Super Bowl 50's organizers have devised a comprehensive sustainability plan that will allow this granddaddy of bowl games to leave a positive footprint on its host region.
5,000 volunteers recruited to make the Super Bowl experience a smooth and safe one will be decked out in uniforms the color of the Golden Gate Bridge that are made of material containing fiber from recycled water bottles.
By Bill Picture
Published: February, 2016
Super Bowl 50’s organizers have devised a comprehensive sustainability plan that will allow this granddaddy of bowl games to leave a positive footprint on its host region. The hope is that it will also spark a torch of philanthropy and environmental stewardship that Super Bowls to come can build upon and carry into the future.
“The goal from the very beginning was to shape an event and an experience that reflects the values of the Bay Area,” said Stephanie Martin, spokesperson for the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. “So early on we were asking ourselves, ‘How does this Super Bowl leave behind a legacy of impact?’”
The obvious first step was minimizing the environmental impact of Super Bowl Week activities and the one million people expected to be in attendance. To do that, the committee and its partners rolled out an impressive portfolio of green building practices and operating procedures.
But Martin said just being green wasn’t enough. The committee also wanted to inspire Super Bowl fans—even the 100 million people expected to watch Super Bowl Week coverage from home—to receive the sustainability message as well.
“We recognized early on what a powerful platform we had to showcase sustainability,” she said. “So sustainability had to be front and center in the guest experience, to make people understand both the role they can play as individuals and the larger collective impact that even small changes can make.”
If all goes as planned, Super Bowl 50 will be the series’ first-ever net-positive event.
Net-Positive
Not familiar with the term? Don’t be embarrassed. It’s a relatively new one, referring to the desire of a business to contribute more to the environment, the global economy and society than it takes or uses.
To that end, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee created the 50 Fund, which awards grants to non-profit organizations employing innovative approaches to overcome local challenges, with a focus on bettering the lives of young people in economically-challenged areas. Grant recipients will have a track record in their respective communities of promoting environmental health, nurturing overall health and wellbeing and/or providing the educational, recreational and emotional tools to help young people succeed. The money they receive from the 50 Fund will help them expand existing programs.
Right now you’re probably saying to yourself, “What a wonderful program, but how exactly is the 50 Fund going to inspire Super Bowl fans to think beyond their next chicken wing and beer and lead more sustainable lives?”
The answer is “Play Your Part,” a campaign that actually incentivizes (and sometimes even rewards) sustainable behavior. Super Bowl 50 fans are directed to the Play Your Part campaign’s website where for pledging to perform a sustainable action, such as taking public transportation more or using a refillable water bottle, they’ll receive “Good Coins,” virtual credits that they can then donate to a short list of 50 Fund beneficiaries—$200,000 in 50 Fund grant money will be awarded this way. The credits also automatically enter the person into daily raffles that will be held during Super Bowl Week.
Play Your Part is a collaboration with in/PACT, the world’s first social-purpose activation platform, and Citizen Group, an award-winning marketing agency that helps companies develop a values-aligned brand. “It’s a win-win,” Martin said. “People get a ‘thank you’ for doing something good, and we showcase the 50 Fund and the work of these organizations.”
“So it’s not just about reducing climate change or using resources more responsibly,” Martin added. “It’s about sustainability being embedded into everything you do and every decision you make. That’s the goal. Imagine if every person who attended a Super Bowl event did one sustainable thing, how powerful that would be.”
Visitors to the Super Bowl may run into one of 100 “net-positive ambassadors” recruited for the event. These ambassadors will be on the lookout for Super Bowl fans doing good deeds and will hand out “good coins” on the spot. “Again, the sustainability aspect of Super Bowl is really front and center, and intended to be very interactive,” Martin said.
Also interacting with visitors will be the 5,000 volunteers recruited to make the Super Bowl experience a smooth and safe one. These volunteers will be decked out in bright orange uniforms—international orange, to be exact, which is the color of the Golden Gate Bridge—made of material containing fiber from recycled water bottles.
The uniforms were designed and manufactured by Hayward-based Way to Be, which won the uniform contract through Super Bowl’s supplier diversity program. For the last 10 years, special consideration was given to women- and minority-owned businesses during the procurement process. Super Bowl 50 expanded the program to also give a leg up to veteran- and LGBT-owned businesses.
“Winning the contract not only got Way to Be the business, it made them a part of our story—the green story,” Martin said. There’s enough recycled content in the volunteer uniforms to make about 100,000 16-ounce water bottles. “The staff here did the math,” Martin said. “If you were to line those bottles up end to end, they’d stretch about 12.5 miles.”
“We’re a very values-oriented organization,” she added. “And community has been firmly on our minds since Day One. It’s been an amazing journey, and after having worked on this for two years, it’s exciting to finally see it all coming together.”
For more information on Super Bowl 50, visit www.sfbaysuperbowl.com.
For more information on the 50 Fund, visit www.50fund.org.
For more information on the Play Your Part campaign, visit playyourpart.sfbaysuperbowl.com.
