Dear stephanie,
We didn’t set out to be the world’s first sports and live entertainment venue to receive TRUE platinum certification for zero waste.
Quite simply, we asked ourselves what does living our values of being a community asset and being ‘True to Atlanta’ look like as a venue that attracts millions of fans annually.
In 2018, when we opened the new State Farm Arena, we had a clear vision of what we wanted that to be. We wanted to foster a space where everyone in Atlanta would feel welcome, seen and heard: a venue focused on Southern hospitality, accessibility for all and creating an incredible guest experience that led to a great night out.
In 2019, we made one small but impactful addition to that vision. We added environmental sustainability to the list with an audacious but attainable goal: to become a more environmentally considerate organization and use our platform to become a visible leader in this important space.
It was then that our zero waste journey truly began.
As we started and did our due diligence, it was quickly apparent that we would have our work cut out for us. In 2019, almost 90 percent of our fan-generated waste went directly to landfills - we recycled just under 8 percent, composted only 3 percent, and reused zero. We were disappointed by our findings but committed to change.
With the support of incredible ownership, human and financial capital, collaboration with staff and fans alike and amazing partners, we embarked.
We switched from plastic to paper bags, added hundreds of recycling bins throughout the arena to make it easy for fans to recycle and reduced our use of single-use items that cannot be recycled.
We enlisted the help of volunteers and created a team to sort materials after every event whether a basketball game or a concert, reducing potential contamination and ensuring we were recycling the right way. We worked with partners to aid in the supply chain process and push their operations to industry-leading sustainability practices.
And we asked you - the fans - to help us. And you did.
Thank you.
Today, we divert 91 percent of our fan-generated waste away from landfills, composting 44 percent and reusing or recycling the remaining 47 percent.
We are so proud of this achievement and thankful for everyone who has helped us make Atlanta a better, cleaner and more environmentally friendly city.
Sustainability is a forever journey, and we are still in the early stages of all that we want to achieve. As we work toward understanding how we can reduce our carbon footprint and how we utilize energy and water in the future, there is so much more to do but we are confident that we will get there and be a champion for sustainability on the way.
Forever True to Atlanta,
Brett Stefansson
EVP & General Manager
State Farm Arena
Geoffrey Stiles
SVP, Facilities and Events
State Farm Arena
Sofi Armenakian
Director, Operations and Sustainability
State Farm Arena
Learn more about our journey to zero waste here. |
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