America’s national pastime is leading the way on climate action by adopting a comprehensive conservation and greenhouse gas-reducing program, including a public outreach component at National League and American League ballparks this summer. The new sustainability drive involves all 30 Major League Baseball teams from coast to coast, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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One main feature of the program is a multi-year environmental data collection drive for Major League Baseball operations that will include energy use, waste generation and disposal (including recycling), water use, and paper goods — quite a lot of effort by a legendary American industry to get in front of a global issue that our own U.S. Chamber of Commerce refuses to address.
Major League Baseball and Sustainability
In addition to public education and data collection, major league teams have adopted an array of actions including installing solar panels (Red Sox), using staff shirts made of recycled PET bottles (Reds), purchasing Renewable Energy Credits to offset carbon emissions (Phillies), and installing a giant rainwater havesting system (Twins).
U.S. Sports and Sustainability
Major League Baseball is in good company when it comes to addressing climate change. Sustainability has been a key issue for the U.S. ski industry for a number of years, the National Football League has paired the Superbowl and sustainability for the past four years, and even golf is looking to conserve water, cut its reliance on chemical landscape care, and promote sustainable practices among golf enthusiasts throughout the sport.
Image: Autographed baseball by aturkus on flickr.com.
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