D-Backs to Celebrate Earth Day Tomorrow
The D-backs will celebrate Earth Day tomorrow by incorporating messaging for fans throughout the game on how they can help live a more sustainable lifestyle at the ballpark and at home. Many of the in-game activities will be centered around Earth Day, including the D-backs Match game, a dbTV game which will feature cards displaying how fans can be more environmentally responsible, and an Inning of Winning, in which a fan will try to recycle as many plastic bottles as possible. The D-backs Legends Race will include the Legends cleaning up recyclables as they run and throughout the game, the D-backs will showcase some of their sustainability efforts.
This Sunday, the D-backs will give away a reusable D-backs Water Bottle to the first 5,000 kids, courtesy of Smile Generation, to further educate young fans on the benefits of reducing waste and becoming more environmentally friendly. New in 2017, the D-backs have taken great strides to make Chase Field and D-backs games a more environmentally-friendly experience for fans, including:
- In partnership with Waste Management, the D-backs added 200 dual recycling bins throughout all concourses; each bin is made with 1,300 recycled milk jugs
- Replaced paper towel dispensers with 50 high-efficiency hand dryers in concourse restrooms, which will reduce over 1,000 miles of paper towels from the annual waste stream
- Retrofitted 425 toilets and 260 urinals with low-flow flush valves, reducing water usage in these areas by 50%
- In partnership with Levy Restaurants and Waste Management, the D-backs launched a compost program to collect organics from ballpark kitchens
The D-backs continue to make sustainability a priority, and over the years have incorporated the following changes to positively affect environmental change:
- D-backs’ Spring Training complex, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, was the first LEED Gold-certified sports venue of its kind in the United States
- The APS Solar Pavilion, which covers 17,280 square feet above the Chase Field plaza near the ballpark's western entrances and ticket office, provides extra shade over the ballpark's heaviest used entrances and generates 100,000 kWh of solar energy; enough electricity to power the lights at Chase Field for 11 home games
- The Arizona Diamondbacks are proud members of the Green Sports Alliance, a groundbreaking coalition of professional sports teams and sporting venues committed to promoting "greening initiatives" in sports.
- Fans with electric powered vehicles can charge their cars at one of the three electric car charging stations located at the northwest corner of 4th Street and Jackson
- Completed this past off-season, all concourse lighting, administrative parking, player parking and ballpark parking garages have been converted to energy-efficient LED, resulting in 60% savings in power consumption annually
- Utilize a Building Management System for timely and efficient control of facility lighting and cooling, further reducing energy consumption
- Over the past 4 seasons, the D-backs and Levy Restaurants have donated more than 23 tons of unused concessions food, which equates to roughly 38,000 individual meals
- All of the disposable cutlery and plates Levy Restaurants uses at Chase Field are recyclable or compostable
- Full and half-season Season Ticket Holders are issued a reusable "Loyalty Cup" to use for discounted beverage refills which minimizes waste
- Uniforms worn by D-backs game day staff are made from RPET material, in which 16 recycled bottles contributed to the fabric of each shirt