer on display.” Mewis also states, “It’s hot. You’re soaked completely through your uniform. You are breathing in thick, humid air. You have to make another max-effort to run back on defense and, in that moment, you feel truly physically miserable”
Mewis describes co-hosting a workshop at Columbia University’s Climate School focused on the effects a warming climate will have on sports. She notes that we have “the opportunity to use sports as a lesson through which to address the multitude of issues that Climate Change presents”. These effects are on the physical player and not just the sports industry because of climate change yet sustainability can help the environment and the players physical health.
A great example of how franchises are shifting their focus is the Climate Pledge arena in Seattle which is the home of the new Seattle Kraken hockey team. During the construction of this arena, there were many thoughts about how the construction was affecting the earth and how it needed to change. The arena uses only digital tickets meaning no paper and uses renewable energy for everything. The arena’s main focus is sustainability and they hired a vice president for sustainability and transportation named Rob Johnson to lead the process. Johnson became interested in sustainability and the environment at a young age when he volunteered for the Earth Day 20th anniversary in 1990. Johnson helps with finding cleaner ways for fans to get to the arena without using a lot of energy. He found that taking public transportation and not having fans drive is a lot better for the environment and the Kraken were the first organization to fully subsidize mass thrust for fans, as Johnson told Jennifer Wong, director of sustainability at Convoy, in an online interview. Johnson works at finding the cleanest way the arena can run which includes recycling and composting, which largely impacts the environment. Additionally, he developed a “Rain to Rinse” solution in which rainwater collected on the arena roof is used to resurface the ice. This arena is on track to be the world’s first net-zero carbon arena, meaning they are certified as an energy efficient building. I believe that all new stadiums learn from this arena because the little things that teams can do will go a long way to impacting change.
The lessons of professional teams can be utilized in youth sports. Our very own school has put thought into how sustainability can be implemented in our sports programs. Although ECFS has done some things relative to sustainability, there is room for growth and improvement on our part. As Gus Ornstein, the athletic director, states, “We have limited plastic cups for teams and encourage people to bring their own reusable bottles.” Ornstein also explained to me in an interview how when sending the teams jerseys out to be cleaned, they attempt to do large groups of jerseys at a time in order to limit the amount of water being used. He goes on to describe how our athletics department tries to use one bus for as many teams as possible going to the same place for away games in order to not use as much gas and carbon emissions for individual teams. Although we are doing these things there is much more we can do that would impact the environment. The priority to start is raising awareness of the issue and convince teams and athletes to do as much as they can.
So, what can we do and what will the future look like?
Earthday.org created advocacy packets on sustainability in sports writing “How to make your team more eco-friendly?” They note that the shareholders include team members, other teams, coaches, and school administration. To start off, in our school we can sign petitions and collect signatures from athletes committed to upholding principles of sustainability, we can spread awareness, and increase the use of carpools when needed. We can use reusable water bottles, try to implement LED lights into our scoreboard, and assure that all trash is put into the right bins after cames. On homecoming, we need to make sure all of the plates and silverware used for food is compostable and good for the environment and consider increasing plant based food options for fans. Teams can work with other teams in order to pledge to do their own parts in sustainability. This concept could be something brought to NYSAIS with the goal of all teams in our league committing to increased environmental awareness. We also need to use the best kind of turf that will emit the least amount of heat in order to keep players physically safe. The most important thing is that each person does their part because even the small things being done by teams and athletes will be beneficial in the future.
