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One million people and a net-positive impact to the Bay Area will make Super Bowl 50 the “greenest” Super Bowl yet.
Verizon, the title sponsor of the Super Bowl and Super Bowl City, has teamed with the NFL, the Super Bowl Host Committee and American Forests to support a number of sustainability projects -- including urban forestry events, school supplies and athletic equipment collection drives, and an e-waste recycling rally -- designed to reduce the environmental impact of this event on the community.
The NFL began incorporating environmental initiatives into the management of Super Bowl more than 20 years ago. Verizon also has a long legacy of environmental stewardship. Since 2009, Verizon has reduced its carbon intensity by over 40% and collected over 2.1 million pounds of e-waste through free community recycling rallies.
Super Bowl 50 sustainability highlights done in conjunction with Verizon include:
- 28,500 trees will be planted in parks, playgrounds, schoolyards and other public spaces throughout the Bay Area and in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, thanks to our partnerships with American Forests and several Bay area local nonprofits. The tree planting in the Sierra Nevada range will help restore the watershed area that supplies drinking water to the San Francisco Bay area.
- Super Kids-Super Sharing – an NFL program that teaches students to recycle items they no longer use, including books, sports equipment and school supplies – donated more than 32,000 items that were then distributed to local Bay Area schools and organizations that serve children in need.
- More than 400 phones were donated to HopeLine through the Super Kids-Super Sharing events. HopeLine benefits domestic violence shelters nationwide and in the Bay Area. Verizon also presented $10,000 grants to the YWCA of Silicon Valley and STAND! for Families Free from Violence.
- More than 140 local residents from Santa Clara participated in the E-Waste Recycling Rally. Thanks to the help of these residents, 20 pallets of electronic equipment will be responsibly recycled and kept out of local landfills.
Residents in the Bay Area and fans around the country can also help the NFL and Verizon by embracing sustainability personally. Here are a few tips:
- Green TV – Watch Super Bowl 50 in a group with family and friends. Not only will you get to spend quality time together, but you will be helping the earth by saving energy watching on one screen, rather than multiple.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Super Bowl is a time that people gather around the TV with food and drinks to watch the excitement, but that also produces a lot of unwanted waste. Avoid using single-use paper products for dining and decorations.
- Chef Green – Consider purchasing local and organic food to serve at your get together. Not only are you helping to fill the world with less preservatives and artificial flavors, but you’re also reducing fuel emissions by cutting down the need for food to be shipped across the country.
As excitement grows before the 50th Super Bowl, the Bay Area community has already won the game with a positive environmental legacy that will extend far beyond February 7.
