Pittsburgh Penguins’ pledge to be more sustainable

The regular season came to a close last week and despite a topsy-turvy season, the 2023-24 campaign saw the advancement of the Penguins Pledge – a sustainability initiative designed to bolster the outlet’s commitment to improving its environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts.

Launched last year, the Penguins Pledge is a collaboration between the ice hockey team itself, and key sponsors and partners.

The Pledge builds on previous sustainability efforts, which also saw the Penguins’ PPG Paints Arena become the first – and only – NHL venue to be LEED Gold certified.

The 19,758-capacity (18,187 for ice hockey) venue was awarded for its sustainability efforts by embracing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The arena achieved LEED Gold under LEED BD+C: New Construction.

The arena officially opened in 2010 to replace the Penguins’ former home of the Civic Arena – which had stood since 1961. Oak View Group’s venue management subsidiary OVG360 was brought in from 2022 to manage the arena.

Elsewhere, the Penguins found that the team’s fans were very concerned around climate change, and that sustainability was important to them, further leading the Penguins to introduce the Pledge initiative.

After Fenway Sports Group purchased a controlling stake in the Penguins in 2021, the company also announced its investment in a venue sustainability platform, Green Operations & Advanced Leadership (GOAL) formed by Oak View Group.

GOAL provides venue operators with a tactical roadmap and proprietary tools to function more sustainably and accelerate the sports and entertainment industry’s response to the climate crisis. This has helped to further the Penguins’ sustainability efforts at PPG Paints Arena.

More recently, PPG Paints Arena has implemented a comprehensive recycling programme that includes electronics and batteries, and has also transitioned to using PathoSans – a chemical-free cleaning product that is made onsite.

Additionally, as part of the team’s off-season arena upgrades last year, the Penguins recycled more than 40,000 lbs of steel during the construction of a new centre-hung scoreboard. Arena lighting was also made fully LED in 2023, which has since saved over 40% on electricity usage compared to the previous system. Not only this, but the arena is a member of the Pittsburgh 2030 District & Green Sports Alliance, which was formed to help partners access support and resources needed to reduce emissions, energy demand and water usage.

A collaborative effort 

The Penguins’ sustainability journey is a prime example of being inspired and encouraged to embrace environmental and social initiatives by key sponsors. PPG, a Pittsburgh-headquartered coatings manufacturer, became the naming rights holder for the Penguins’ home, which was previously known as the Consol Energy Center, in 2016.

Last year saw PPG become the first US-based coatings company to receive validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for 2030 Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction targets. Additionally, in 2023, 44% of PPG sales were from sustainably advantaged products and processes that addressed benefits such as lower emissions, lower toxicity, energy efficiency and the use of renewable raw materials and extended durability.

PPG joined the Penguins Pledge as a Champion level partner, and has continued to support the franchise in its sustainability efforts.

“Sustainability is a key part of how PPG does business – and delivers on our purpose to protect and beautify the world,” explains Diane Kappas, PPG Vice-President of Global Sustainability.

“Being part of the Penguins Pledge allows us to further our mission and continue to reach fans, customers and community members to educate and engage them on the importance of sustainability.”

Elsewhere, the Penguins’ partnership with U.S. Steel and a host of other key partners resulted in the ice hockey team holding a ‘Penguins Pledge Night’ at PPG Paints Arena last month.

The Penguins took on the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of a crowd that received a Penguins-patterned shirt presented by PPG, made of recycled material, rPET. As part of the Penguins Pledge programme, the franchise has collaborated with the likes of independent natural gas producer EQT, Indra Energy, PPG, U.S. Steel, Pittsburgh-based maintenance, repair, and operations company Wesco and water solutions and technology firm Xylem, to reduce its negative impact on the environment and promote sustainable practices.

The Penguins also have a series of ‘Impact Partners’ in the form of landscaping business Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau – Davey Tree Expert Company, the National Avery and waste management firm WM.

Fans were able to experience various activations at the ‘Penguins Pledge Night’, including a live feed of U.S. Steel’s resident bald eagles, Irvin and Claire, which have taken up residence at one of the company’s plants. National Aviary experts and ambassadors for the franchise’s namesake – the penguin! – were in attendance to offer more insights into the animals and the need to protect their natural habitat.

As part of the Penguins Pledge, funds will continue to be raised for the National Aviary in Pittsburgh for conservation with African Penguins. Over the last season, and of course including Pledge Night, experts have been attending games to explain more. A permanent display has been installed on the FedEx Level of PPG Paints Arena to welcome visiting penguins, with the display featuring footage of the National Aviary’s Penguin Point habitat when they aren’t in attendance.

U.S. Steel also donated a $50,000 grant to Friends of the Riverfront as part of the Pledge Night initiative. Since the early 1990s, Friends of the Riverfront has worked to protect and restore the riverfront in the Pittsburgh region through trail development and stewardship, following decades of legacy pollution.

The Three Rivers Heritage Trail and Water Trail now encompass over 33 miles of urban and suburban riverfront trails. Each season, the Penguins, U.S. Steel and Wesco team up for a clean-up event in collaboration with Friends of the Riverfront. Since 2022, these events have engaged 188 employees across the three companies, accounting for well over 1,000 volunteer hours. Planning for further clean-up events this year is also underway.

The Penguins also won the Pledge Night match 3-2, adding to the enjoyment of fans at the sustainable-focused evening.

“We have gotten great responses, both internally and externally, for Penguins Pledge Night,” a Penguins spokesperson tells Global Sustainable Sport.

“The excitement around the panel and the game makes us excited to replicate the night/game in future seasons. Fans connected to sustainability night because they realised the positive changes our world is trying to implement with sustainability, starting right here in Pittsburgh.”

A community focus

Sporting organisations, whether they are in the NHL, National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS) or the National Football League (NFL), are often the beating heart of a community.

The Penguins’ commitment to building a sustainable future also encompasses community initiatives.

In collaboration with Aramark, the Penguins’ food service provider, PPG Paints Arena teamed up with 412 Food Rescue to donate and redistribute unused food to numerous organisation across Pittsburgh.

In 2023, the total donated through 412 Food Rescue amounted to more than 23,000 pounds of surplus food.

Additionally, a new partnership with Ball Cup has seen the implementation of more sustainable cups. Aramark and the Penguins have further embraced biodegradable plates and utensils across the arena and hospitality offerings.

Over the last three years, PPG has also partnered with the Pennsylvania Resource Council to host an annual Household Hazardous Waste Chemical collection. This is a drive-through event that is hosted at PPG Paints Arena providing Penguins fans and community members with the chance to safely discard household chemicals such as paints, cleaners and pesticides.

The collaboration between PPG, the Penguins and the PRC has seen some 135,000 pounds of chemical waste safely disposed of; diverting it from soil, air and water. This summer will see a fourth collection take place.

With a focus on young people, Pittsburgh Penguins and Xylem Water Technologies created the Score For Our Future programme. Students from local schools were able to attend sessions with sustainability experts from the Penguins, OVG 360, Aramark, and Xylem, who spoke about their current efforts in the sustainability space.

Students were then invited to take this knowledge and create a project with ideas on how to make PPG Paints Arena and the Pittsburgh Penguins more sustainable organisations. The winner was Riverview High School, with the students’ idea of a multi-stream recycling system winning $5,000, which was to be used on a sustainability project at their school.

A goal for the Penguins, a goal for the planet

In collaboration with Impact Partner The Davey Tree Expert Company, and working with Tree Pittsburgh, for every goal scored by the Penguins on home ice during the 2022-23 season, a tree was planted.

Goals scored by the Penguins resulted in 142 trees being planted last season.

This summer, a further 131 trees will be planted by Penguins front office staff.

Moving forward, the Penguins have begun working with a carbon accounting firm, Persefoni, to better understand the franchise’s carbon footprint

One of the first steps will be to measure some of the utilities and identify trends that emerge and areas the Penguins can reduce energy usage. EQT is also supporting this part of the journey to reduce carbon emissions.

While this is just a few of the schemes and programmes implemented by the Pittsburgh Penguins, it is obvious that collaboration and education are a key aspect of creating a more sustainable sporting organisation and society.

Images: Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins