Baton Rouge, LA, Oct. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today APTIM launched the third annual Sustainable Sport Index (SSI) Benchmarking Report, an established resource for environmental and social responsibility practices in sports venues across North America, in honor of Green Sports Day. The SSI survey gathers self-reported data from 41 professional and collegiate sports venues, with nearly one in four U.S.-based major professional sports arenas, stadiums, and ballparks participating. The report includes an anonymized analysis of trends, common challenges, and best practices for a greener future in the sports industry.
“This year, our SSI survey participation increased 64 percent, and we retained 96 percent of last year’s participants, demonstrating SSI’s value to the sports industry,” said Director of Sustainable Sport Index Meredith McCurdy. “By tracking year-over-year practices and identifying areas for improvement, SSI guides these venues on how to not only improve their footprint and impact on their communities but also how to make the business case for those improvements.”
Key report findings support the rise of sustainability practices in sports venues. The number of participating venues with sustainability staff positions has more than doubled in the past year. Sustainability is also driving business with 64 percent of venues reporting that their sponsorship revenue has increased since establishing sustainability programs.
This year’s report also features a new section on environmental resilience. The results show 98 percent of venues acknowledge at least one climate-related risk could affect their venue, but only 7 percent of venues have developed climate adaptation plans. To help venues get started, the report features a short playbook on environmental resilience planning developed by APTIM’s Resilience team.
In addition to the publicly available SSI Benchmarking report, each participating venue receives a customized, confidential report comparing their responses to the aggregated, anonymized data.
“As an organization dedicated to driving meaningful impact through green sports, we find the customized participant reports to be profoundly important,” said Executive Director of Green Sports Alliance Roger McClendon. “These tools play an important role in our commitment to sharing best practices and driving action as we Play to Zero across water, waste, and energy."
The SSI report is developed by experts in APTIM’s Sustainability & Energy Solutions team. Their services help craft data-driven solutions to support clients’ environmental, social, and governance goals, including strategic planning, policy development, and operational performance evaluation, as well as implement solutions to drive energy, water, and waste conservation.
Download the 2023 SSI Benchmarking Report at no cost.
Visit SustainableSportIndex.com to learn more and participate in 2024.
###
APTIM
APTIM is a leading professional solutions firm with headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We specialize in environmental services, resilience, sustainability, and energy solutions, as well as technical and data solutions, program management, and critical infrastructure. Our dedicated teammates apply their experience and expertise to provide integrated services and solutions for government agencies, commercial and industrial clients, and energy customers. 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 a more inclusive and equitable environment that celebrates the diversity of our people. Learn more at APTIM.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Green Sports Alliance
The Green Sports Alliance leverages the cultural and market influence of sports to promote healthy, sustainable communities where people work, live, and play. The Green Sports Alliance convenes professional sports leagues, sports governing bodies, colleges, teams, venues, their partners, and millions of fans around meaningful change toward a more sustainable future. Through the Play to Zero® program, it leads the embrace of renewable energy, waste diversion, water efficiency, and environmentally preferable practices. Through its marquee event greening division, The Green Sports Alliance delivers best-in-class sustainable productions to minimize environmental impacts and maximize community legacies, driving scalability and replications across the industry. The Green Sports Alliance is committed to sharing best practices, visit greensportsalliance.org for more information. Follow on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Subscribe to YouTube and Newsletter.
