There’s an interesting post by Brett Dioguardi entitled “How Green is Your Team.” But instead of ranking pro sports teams on their actual performance in various sustainability categories, he scores teams and leagues in terms of what they disclose about their policies in 16 categories, including waste and packaging. His study looked at the official web sites of teams and leagues to determine how much information is disclosed.
As you might expect, there was a range of results:
MLB teams provide the most information of any league about environmental initiatives, with a 31% disclosure rating. The NHL and NBA aren’t far behind, tying each other with a 28% rating. The NFL, meanwhile, scored only a 15% disclosure rating, meaning that 85% of the time, its teams provided no information on these issues.
The significance of this study lies in the fact that teams and leagues are still somewhat reluctant (and in some cases, very reluctant) to disclose information about their sustainability practices. We are pleased to note that many teams rank high in disclosing information about waste and recycling. However, more information should be available. “Green” claims must be verifiable, and teams and leagues should be willing to share their best practices.