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2018 was a banner year for the Philadelphia Eagles, on the field and off.
The team won its first Super Bowl, knocking off the heavily favored New England Patriots, 41-33 in an “instant classic.”
Off the field, the Eagles further burnished their reputation as Green-Sports pioneers by earning ISO 20121 (sustainable events) and LEED Gold certifications.
For those reasons, Philadelphia earned GreenSportsBlog’s BEST TEAM ON/GREENEST TEAM OFF FIELD designation for 2018, sharing it with MLS champions Atlanta United. Eagles Team President Don Smolenski offered a reaction.
The Philadelphia Eagles are true Green-Sports Founding Fathers, having launched their Go Green! sustainability initiative way back in 2003 when they moved into Lincoln Financial Field. Since then, club management has often led the way on a myriad of Green-Sports innovations, including:
- Highly-visible renewable energy: Fans cannot miss The Linc’s 11,000+ solar panels, many of which adorn the highly visible east wall of the stadium adjacent to I-95, and the 14 wind turbines, shaped like Eagles talons, atop the stadium roof. Around four megawatts of clean energy is generated per year, accounting for roughly 33 percent of the stadium’s annual energy usage. The remaining energy is covered by the purchase of renewable energy credits, allowing the organization to be completely “off the grid.”
- Recycling and composting: Since 2003, the Eagles’ recycling and composting programs have diverted close to 4,000 tons of waste from landfills. These include the installation of two bio-digesters to help decompose pre-consumer food waste.
- Water conservation: Management installed 15 water filtration fountains at both Lincoln Financial Field and the nearby NovaCare (training) Complex, eliminating the use of more than 154,000 water bottles since 2015.
- Reforestation: In partnership with The Conservation Fund, 100 percent of all team travel is offset through the “Go Zero” program, which is focused on tree planting and reforestation funding. Since 2007, the team has planted more than 5,900 trees, including at the 6.5 acre “Eagles Forest” in Bensalem, PA.
Solar array, topped by Eagle talon-shaped wind turbines at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Photo credit: Lewis Blaustein)
This year, the team was rewarded three times for its stellar for green performance.
In June, the Eagles became the first professional sports team to achieve ISO 20121 certification, an international standard designed to help organizations in the events and hospitality industry integrate sustainability into management practices and processes. The Linc followed that up in December with an upgrade from LEED Silver to LEED Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council.
And last week, GreenSportsBlog added the BEST TEAM ON/GREENEST TEAM OFF FIELD award to the Eagles trophy case. It honors the team for its Super Bowl LII win as well as its sustainability excellence. They share the award with Atlanta United, winners of the 2018 MLS Cup.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the Green Sports Blog for our commitment to sustainability,” said Don Smolenski, Philadelphia Eagles President. “We have always been proactive and deliberate in our efforts to serve as proud environmental stewards. This award represents not just our team’s accomplishments, but also that of our amazing partners who diligently support our year-round Go Green efforts. We would also like to congratulate Atlanta United who we share this award with. World champions working in parallel to serve the greater good is something we strongly support.”
Don Smolenski, President of the Philadelphia Eagles (Photo credit: Philadelphia Eagles)
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