Major League Baseball becomes an Eco Friendly Club
ByToronto Blue Jays: My hometown Eco Friendly Club
In March 2008, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced their collaboration with the creation of a Team Greening Program. This program was developed to support and coordinate the many environmentally-sensitive practices now pursued by virtually every MLB Club. The announcement marks the first time that MLB will implement a league-wide environmental protection strategy. “Baseball is a social institution with social responsibilities and caring for the environment is inextricably linked to all aspects of our game,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “Sound environmental practices make sense in every way and protect our natural resources for future generations of baseball fans.”
This new feature of the Sustainable Scribe will look at the Green Initiatives of various MLB teams. First up, we have the Toronto Blue Jays.
As a Torontonian I am proud to say that my home team, the Toronto Blue Jays, have the distinction of being at the forefront of the green movement in baseball. The Rogers Centre, home of the Blue Jays, turned 20 this year and is doing its part to become more environmentally friendly. On their official website they state that the Rogers Centre “is committed to proactive environmental practices that benefit the venue, its guests and the community at large. Investing capital resources in constructive energy reduction strategies starting as early as 2007, Rogers Centre leads by example within the sports and entertainment venue industry.” An eco friendly home for an eco friendly club.
During Blue Jays’ games attention is paid to the Rogers Centre’s energy conservation and how fans can do their part. There is an “in-stadium call to action to all guests, Rogers Centre is working with all partners to lead the way in positive environmental practices”. These environmental practices include eco friendly giveaways such as Blue Jays insignia reusable tote bags that are made of 100% recycled material. This came about as a result of a partnership between the eco friendly club, Rogers Center and one of its key sponsors.
Another initiative was a pledge drive for energy conservation week, whereby fans signed up and pledged to do their part to conserve energy. Once the computerized questionnaire was filled out each patron received a tip sheet printed on plantable paper. The response was overwhelming. Yet another green leap forward for this eco friendly club is that “all videoboards in Rogers Centre are LED displays”. LED displays require less energy to run and they use them to display fun facts and trivia concerning their multi-layered recycling program during games.
These are just a few of the green initiatives the Jays, as a baseball club, have implemented but word is that there are more in the works. As an environmentalist and baseball fan, I couldn’t be happier. As far as I can tell, this eco friendly club has knocked it out of the park.
