SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
Issue link: https://sportsevents.epubxp.com/i/261418
www.sportseventsmagazine.com February 2014 19 Green For The Future From both a public opinion and opera- tional standpoint, the green movement makes sense for sports events going for- ward, Tull said, suggesting that groups and spectators would increasingly expect more from events in the way of "green." "There is no question that the interest of fans and young people in environmentally friendly activities has been increasing. And for each of the sports teams we work with who have developed environmental pro- grams at their venues and with their fans, the response has been almost universally positive," he said. "Frankly speaking, the events and venues that take this most seri- ously have an advantage and can save money from reducing their operating expenses as well." Challenges In Going Green While expectations might be high, there can be some challenges for event opera- tors, especially when they depend on local municipalities to engage. For instance, Jon Butler, executive director for Pop Warner, said that many of the organization's foot- ball games or cheer/dance competitions take place on fields or in venues owned by school districts or local municipalities. "Pop Warner folks have little input into the policies of the venue owners," he said. Jack Love, national director of basket- ball for Youth Basketball of America (YBOA), agreed, noting that while YBOA has its own initiatives in place to reduce ➤ The Council for Responsible Sport (CRS) updated its certification stan- dards to make them applicable to a broader range of sports events. It also unveiled a new website, www.councilforresponsiblesport.com, featuring a gallery of pictures showing responsible sport initiatives. "Version 4.1 of our certification standards have been two years in the making," said Keith Peters, CEO of CRS. "As soon as we introduced version three of our certification standards in January 2012, we set out to improve upon them. We knew we had work to do to make sure our certification program is as relevant to a professional golf event like the A Pebble Beach National Pro-Am as it is to Bike New Yorkʼs TD Five Boro Bike Tour or the Cincinnati Zooʼs Cheetah Run." Founded in 2007, CRSʼ certification program provides a method for event organizers to incorporate environ- mental and socially responsible initiatives into their events. ■ ▼ SPECIAL Feature The key to "greening" Destination Racesʼ events, according to organizers, is to keep thinking of the environment. "We recognize that our races bring people in from all over the world and because of that our carbon footprint is larger than other, similar-sized races," said Bart Davis of Destination Races, organ- izer of the Wine Country Half Marathon in Santa Rosa, Calif. "Thus, we have pledged to do what we can to divert as much waste from the landfills as possible by composting and recycling. We consistently divert 80+ percent of our waste away from landfills, and have even exceed- ed 90 percent at several of our races." Always Be Thinking green Resources: ■ Council for Responsible Sport, www.councilforresponsiblesport.org ■ Athletes for a Fit Planet, www.afitplanet.com ■ Green Project Consultants, www.greenprojectconsultants.com ■ Green Mary, www.green-mary.com Davis said, "The key to reducing our footprint is to always have that goal at the forefront of our minds. An organi- zation that has helped us continue to do that is the Council for Responsible Sport. In 2014, we will closely work with Green Project Consultants and with Green Mary to provide race day waste management services." What tips does Davis have for other sports event planners? "Given a choice between saving a few pennies or reducing your environmental impact, the decision should be easy. There are literally hundreds of ways to ʻgreenʼ an event. The key is to choose the ones that work best for your event and the eventʼs budget and to incorpo- rate them into your event. It might take a year or two to be able to make the big changes and/or addi- tions, but, remember, a lot of small changes can add up to be bigger than a single large change and might be easier to incorporate into your eventʼs operations." ■ New Certification Standards To Help Events go green How They Did It: D e s t i n a t i o n R a c e s *02-20 SE FEB 2014_SportsEvents TEMPLATE 2/11/14 10:36 AM Page 19