At the 2009 Greening of the Campus Conference (GOC VIII: Embracing Change) in Indianapolis, I was pleased to be asked to introduce a panel on “Greening Athletics.” I know very little about athletics, but I do know the enormous impact and influence athletics can have on many campuses, and was therefore thrilled to see athletic directors talking seriously about “greening” their operations and eager to learn from others.

Here is a summary of the panel presentations and the lively Q & A session that followed.

Jeff Orleans, co-chair of NCAA’s “Green Team” and panel moderator, set the tone, describing athletics as the “front porch” for any institution that sponsors it - it’s the “face and image” of the institution, unlike almost any other activity. In fact, as he pointed out athletics can help a campus promote green initiatives to large numbers of alumni, students and others. The NCAA involves almost 60,000 athletes, and is now interested in greening its championships as well as its own operations. In the next several months, many NCAA events will have a focus on sustainability.

S. Page Cotton, Director of Athletics at DePauw University, maintained that what athletics has done in the past isn’t satisfactory moving forward. Take travel for example. His athletics department is now making great strides in putting teams together (say swimming, tennis, and/or track & field) to travel to the same site in the same buses, which addresses all three dimensions of sustainability. First it allows them to use safer vehicles (a 54-passenger bus, for example). It also saves money and reduces the carbon footprint. Finally, it creates a positive social environment that does not include alcohol, and helps increase respect between the genders. Page said “communication” is essential to his efforts – it helps break down the silos. Fostering communication between athletics and physical plant or facilities, for example, is a big plus. He described innovative, “environmentally friendly field maintenance,” where grounds staff avoid cutting the entire grass field, but only the playing area; and apply different treatment depending on the season. This requires good communication with grounds, facilities, administrators, teams, visitors and team prospects, but in the end everyone sees the benefit. (Page also installed waterless urinals in his athletics facility – the first on campus.)

Steve Simmerman, Assistant Athletic Director at Purdue University, talked about Game Day Recycling, and what works or doesn’t work. Purdue traditionally held large volume (50,000-60,000 attendee) football games that generated huge amounts of trash. In 2007, a student group (Boiler Green Initiative) started a new recycling program that became very successful, involving colorful boards in the parking lot, trash bags and boxes. Attendees are asked to separate their trash into 2 colored bags. The response has been great. 250-300 students pick up trash the next day. In one year, they collected 46,000 lbs of recyclables. Steve heaped praise on the student group, but said this could work just about anywhere. He also described greening efforts in the expansion and renovation of Purdue’s basketball arena – the largest single construction project ever at Purdue. A large, underground filtration bed will offer a new way to handle storm water, saving a potential $300,000. The filtration bed retains water in the field, and as it leaches into the soil the storm water is cleaned. Echoing Page, Steve emphasized the importance of good communication with other departments in this project..

Bill Browne, of Ratio Architectsdescribed green building and design efforts in athletic facilities at Duke, Colorado State, and Notre Dame (which is building several new facilities). He discussed the benefits of white membrane roofs, shadings and overhangs, day-lighting, and natural heating and cooling of buildings. Colorado State built LEED Gold certified practice facilities for football & basketball. It earned LEED “innovation in design” credits for water efficiency and regional material use, and developed an educational program about the facilities. At Duke U, planners are pursuing a LEED certified parking garage - the first in the nation according to Bill. He has found that students everywhere are becoming more interested in whether their campus has embraced sustainability.

Q&A
Q: What are institutions doing with existing buildings, especially on the energy side?
A: Much of the focus goes toward lighting; also low flow toilets and environmentally friendly fixtures. Behavior change is important as well (people turn on too many lights all the time). Heating and cooling is another big part, since many campuses are cooling buildings they don’t need to cool. New centralized irrigation and energy control systems also help – they provide continual feedback to central office where adjustments can be made.

Q: Explain the different levels of field maintenance depending on the season.
A; Field hockey example - the grass needs to be cut to a specific height, different from other sports But during off season all fields can be cut to the same length. There is often pressure from coaches to cut fields to ideal height when recruiting; but if you explain in an educated way what the field care regime is, and that you care about the field, people understand.

Q: Are trash bags and receptacles put out in concourse and other areas at Purdue?
A: People won’t walk 30 feet to dispose of trash, but will fill bags in parking space. It makes collection efforts easier the following day.

Q: What is the biggest carbon footprint impact from athletics?
A: In Division III, 70% of the operating budget is travel, including recruitment efforts – flying and renting cars. Buildings use 75% of energy usage. You can have a major impact by focusing on athletic buildings and facilities.

Q: How are athletes being engaged?
A: Competitions, such as Green “energy wars.” These are well received by students who are pleased to win awards. Friendly competitions to become more sustainable will lead to education and awareness. At Columbia teams get points for a variety of athletic and non-athletic activities, including structured environmental actions. Green competition could be added to awards for conferences.

Q: How is NCAA using its clout?
A: They are moving to more virtual meetings (video and phone conferences). Also trying to use less paper. Recommending coaches meet at national conferences that are already occurring, and reduce face-to-face meetings. Ultimate goal is to make championships green. Site selection is just beginning.

Q: Are there sustainability officers on your staff?
A: Purdue named one last year. Each department was asked to name a sustainability coordinator. It’s very new. Communication across sectors is critical. Also, sustainability efforts must be supported from the top; and people have to be open, willing to listen.

Q: With sustainability there’s an opportunity for athletes to make connections between environmental stewardship and personal health.
A: Agreed. Currently a gap in understanding the connections between human health and environmental quality.

Q: Are petroleum-based fields more sustainable?
A: More research is needed on that.

Readers with an interest in greening athletics may also be interested in the 2009 Collegiate Athletic Department Sustainability Survey Report released by AASHE in July.