NFL Teams Continue To Promote Clean Energy, Recycling By Changing Their Own Stadiums

The National Football League would not seem to be an industry embracing environmentally friendly practices, what with soaring stadiums, huge screens and lights, and piles of food wrappers left behind by fans. But with the advent of a new season, teams are starting new programs, such as Reliant Energy’s plan to buy renewable energy credits for the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium, or continuing existing ones, like the Philadelphia Eagles recycling programs.

Here are examples of what some teams are doing:

-PHILADELPHA EAGLES: At the Eagle’s Lincoln Financial Field, they have added 2,500 solar panels and 80 20-foot wind turbines — and they are the first NFL team to run a stadium entirely on sustainable energy.

-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Patriots installed 2,800 solar panels at Gillette Stadium in December to help power the stadium, and they put in solar-powered compactors to collect and recycle cans and bottles around the stadium.

-ARIZONA CARDINALS: In 2010, the Arizona Cardinals’s University of Phoenix Stadium used EarthWise Energy program to provide more than 1 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy during eight regular season home games and two pre-season ones.

-DENVER BRONCOS: The Broncos have purchased renewable energy to offset 100 percent of the electricity used at Sports Authority Field for the 2011 season. And after implementing an energy management program, the team cut energy use at the stadium by 11 percent.

-DETROIT LIONS: In the construction of Ford Field in downtown Detroit, the Lions incorporated part of the old Hudson’s warehouse in the design, used 20 million pounds of recycled steel, and built the parking lot partially out of recycled rubber tires.

-HOUSTON TEXANS: The Texans introduced the NFL’s first interactive media guide in 2009, putting the guide on USB sticks instead of printing books. The change saved an estimated 2.6 million printed pages that year, and the team has continued this practice.

-NEW YORK GIANTS/NEW YORK JETS: The Giants and the Jets will kick off the 2011 season in one of the greenest stadiums at the new MetLife Stadium after an agreement that the MetLife Stadium Company signed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which outlined plans for water conservation, energy management, and green construction.

And the NFL is not the only organization with green initiatives. The NBA and WNBA, the NHL, and MLB have also launched a variety of programs to promote environmentally friendly practices, which hopefully will help fans of these sports to adopt these practices in their everyday life.