SUSTAINABILITY
SERVING GREEN
Major sports events are increasingly investing in reducing their carbon footprints and making themselves more environmentally friendly. The US Open Tennis tournament is one of the events to have earned a reputation as a green pioneer. Tom Walker investigates
“O
ur courts may be blue, but we’re thinking green.” That’s the environmental pledge of the United
States Tennis Association (USTA), the national governing body for tennis, which hosts more than 700,000 fans each year during the two weeks of the US Open at The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. A grand venue for a Grand Slam, the complex houses a total of 22 courts across 46.5 acres and has been home to the US Open every September since 1978. The centre’s three main courts are among the largest tennis stadia in the world, with the main arena – the Arthur Ashe Stadium – boasting a capacity of 23,200. The green thinking pledge was
formulated in 2008 as part of USTA’s efforts to implement more environmentally-sound practices at the US Open. The reasons behind the
PAPER PROCUREMENT
• The 2.4m napkins in the general concession area are comprised of 100 per cent recycle material
• All US Open-related printed materials (media guides, marketing collateral and the Daily Drawsheet) were composed of at least 30% post-consumer waste
• US Open tickets are printed on paper comprised of 30 per cent post-consumer waste, and parking books, parking visors and coupon books are printed on paper comprised of 10-15 percent post- consumer waste.
• The paper towel dispensers located throughout the spectator areas have been replaced with motion-sensor dispensers
strategy were manifold, but at the centre were two key issues – the need to match spectators’ increasing expectations of seeing green initiatives in practice and cutting the burgeoning energy costs. Since its launch, the green initiative
has resulted in more than 850 tons of waste being diverted through recycling and composting; saved more than 1,100 tons of greenhouse gas emissions; offset enough electricity to power 600 homes for one year; recycled almost 1.5 million plastic bottles; and delivered a campaign to reduce private transport so that most of the fans now arrive using public transport. USTA has increased and diversified
its green initiatives each year since 2008 and this year the governing body came up with a record number of new schemes. Among the fresh projects were the creation of a compost from waste collected in 2012, which was used to feed plants at the 2013 tournament. There were also measures to influence fan behaviour. Working together with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), USTA put together a 30-second public service announcement entitled “Impact” – broadcast regularly during the event – encouraging fans to reduce their paper, water, and energy use in order to lessen the collective impact on the environment.
WORKING TOGETHER As well as the partnership with the NRDC, USTA has teamed up with other organisations as part of its green strategy. In 2012, it joined the Green Sports Alliance, an organisation of
Rafael Nadal, winner of the 2013 US
Open, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City
42 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 4 2013 © cybertrek 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84