A day dedicated to a leather ball being thrown around under bright lights in front of thousands of people munching snacks in oversized plastic containers, waving paraphernalia that may all ultimately end up in a landfill, is not a day one would associate with going green. But the people behind Super Bowl XLVI are making some impressive strides to reduce their impact.
According to an NFL press release, the National Football League and the Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee are working this year to cut their environmental impact at Super Bowl events, and also help their host community.
The press release states:
The NFL Environmental Program, now in its 18th year, develops projects each year to address solid waste, food waste, material reuse, the needs for books and sports equipment for children in need and the overall climate change impact of Super Bowl events.
15,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy certificates will be supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company to offset Super Bowl greenhouse gas emissions.
Trees will be planted to support local forestry projects and a PepsiCo recycling initiative is setting up bins throughout the event location.
Tens of thousands of pounds of food will be collected from Super Bowl events through the help of food recovery organization Second Helpings.
While some may argue the Super Bowl has a long way to go before becoming eco-friendly, TreeHugger's Tom Szaky wrote, "I couldn't help thinking to myself that this is something the NFL probably isn’t doing to gain new viewers. I suspect they’re doing it out of a larger sense of corporate responsibility."
Want to host a green Super Bowl party? Check out some of Technorati's Super Bowl party tips, like buying organic snacks and tossing around a fair trade football.
Check out the Green Mountain infographic below: