About 100 people attended last month’s GOAL Invitational in Seattle, where some of those in town for the Green Sports Alliance Summit also made their way to Climate Pledge Arena to hear about practical approaches to making venue operations more environment friendly and how doing so makes good business sense. Oak View Group launched GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership) in 2022 as a set of tools, resources and standards for sports and entertainment facilities to integrate sustainability anywhere along their journey.

“Sports teams and venues have a platform on the topic of social change, and we have the ability to shine a light on issues that matter in a way that many businesses don’t,” he said. “I think our venue operators are saying ‘Okay, we get it. Now what do we do about it?’”

Best-In-Class Sports/Entertainment Venues and Organizations Commit to Collectively Address Climate Action and Social Impact

“Within the GOAL system, we’re trying to encourage people to survey, do visual assessments periodically. Even just making some educated assumptions goes a long way to measuring what that carbon footprint is - What we haven’t seen as much is that true measurement of carbon footprint."

CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore lowered its carbon footprint through a $200 renovation when compared to what that footprint would have been from new construction

There is no better insurance than to “future proof” our venues by equipping ourselves to better anticipate and prevent threats. A proactive operational approach builds a savvy defense to reduce risk, creates a strong offense against other risks, and also elevates a venues’ reputation, enhancing the staff and visitor experience, and supporting the surrounding community.

The GOAL platform aims to standardize sustainability reporting and processes across some of the US’s largest public gathering spaces — and entice the rest to come aboard.

On New GOAL Program's Drive to Help Sports & Entertainment Venues Make Difference on Social Impact & Climate Action, New Partnership with Green Sports Alliance

GOAL Announces Founding Circle Members: UBS Arena, Fenway Sports Group, Levi’s Stadium, FTX Arena, State Farm Arena, Climate Pledge Arena, New York Mets, Footprint Center, Coop Live, Acrisure Arena, Mullett Arena, Moody Center, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, PPG Paints Arena, Budweiser Gardens, RocketMortgage Fieldhouse

According to Gallup, just over 40% of Americans identify as “environmentalists,” down from a high of 78% three decades ago, but roughly the same since the turn of the century. This has largely turned into a political party issue, with twice as many Democrats identifying as environmentalists compared to Republicans.

Would conservatives change their tune if going green meant making putting more green in their pockets?

A Common GOAL: OVG, sports team partners create new membership platform to exchange sustainability best practices

Timothy Leiweke wins Green Sports Alliance’s Environmental Leadership Award at the 2022 Green Sports Alliance Summit, thanks to his transformative role in the development of Climate Pledge Arena and overall commitment to climate action.