This year, the Phillie Phanatic (pictured above) isn’t going to be the greenest thing at the Major League Baseball championship. Thanks to the Natural Resources Defense Council, environmental initiatives have never been more visible at the World Series.

 

Working with the MLB’s “Team Greening” Program, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will be out in full force at Game 2. Clad in NRDC T-shirts, these hardy and apparently cold-resistant environmentalists will be roaming the aisles of Yankee Stadium collecting plastic bottles and spreading the green word.

 

And the greening of baseball doesn’t stop at plastic bottles. Several stadiums and clubs have already made a great, green effort to bring sustainability to the sport. This year, part of the World Series will be powered by renewable energy. All of the energy used at the new Yankee Stadium will be offset via the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. This organization sources 100 percent of energy from wind farms in North Dakota and Minnesota.

 

Further, Yankee Stadium has eco-lighting fixtures that save nearly 207,000 lbs of CO2 emissions per night game. Recycling, compost, and trash bins throughout the stadium prevent 40 percent of waste from going into landfills. Leftover food from games is sent to shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, youth programs, and more. Even the concessions cups are made from bio-based plastic.

Not to be outdone, the Phillies’ Citizen Bank Park has also taken green steps. Last season, the stadium purchased 20 million kilowatts of renewable energy credits to offset all electricity usage for the park. (Not impressed? The EPA states that this is the single largest purchase of 100 percent renewable energy in pro sports.) Citizen Bank Park uses rainwater for landscaping and field irrigation, as well as bio-based and compostable service ware and cups. 

 

Like the NRDCers who will be roaming Yankee Stadium during Game 2, the Phillies already have their own “Red Goes Green" team of volunteers, who walk the stadium collecting recyclables during every game. And did you know that the Phillies took public transportation to the opening game of the 2009 World Series?

 

And be sure to rest your peeps on the scoreboard for Game 2. The NRDC will feature a PSA starring none other than the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford. It’s going to be one green, dreamy night in Gotham.

 

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