Red Sox offset Fenway Park's electricity consumption with renewable energy
As part of the Red Sox's ongoing efforts to make Fenway Park more environmentally friendly, the club announced that 100 percent of the ballpark's electricity consumption for the next two years will be offset with Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) through the club's electricity supply partner, Engie.
BOSTON -- As part of the Red Sox's ongoing efforts to make Fenway Park more environmentally friendly, the club announced that 100 percent of the ballpark's electricity consumption for the next two years will be offset with Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) through the club's electricity supply partner, Engie. The arrangement with Engie was finalized in late 2017, making the Red Sox one of four Major League teams to offset their ballpark energy consumption by purchasing RECs.
Offsetting two years' worth of Fenway Park's electricity consumption is equivalent to a total of 29,740 RECs. That's similar to displacing the estimated annual greenhouse gas emissions of 4,749 passenger vehicles driven for two years, the impact of 7,712 tons of waste diverted from landfills, or the carbon dioxide emissions from the total energy usage of 2,390 households for two years.
In addition to the renewable energy certificates, the Red Sox have reduced Fenway Park's total electric usage by 12 percent since 2014 by working with New England's largest energy provider, Eversource, on 20 different energy conservation projects, such as retrofitting the ballpark with LED lighting, automated lighting controls throughout the park, and the installation of high efficiency heating equipment.
After Friday's 7:10 p.m. Red Sox-Rays game, the club will organize and sort all trash generated from the game to recover the recyclables and separate the food waste for composting. The postgame sorting of waste will be done in partnership with Waste Management and Aramark, Fenway Park's concessionaire.
The "greening" of Fenway Park has been ongoing since 2008 when the club created the Green Team, which is now presented by Dasani, and installed solar thermal panels at Fenway Park - the first professional sports team to do so. Even the field maintenance systems feature irrigation timing and diagnostic controls to minimize water and fertilizer use.
In 2015, the Red Sox created an organic rooftop garden behind the Gate A Fenway Park façade that provides rooftop-to-table vegetables and herbs throughout the baseball season. Produce and herbs grown in Fenway Farms, presented by Orsted, Sage Fruit, and Aramark, are used in food products prepared at ballpark concession stands and club restaurants. Close to 7,000 pounds of food was harvested last season with almost no emissions.
As of 2017, with the help of the Green Team, Aramark, and Waste Management, the Red Sox recycled more than 307 tons and composted 252 tons of waste.
In 2012, the Red Sox were recognized with an Achievement Award from the EPA and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for demonstrated commitment to improving sustainable food management practices. Last year, the Red Sox were named "Recycler of the Year" by MassRecycle, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing recycling and waste reduction in Massachusetts, for the recycling program at Fenway Park.