My name is Lowell Berg. I am a sport management major at Ohio University with a focus in business and professional sales. So far, I’ve really come to enjoy the sales aspect of my education. I was born in New York, but decided to leave my friends and family behind to come to school in Ohio because I, Lowell Berg, have dreams. In 20 years, I want to be running a professional sports team. I want to be the President, the CEO, the General Manger – the guy in charge. So as I sit here in my junior composition English class learning about environmental sustainability, I question why I’m even required to take such a class. See, I signed up for a course titled Writing and Rhetoric II, not Saving the Earth 101. I wanted to improve my writing skills, not learn about how screwed our planet is for the future. One hour and fifty-nine stressful minutes later, the clock ticks from 2:59 to 3:00 PM and I’m free; like a zookeeper let me out of a cage. At 3:00, I get to walk across campus to a class that actually has something to do with my dreams: Sport Governance and Ethics. Today, we learn how to develop organizational goals and objectives, and are asked to write examples of each. Now this is something I can use in the future!
I sit there, scribbling houses and basketball hoops on the pages of my notebook as I attempt to think of the perfect goal for my pretend organization. As my thought process continues, what comes next surprises me. I look down at my paper and see, save money by using renewable forms of energy. What? I know I just came from my English class, but I’m a salesman… why am I worried about saving money when I should be busy bringing it in?
My seemingly useless Saving the Earth 101 class has instilled something in my mind. In the past, American industry has focused their efforts solely on growing business. Entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford have consumed large amounts of resources like steel to build one of the largest automobile companies in the world. For so long, we’ve unlimitedly used resources in order to form the American industries that exist today. It’s time to focus on our planet before we consume everything it has to offer. While we may never destroy it all in the next five to ten years, we need to think long term.
Times are changing and people have begun to search for sustainable alternatives in daily life in order to preserve the supply of materials that we depend on every single day of our lives. For example, Honda has created a hydrogen-powered car that only emits water vapor; the Honda Clarity. Generation Y, currently in their teens and twenties will someday take over the running of our planet. As we grow older, it’s important to take a look at rising issues like environmental sustainability and apply it to our profession of choice. As someone who dreams of eventually running a professional sports franchise, I need to understand the importance of working in cooperation with our environment. Because one day, I won’t be scribbling pretend missions in my notebook, I’ll be instilling goals and objectives in massive sport organizations that have huge impacts on our planet. And, it’s important to use the power I hope to hold some day for the good of the earth, the good of future generations, and the good of my company’s bottom line. Although some sports teams are beginning to become sustainably aware, others remain completely unsustainable. Of the many unsustainable practices occurring in sport today, two noteworthy habits include travel methods of teams and stadium construction practices. Let’s take a look at what’s currently going on within the sport industry.
As a die-hard New York Mets fan, let’s examine their schedule. In June, the Mets will travel from Philadelphia, PA to Queens, NY to Denver, CO to Houston, TX to Queens, NY to the Bronx, NY to Chicago, IL and back to Queens (June Schedule). They will travel to each city, excluding the Bronx, by plane. After their plane ride, they will most likely be picked up at the airport by a bus. The plane runs on large amounts of jet fuel, while the bus consumes high volumes of diesel fuel. Many, if not all, professional sports teams these days travel by plane. Most college athletic teams travel to their games via coach buses carrying along cheerleaders, staff, and coaches, usually accompanied by a caravan of dedicated fans and parents. This transportation releases “carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up” (NRDC: Global Warming Basics). I’m not sure if we can do anything to fix this issue, it may be an unavoidable consequence of a necessary practice in the sport industry. Until the plans to build high-speed trains throughout this country turn into actual construction, teams will continue to travel unsustainably.
Not only are transportation practices in sport bad for the environment and therefore unsustainable, so are their stadia. Athletic stadia in America are only growing larger and larger. Cowboys Stadium, completed in 2009 for the Dallas Cowboys, holds 108,000 people (McBride). The abnormally large stadium “averages $200,000 in monthly utility bills… roughly 24,439,918 kwh per year. To give you some perspective, this is equivalent to the same amount of energy as the city of Santa Monica, CA” which has a population of 88,000 people (Glubiak). In the New York – New Jersey area, the following teams have built new stadia to replace ‘old’ ones in the past three years: the New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Mets, New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets, and New York Red Bull. The Giants’ and Jets’ old stadium, Giants Stadium was 34 years old. Meanwhile, in Boston, the Red Sox still play in 99-year-old Fenway Park. Other teams such as the Cubs and the football team at the University of Southern California play in stadia which are almost three times as old as Giants Stadium. So did the Giants and Jets really need to build a brand new stadium? In international sport, countries will propose construction of new stadia in order to gain a bid to host an important event. For example, Qatar, a small country in the Middle East recently earned the right to host the 2022 World Cup by blowing FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) away with their futuristic stadium designs. Check out the video below:
So, let me ask you, what did you think of their stadia? Pretty cool right? How about the last one with 420,000 square feet of television screens wrapping around the entirety of the stadium? The number of harmful chemicals in a 24-inch TV or computer screen is already enough to hurt the environment after it’s thrown away. How about an entire circumference of a stadium covered in these chemicals? The waste of building materials and its impact on the environment is one of the major sustainability issues involving sport facilities. For example, “Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the games [two years ago]. Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay $7 to walk on the stadium floor” (Beijing). It appears the stadium “may never recoup its hefty construction cost” (Beijing). So now let me ask you, what will a tiny country like Qatar do with five brand new stadia after the World Cup is over? Will Al-Rayaan Stadium and its TV screens be left to decay? What kind of impact will that have on the environment? I believe international sport organizations need to take into account what will happen to a stadium after the competition ends, during the bid-selection process. If there’s no planned use for it, that country should not be selected.
Many current stadia being used are unsustainable. It’s vital to realize that we can change these facilities to use less of our natural resources, yet serve the same purpose. Building a brand new stadium isn’t necessary. The benefits of adding greener features to sport structures in order to practice more sustainable methods of operation result in the protection of earth’s resources while saving money for the organization. Recycling building materials can lower construction costs and save resources. Switching incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy efficient or motion sensor bulbs will save money on electric bills. Greener appliances will shrink utility costs and save water. We don’t need to completely rebuild stadia to make them greener; we just need to add some embellishments. We should think in the long term instead of the short term. And some teams have already begun to do so.
Dr. Michael Pfahl, a professor in the sport management department at Ohio University, has done extensive research on current environmental sustainability practices in the sport industry, and has helped the Cleveland Cavaliers become a greener organization. In fact, he is currently in the midst of publishing a book titled Sport and the Natural Environment: A Strategic Handbook for Sport Managers, aimed at industry professionals to help them institute greener methods into their daily operations. When asked about sustainability in sport, he said that some teams are changing because of pressures to transform stemming from consumers, some teams are undergoing alterations because they have the money to do so, and others are changing because they actually care.
Dr. Pfahl believes that some teams in the NBA and MLB are including green concepts, but their green efforts mostly focus on their marketing strategies. They may promote recycling and other green ways of living at their games, but may not actually incorporate any substantial sustainable practices into their daily operations. Dr. Pfahl argues that by adding a ‘go green’ strategy to a marketing plan, there won’t be enough dedication to inhibit long term change. Rather, teams think of all the things they could promote to go green during a one-time event, such as a Green Week (NBA Cares). I think the reason our country is so unsustainable today is because individuals on their own are resistant to change. Large sport organizations should be role models of sustainability to encourage change within the general population. In the future, if I am going to be a sport manager, I need to go above and beyond incorporating sustainability into marketing plans. Most of the teams that are changing today are large organizations such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Olympics because they have the money to do so. As many of us college students argue that we cannot support sustainable practices because we don’t have the money to do so, so do small teams in less renowned leagues. Dr. Pfahl argues that even though these teams cannot make a substantial change, they need to realize that “you will never not have a footprint; you need to focus on maximizing opportunities to minimize impact” (Pfahl).
Rather than incorporate green initiatives into marketing plans, Dr. Pfahl says that in order to be successful, industry leaders need to add them to their organizational missions. So, while sitting in my Sport Governance and Ethics class, writing a mission to save money by using renewable forms of energy, I was actually on the right track. It’s important for teams to take on a strategic viewpoint, so that when the CEO leaves, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the team. While businesses have recently created roles such as social media marketing, we now need to create a role titled; environmental operations officer, to make sure we’re doing everything we can to preserve resources for the earth while saving money. Like all strategic initiatives, goals of sustainability need to be measureable, actionable, and attainable. You may not be able to rebuild a stadium right away, but you can change the lights to motion sensor bulbs. You can create drainage in parking lots where the water filters into stadium piping to be used in toilets and field watering. You can add solar panels, piece by piece, to eventually bring in more energy than you can consume. Once you start going green, “there’s no endpoint ever, it’s a complete change in how you live” (Pfahl). Individuals on his/her own are resistant to change. If a sport organization can demonstrate sustainability to their fans, we can only hope that it will catch on. One team that has done just this is the Philadelphia Eagles. Their sustainability mission is “to create and sustain championship performance on the field and in the community through programs that promote the quality of life in our region, green the environment to improve our impact on the planet, and enhance our profitability as a business” (Mission Statement). Check out their website dedicated to sustainability at http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/. As I grow older, I hope to encourage other teams to follow suit in the future.
After talking to Dr. Pfahl, I began to realize the impact I can have on this planet via sport. Someday, if I hope to be a CEO of a team, I need to use sustainability to my advantage and for the benefit our planet. This English class initially left me questioning why it even exists as a junior composition class. With the advice of Dr. Pfahl, I will seek to rise up through the sport industry as a salesman, as planned, but when I get to the top, I will incorporate sustainability into my mission so that even after I leave, sustainability can continue to improve. Because we need to go green if we want to survive on this planet… plus, it helps the bottom line.
Who knew my sour attitude towards this class would ever change? At the beginning of the quarter, I entered Ellis Hall hoping to learn about writing and rhetoric, but I was shocked to see that I had to write six papers on saving the earth. What could I do as a college student? Like a lot of students my age, I recycle – on occasion – and that’s about it. I can’t afford a completely sustainable lifestyle at this point in my life. This assignment has helped me understand the practicality this class will serve in the future. While I may not be able to make a change now, I might get a chance to in the future. I need to remember to do this one step at a time. Replacing light bulbs and recycling are easy ways to get started. Rising to the top of an organization in sport is no easy task. And as I take classes to learn how to increase revenue through sales, dreaming of the future, I realize that focusing on sustainability could be an advantage that will provide an attainable route to success in the future.
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Works Cited
"Beijing's Bird's Nest to Be Transformed into Shopping Center." FoxNews.com. Assocaited Press, 30 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485725,00.html>.
Glubiak, Owen. "Cowboys New Stadium a Reminder of How to Waste Energy." EE Life. EE Times, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/green-supplyline-blog/4030352/Cowboys-new-stadium-a-reminder-of-how-to-waste-energy>.
June Schedule. Photograph. 2011 Mets Schedule. The Official Site of The New York Mets. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym&m=6&y=2011>.
McBride, Rick. "Quick Facts about Cowboys Stadium: The Mind-Boggling Home of the Dallas Cowboys." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.suite101.com/content/quick-facts-about-cowboys-stadium-a201477>.
"Mission Statement." Philadelphia Eagles Go Green. Philadelphia Eagles. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/mission.asp>.
"NBA Cares: NBA Green Week 2009." Nba.vom. National Basketball Association. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nba.com/green/greenweek2009.html>.
"NRDC: Global Warming Basics." NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council - The Earth's Best Defense. 18 Oct. 2005. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp>.
Pfahl, Michael. "Sustainability Practices in Sport." Personal interview. 16 Feb. 2011.
Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadiums. YouTube. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAi3GLQyOI>.
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