Denver, Colorado, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An upcoming research initiative will give sports teams and stadium operators the opportunity to receive personalized sustainability coaching while helping drive industry-wide adoption of sustainability measures. The Sustainable Sport Index (SSI), an APTIM-powered initiative, will launch its second annual data-gathering survey in early April, with a subsequent Industry Benchmarking Report to provide participating teams and venues insights into actual sustainability activities and investments their peers implement, as well as the ability to assess their own performance. SSI's insights help bolster individual sports venues and the sports industry at large by identifying best practices and adoption rates while providing participating teams and venues with detailed recommendations for improving their own sustainability score.
The SSI is a first of its kind initiative to understand the collective environmental and social impacts of the sports industry and to establish and accelerate industry sustainability best practices. By surveying sports teams and facilities to collect metrics on sustainability activities ranging from waste and energy to diversity and inclusion, the SSI team creates a publicly available, anonymized, industry-wide collective Benchmarking Report and confidential individualized reports for all responders. In SSI’s inaugural year in 2021, 20 prominent sports venues participated, and the effort received widespread press and an Industry Leadership award, with many participating teams making sustainability improvements to their venues based on SSI’s findings.
Teams and venues are now invited to participate in the 2nd annual SSI Benchmarking Survey, which launches April 5 and will remain open through the end of May. The subsequent Benchmarking Report and individualized reports for each participating venue will be available by late summer. While the inaugural survey responders predominantly featured professional sports teams, this year’s initiative aims to expand the effort to minor league and collegiate teams to better represent the sports industry.
“In our second year of the Sustainable Sport Index, our emphasis is on broadening the opportunity to all sports venues. The more insights we collect, the more we are able to help stadium operators and teams move the needle to a more sustainable sports industry,” said Lindsay Arell, Director of Sustainability at APTIM, the environmental and sustainability solutions firm that owns SSI.
Key findings from last year’s SSI Benchmarking Report included:
- 76 percent of responding facilities offer sensory relief rooms for fans.
- 65 percent of responding facilities achieved some type of sustainability-related certification, with the most common certifications being Global Biorisk Advisory Council, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and WELL Building.
- 17 percent of responding facilities and teams track their carbon emissions with just one team offsetting emissions.
Sports teams, leagues, and venues representing professional, minor league, and collegiate athletics can visit the SSI website or email the SSI team at connect@sustainablesportindex.com to sign up to receive notifications for the survey’s launch, and to learn more about the SSI report’s goals, impact, and findings.
###
About Sustainable Sport Index
The Sustainable Sport Index is an industry-wide initiative to understand the collective environmental and social impacts of the sports industry, with the goal to create industry consensus around the key environmental impacts of sports venues and teams through benchmarking data and sharing industry best practices. The Sustainable Sport Index is powered by APTIM, and partners with Honeycomb Strategies, Max-R, and Eco-Products.
About APTIM
APTIM is a global industry leader headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With more than 4,000 employees worldwide, APTIM specializes in critical infrastructure, technical and data solutions, environmental services, program management, resiliency, and sustainability and energy solutions. Our dedicated people have proven experience and expertise to provide integrated services and solutions to government agencies, commercial, industrial, and energy markets. APTIM commits to accelerating the transition toward a clean and efficient energy economy, building a sustainable future for our communities and natural world, and creating an inclusive, equitable environment that celebrates the diversity of our people.
Attachment
