Pac-12 and Unifi Announce Founding Partnership of Pac-12 Team Green
Unifi to serve as official sponsor of all Pac-12 Championship events, provide grant funding to Pac 12-member institutions to increase recycling efforts and work with Pac-12 Networks to further promote Pac-12 campus sustainability and recycling programs
BOULDER, Colo. - The Pac-12 and Unifi, Inc. and today announced a long-term partnership, with Unifi serving as the Founding Sustainability Partner of Pac-12 Team Green and as a sponsor of the Pac-12 Sustainability Conference. As part of the partnership, Unifi will provide grant funding to all 12 of the Conference’s member institutions to support sustainability initiatives and increase recycling efforts; work with the Pac-12 and Pac-12 Networks on creating custom content and media assets to feature sustainability programs and support efforts to recycle billions of plastic bottles into fiber; and will serve as an official sponsor for all Pac-12 championship events. The announcement today occurred during the 2018 Pac-12 Sustainability Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Pac-12 Team Green is a first-of-its-kind collegiate athletics conference sustainability platform set to promote all greening efforts taking place on and around Pac-12 campuses. The launch of Pac-12 Team Green further cements the Pac-12’s commitment to an elevated approach to enhancing sustainability efforts within collegiate athletics departments, designing new collective initiatives and sharing best practices to transform college sports into a platform for environmental progress. Key components of the platform include the Pac-12 Sustainability Conference, the Pac-12 Zero Waste Competition and the Pac-12 Sustainability Working Group which unites leaders from all 12 of the Conference’s member campuses from both athletics and sustainability. This integrated platform was instrumental in Unifi’s decision to partner with Pac-12 Team Green, further cementing the company’s efforts to promote recycling, sustainability, and its focus on the circular economy.
“At Unifi, sustainability is a core component of the work we do and who we are,” said Richard Gerstein, executive vice president of premium value-added brands and global chief marketing and innovation officer at Unifi. “While we have recycled more than 12 Billion plastic bottles into REPREVE Polyester products including athletic shoes and apparel, we recognize the need to create a paradigm shift in recycling rates in the US to keep even more bottles out of landfills. Working alongside the Pac-12, our goal is to expand this undertaking to our Universities, who are taking a leading role in educating and changing behaviors. We’re excited to partner with the Pac-12 and join the impactful work they’re doing to broaden sustainable living.”