How far are you willing to go to save Mother Earth? Well for these teams, the sky’s the limit.
Recycle, reuse, repeat,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. The Green Rovers, a soccer team from Western England, is leading the charge to go green. They claim the title as the only vegan football (i.e., soccer) club in the world. Since 2015, there have been no animal products for sale in the stadium. Some of the players eat non-vegan outside of the stadium (and there are paparazzi photos to prove it), but some have adopted the vegan lifestyle. The team is also the world’s first U.N. certified carbon-neutral sports club. NO MEAT PIES FOR YOU
2. From medals made of recycled consumer electronics to recycled cardboard beds, expect the Tokyo Summer Olympics to set the bar high when it comes to a sustainable Games. Anyone can reduce their carbon footprint by using fuel-efficient vehicles and existing venues, but Japan is taking it one step further using post-consumer plastic packaging collected throughout Japan to create the medal podiums. Not to be outdone, organizers are aiming to achieve 100 percent renewable energy for the electricity used to power the Games. DOING THEIR PART
3. Pocono Motor Speedway’s (NASCAR - National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) green efforts not only benefit the earth but you. The raceway runs completely on solar power and has sheep for lawn mowers. But they have an industry-specific problem – what to do with as many as 600 used tires after a race? Answer – recycle. The recycled residue from old tires is used in everyday items such as portable speed bumps, the anti-fatigue mat in your kitchen or playgrounds. WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD
4. Home field advantage for some sports teams is an urban farm. Fenway Park, one of the oldest stadiums in baseball, was granted its LEED certification. The home of the Boston Red Sox (MLB) also has a rooftop farm that generates 5,900 pounds of produce annually to be used in the stadium. The home of the San Francisco 49ers boasts a 27,000-square foot rooftop farm that generates 500 pounds of produce monthly. BATTING FOR BROCCOLI
5. The Cleveland Indians were the first MLB (Major League Baseball) team to install a wind turbine to power their stadium. Others have since followed. Although the Indians can boast that their stadium is 100 percent powered by renewable energy from wind power. BLOWN AWAY
