MLB, Minnesota Twins and NRDC incorporate environmental initiatives throughout 2014 MLB All-Star Week
As part of Major League Baseball's ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship, MLB is again partnering with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to help ensure that the 2014 MLB All-Star Week incorporates environmentally intelligent features. This will be the sixth All-Star Week that MLB and NRDC have worked together to implement such measures, both in-stadium and in supporting events. Target Field, home of the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, is the first Professional Sports Facility to receive a LEED Silver Certification for Both Construction and Operations.
To encourage fans taking part in MLB All-Star Week activities to walk, rather than drive, MLB in cooperation with the Twins and the Downtown Improvement District developed an All-Star Walking Path. This path, the first at a MLB All-Star Game, is designated by painted green markings on the sidewalk and signage along the route. The path runs between T-Mobile All-Star FanFest at the Minneapolis Convention Center and Target Field along Nicollet Mall and 6th Street.
At Target Field, in-stadium messaging will promote ways fans can be more environmentally conscious. To encourage fans to recycle, "All-Star Green Teams" will circulate throughout the stadium during all ballpark events to collect recyclables from fans. To help reduce All-Star Week's environmental footprint, the energy and water used at Target Field for the 2014 All-Star Game, Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the Gillette Home Run Derby, Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game and SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game will be offset with "Green-e Certified" renewable energy and water restoration credits. In addition, player travel to and from Minneapolis will be offset through carbon offsets provided by Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
Outside the ballpark, "All-Star Green Teams" will also be collecting recyclables at the 2014 Target All-Star Concert presented by Budweiser featuring Grammy Award winning artists Imagine Dragons with musical guest, Minnesota-based Atmosphere, on Saturday, July 12 at TCF Bank Stadium and at The Color Run MLB All-Star 5K presented by Nike on Sunday, July 13 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, the largest baseball fan event in the world, will include displays on the environmental efforts by Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins. On Saturday, July 12, the theme of T-Mobile All-Star FanFest will be Go Green Day which will highlight sustainable efforts taken by the City of Minneapolis, Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins and the Minneapolis Convention Center. Fans will be able to recycle their cell phones as well as donate gently used sports equipment to be given to youth organizations in the Minneapolis Area, and prizes will be awarded randomly throughout the day for fans practicing "green" acts at the event such as properly recycling their waste or bringing their own bag for purchases. In addition, the first 1,000 eligible fans will receive a free reusable tote bag.
As part of the most extensive community legacy effort in All-Star Game history, MLB and the Twins have helped to fund a seven-acre woodland restoration and enhancement portion of a larger project in the heart of St. Paul. This project will transform a neglected former railroad site into a nature sanctuary complete with prairie, savanna, maple-basswood forest and a storm water management system of filtration ponds and wetlands. The Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary is one of five segments under development that will reclaim industrial areas and railroad rights-of-ways that were once Trout Brook that linked several lakes, ponds and wetlands to the Mississippi River. The joining of these five segments will create a 4.1 mile trail and nature area between Ramsey County Regional Park and the Mississippi River. The reclamation of these areas back to their native plant and water environment will help to provide cleaner water runoff to the Mississippi River, as well as create natural habitats for animals and fish in the heart of the City of St. Paul. Additionally, the linked trail will also connect with three other trails, allowing users to travel uninterrupted through nature from the Mississippi River for 18 miles toward the eastern border of the state.
After several events, including the All-Star Game Gala and 85th MLB All-Star Game, uneaten food will be collected and donated, in partnership with Rock and Wrap It Up!, an organization that arranges for the recovery of prepared but unsold food, to feed local community members in need and the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center. Rock and Wrap It Up! has collected uneaten food at MLB All-Star events since 2005.
MLB has also prioritized sustainable attributes when selecting materials ranging from tickets and programs to the red carpet used for the All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Chevrolet, which is made from 100 percent recycled fiber and manufactured using electricity produced by 100 percent renewable wind and solar power. Chevrolet will be providing all-new Flex-Fuel Chevy Silverado vehicles for the players and their families during the parade.
In addition to the initiatives led by Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins have made a commitment to using their resources throughout the season in a responsible and sustainable manner through their Go Twins, Go Green initiative.
Through a custom-designed Rain Water Recycle System, the Minnesota Twins have captured, purified and reused more than 3,133,892 total gallons of rainwater, drastically reducing the use of municipal water at Target Field. The majority of the recycled rainwater is used to wash down the seating bowl attached to the main concourse.
Thanks to aggressive recycling and composting programs, the Twins have kept more than 3,761 tons of waste out of local landfills since 2011. The Minnesota Twins and concession partner Delaware North Companies Sportservice donated more than ten tons of food to local charities last season through a partnership with Rock and Wrap It Up!. In addition, during each Twins regular season home game, two sections of the stadium take part in a challenge where the goal is to have just one garbage bag of trash per section go to the landfill with the rest being diverted to recycling and compost.
Major League Baseball began an alliance with the NRDC (www.nrdc.org) in 2006 to identify and promote better environmental practices. Since 2008, MLB has incorporated environmentally intelligent features in All-Star Week activities as well as the World Series. This relationship also led to the creation of the Team Greening Program featuring NRDC Team Greening Advisors for Major League Baseball, web-based software tools featuring advice and resources for every aspect of a Club's operations. This unprecedented program offers specific local advice concerning such topics as energy use, purchasing, concession operations, water use, recycling and transportation. In 2010, MLB developed software to collect and analyze stadium operations data - the first time a professional sports league has implemented a software program throughout its league to collect data for the purpose of documenting environmental practices and for sharing information about environmental best practices at stadiums. For more information about MLB environmental initiatives, visit mlb.mlb.com/green.