Grass Not the Only Thing Green in Modern Stadiums

ProudGreenBuilding By Dawn YankeelovHot summer days lead us into stadiums that showcase some of the most important building construction leaps forward in recent years, from green construction practices to energy-efficiency, and now a test bed for solar technologies.

The Green Sports Alliance just announced a partnership to synthesize and review the "green data in June 2018 with Measurabl, the world’s most widely adopted sustainability software for the built environment.

More than 5.5 billion square feet of commercial property valued in excess of $1.5 trillion in 70 countries use their software to manage, benchmark and report sustainability performance.

The sports culture has embraced sustainability and green construction for more than a decade and made a big splash in revealing their practices visible to spectators. More than 73 million fans turn out to stadiums each year, moving in environments noted for their sophistication in water management, heating and cooling technologies, modular construction and even solar photovoltaics.

The U.S. Department of Energy, working with the National Institute of Building Sciences, funded a 2017 66-page report – Taking the Field –on stadiums. Green building rating programs, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), allow owners, operators and designers to think holistically about implementing sustainable design and operations practices. To date, 80 venues have comported to a LEED standard, according to the report. Key agencies in the federal government that have engaged the sports communities and stadiums include the U.S. Department of Energy, the State Department and the EPA.Read the full story here.