Climate change-fighting non-profit Global Green sees sports as a way to ramp up the adoption and use of recyclable cups…A great infographic from the UK on how to green up golf…Seattle University launches a certificate program in Sport Sustainability Leadership. It’s never slow at the intersection of Green and Sports as we end the week with News and Notes!

 
GLOBAL GREEN RUNS TOWARDS RECYCLING
Have you heard of Santa Monica-based, national environmental non-profit Global Green USA? If not, read on! And if yes, you know it makes positive, macro impacts through the implementation of water, energy and waste efficiency programs.
Perhaps the biggest is rebuilding communities — such as New Orleans (Katrina) and areas of New York and New Jersey (Sandy)– that have suffered from the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and environmental degradation.
Given the positive macro impact sports can have on society, it is thus no surprise that Global Green is teaming up with the largest Cross Country meet in the United States, The Portage Invite in Portage, Michigan, to put recyclable paper cups to the test, both for performance and for recyclability at a local paper mill.
According to Lily Kelly, Global Green’s Senior Program Associate focused on waste, “Sports use a large number of cold cups and mills are hesitant to take them for recycling because, for the most part, they haven’t been recyclable.”
That will change if the pilot program with The Portage goes well. “LBP Manufacturing of Chicago donated 10,000 recyclable cups–they’re double-walled which means each piece of paper is only coated once–for the race,” said Ms. Kelly, “and we found a mill nearby, Graphic Packaging in Kalamazoo, to take the cups. The test will determine if they will go through properly.”

Lily Kelly, Senior Program Associate at Global Green. (Photo credit: Lily Kelly)

 
This may sound like small potatoes, but a positive result would be a big deal as mega-events like the New York City Marathon (up to 2 million cups) and others would be targeted by Global Green.
The Portage takes place on October 10; the test will be run on October 13, with results available soon after on GreenSportsBlog.
 
GREENING GOLF, UK STYLE
The efforts to green the sports have been a frequent topic on GreenSportsBlog (click here for our interview with “Green Golfer” Aubrey McCormick, here for an all-golf News and Notes post, and here for a story on the Zero-Waste Waste Management Phoenix Open).
The last place we expected to find a green-golf story was on Golf Online (http://golfonline.co.uk), a leading British golf equipment e-tailer. So we were happy to see “The Rise of Eco-Friendly Golf”, a powerful infographic that “outlines the challenges facing golf and shows how golf can become more eco-friendly”.
It takes the reader through ways course managers are going organic, reducing their carbon footprints, helping wildlife and moving towards having zero water waste. It ale suggests how individual golfers can make a positive environmental difference.
My 2 cents (or tuppence, to be more Anglo-centric): I think it’s fantastic that a major e-tailer is taking on the environmental costs of golf and the ways to reduce those costs.
 
SPORT SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE PROGRAM AT SEATTLE U

Until now, if one thought of the Seattle University and sports, that thought would no doubt be about Elgin Baylor, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the man who led the Chieftans (now RedHawks) to their only Final Four appearance in 1958.
Think again.
Seattle University’s College of Arts and Sciences is launching a new, online graduate Certificate in Sport Sustainability Leadership in January 2016. Most students can complete the program in 9 months.
The curriculum takes a holistic approach to the environmental impacts of sustainability on sports organizations, including facility operations, finance, marketing, sponsorship, team operations, supply chain, and legal. Assignments will focus on developing comprehensive sustainability campaigns that are data-driven. Students are also required to take the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Associate certification exam.
“This is the first program of its kind in the world that meets the need for professionals who can embed environmentally sustainable practices in sport organizations,” said Professor Brian McCullough, the program’s director. “Our program meets the needs of amateur, professional, local, national, and international athletic programs seeking to be leaders in sport sustainability.”

Brian McCullough, Director of Seattle University’s Certificate in Sport Sustainability Leadership program. (Photo credit: Seattle University)

 
The Certificate in Sport Sustainability Leadership is administered by the Master of Sport Administration and Leadership program and is part of the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability at Seattle University. Application information can be found here.
 

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