Five Ways Super Bowl LIX Is Tackling Sustainability
Super Bowl LIX isn’t just a spectacle of athleticism and entertainment, it’s an event with a massive environmental footprint. From the energy-intensive operations of Caesars Superdome, to the volume of waste, travel emissions, food and merchandise, the big game leaves a lasting impact on the planet.
Organisers are working to change that. “Sustainability is a core focus at the NFL” says Anna Isaacson, senior vice president of social responsibility for the league. “We are constantly adapting to address the unique regional, operational, and cultural aspects of each of our events, including Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.”
The league is implementing a range of initiatives to reduce waste, recover food, and engage the community in climate conscious efforts. This is “welcome to see” says Walker Ross, lecturer in sport management and digital marketing at University of Edinburgh and director of The Sport Ecology Group. However these efforts “ought to be expected across all of sport, as we face our many planetary crises.”
1. Reuse and Recycling Of Super Bowl Materials
Creating the spectacle we will enjoy on February 9 requires a lot of materials. Planning takes years, and preparation at Caesars Superdome has been underway since January 6. Materials used include the artificial turf field, concessions for food, drinks and merchandise, technology, media and stage equipment for the half time show, generators, medical supplies, team equipment and signage.
Single-use materials and unsold concessions could create a mountain of waste. Finding a second home or repurposing as many of these items as possible can reduce the environmental impact of the event, as we saw at the 2024 Paris Olympics. NFL say they have identified 20 local organizations to repurpose and reuse Super Bowl items, including local schools and art studios.
Ramping up recycling both in front of house and behind the scenes is planned. 200 extra recycling bins are being added for fans to use, and contamination will be reduced by staff sorting through bags, to maximize the number of bottles and cans that are recycled. Zero waste is the aim for the Commissioner’s Party and NFL House events, meaning 90% or more of waste accumulated will be diverted from landfill.
2. Recovering and Redistributing Super Bowl Food
Three tons of shrimp, 12,000 oysters, 150,000 nacho chips, half a ton of soft shell crab and over 50,000 baguettes. This is just some of the food that Super Bowl attendees at Caesars Superdome will enjoy.
Food waste is inevitable given the scale of events, and the nature of a championship final. For example, a “winner’s banquet” is prepared at both team’s respective hotels. There can only be one winner, so when the losing team departs immediately after the game, their banquet is untouched. This food, and lots more like it, will be recovered and redistributed by local nonprofit, Second Harvest Food Bank.
Recovered food from 18 events across Super Bowl week will go to “dozens of partners, providing food to those facing food insecurity across the Greater New Orleans community,” says Lindsay Hendrix, chief impact officer of Second Harvest Food Bank. This includes shelters feeding unhoused community members and food pantries.
Redistributing surplus food has a positive impact both environmentally and socially. One in five households in South Louisiana are at risk of hunger. Drivers include high poverty rates, economic disinvestment in more rural communities, COVID19 impacts and disasters like hurricanes that prevent families ability to put food on the table, Hendrix tells me.
3. How Super Bowl Attendees Are Being Asked To Help
Fans travelling to New Orleans are being encouraged by NFL to use active and public transport options in the city. They are being asked for their help to recycle by sorting correctly and making sure recyclables are empty, clean, and dry. Sustainability staff will be present at events if fans have questions.
4. Benchmarking Super Bowl Greening Efforts
Waste diversion rates will be monitored on game day and other Super Bowl week events, to benchmark and improve in the future. Carbon emissions will be calculated for energy used at the stadium, staff travel, and the carbon footprint of the food and merchandise sold at the game.
“We recognize sustainability is a long-term process and are committed to leveraging the lessons learned this year to build upon and improve our efforts in the years to come,” shared NFL’s Anna Isaacson.
Data collection to measure and understand a sports event’s footprint is the first step in reducing overall climate impact, according to Sports For Climate Action Framework, the global initiative lead by UN Climate Change. From there, action can be taken to effectively avoid, reduce, replace and compensate.
5. Community Projects and Legacy After Super Bowl
Louisiana is losing one football field’s worth of wetlands into open water every 100 minutes, caused by sea level rise, hurricanes, levees and the loss of sediment that once replenished coastal wetlands.
For Super Bowl LIX, a number of local projects are being supported by NFL Green, the league’s environmental program, to slow land loss and protect against storm surges. Initiatives include a number of tree plantings and the creation of a living shoreline, created from oyster shells collected from New Orleans restaurants.
Are Current Super Bowl Greening Initiatives Enough?
Super Bowl LIX greening efforts are “standard practices for today’s large-scale events,” says Walker Ross. “These are good initiatives, but they are not particularly special either.”
Ross believes efforts “focus heavily on reducing and diverting outputs like waste, donations, and carbon emissions,” but “equal attention has yet been paid to the inputs side of this claim,” such as reducing the size and scale of the event, travel to the event, single-use product use, or sourcing of materials.
Beyond reducing environmental impacts, the spotlight of Super Bowl presents education and engagement opportunities. Second Harvest Food Bank’s Lindsay Hendrix believes their partnership with Super Bowl LIX creates a “platform to educate our nation about the most pressing social issues we face each day,” and helps “highlight the work being done to address these issues.”
Telling the story of Super Bowl’s green initiatives to the league’s teams and venues, so they can learn from them is also a way NFL can “set the example,” according to Brandon Hamilton, vice president of stadium operations for Super Bowl finalist Kansas City Chiefs.
