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cutting down on the food that was being wasted, on using D-BACKING GREEN CFL bulbs and other strategies.” ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS PLAY IN SEDONA The D-backs Green Initiatives & Practices component has included efforts at Chase Field, the team’s home in downtown RED COLORS BUT THEY PRACTICE GREEN Phoenix, and elsewhere in the Valley of the Sun. DAVID M. BROWN Thespring training facility of the Colorado Rockies, located on the Salt River Pima Indian Community in the north he 2001 World Series champions of Major League Scottsdale area, is a world-class practice and playing center Baseball have been winning for years in sustainability comprising multiple game and practice fields, work-out Tinitiatives through the team’s Playing for the facilities and areas for fans. In planning Salt River Fields at Planet—a commitment not only to monitor and improve Talking Stick with the Rockies more than five years ago, the the organization’s environmental D-backs ownership prioritized a performance but also to influence strong environmental component. players, fans, employees and Soon after the facility opened for corporate partners to effect the 2011 season, Salt River Fields environmental change. received LEED Gold “About five, six years ago, Certification for New we realized, although we were Construction—the first sports making solid efforts in our venue of its kind in the United environmental programs—we States to be so acknowledged. were one of the pioneers for Leadership in Environmental professional baseball—that we had Engineering & Design (LEED), a lot of room for improvement,” managed by the United States says Derrick Hall, Diamondbacks Green Building Council, Chicago, president and CEO, now in his is a program that awards and seventh year with the team. inspires sustainable construction. “We knew that we had to take Green elements include siting for more of a leadership role, a visible shade, using native vegetation one, of setting an example for and grass-covered parking lots, sustainability, giving back even minimizing stormwater runoff and more to the community that maximizing fresh air through the supports us,” he explains. “We HVAC systems. began focusing our best practices To further its environmental on reusable recyclable bins, on mission, the D-backs have

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partnered with a number of organizations, including Another trio of charging stations is a block away from the memberships in the Green Sports Alliance and Arizona stadium, also powered by APS solar arrays sited elsewhere in Businesses Advancing Sustainability. the Valley. A star individual player is Arizona Public Service (APS), the The APS Solar Pavilion is also an educational forum, state’s largest electricity provider. Through APS, for example, offering exhibits on renewable energy, energy efficiency, the team purchases enough “Green-e Certified” energy—wind, recycling and other alternative forms of transportation such as solar and other renewables—to power the ballpark for several carpooling, light rail and biking. “It’s been a real big success,” games. Hall says. Since 2009, the “Green Series,” scheduled every year when So, too, have been the team’s other efforts. Employees the Los Angeles Dodgers are visiting Chase Field, promotes are rewarded for using alternative transportation; otherwise environmental stewardship by suggesting to fans how they voluminous printed media guides are available electronically; can increase energy efficiency, and offering other tips for and most marketing collateral is printed on FSC-certified sustainable lifestyles. This year, that event was April 12–14. products. “We choose the Dodgers because when they are in town, Grease from concessions is recycled into biodiesel fuel; those series are always so highly attended,” Hall explains. “It’s recycling containers have been placed throughout the stadium a great time for us to drive energy awareness.” concourse, administrative office and press box; season ticket A major investment is the APS Solar Pavilion at Chase Field, holders are given reusable “loyalty cups”; and “Bike to the a partnership between the D-backs, Maricopa County Stadium Ballpark” bike racks have been installed. District and APS. A recent program is donating leftover concession items to Dedicated April 28, 2011, the 17,280-square-foot “Church on the Street” for the homeless and hungry. “Last structure shades the plaza outside the stadium, and its 336 year, we donated more than five tons of food—3,200 unused roof-mounted solar panels generate 75 kilowatts—enough meals—to this commendable recovery program,” explains electricity to light Chase Field for 11 games each year or 8–10 Hall, who began a vegan diet following his prostate cancer homes for a year. That power, though, is directed to three diagnosis in late 2011. electric-vehicle charging stations, available first-come to fans In the future, the D-backs will be playing on the same field who hook up their electric vehicles and attend the game while but promise that it will be even greener. “I’ve always wanted their cars recharge. our video board to be powered by solar energy, and I know we “Under the leadership of Ken Kendrick and Derrick Hall, have the room for the arrays behind the ballpark,” Hall notes. the Arizona Diamondbacks set the standard for community “We are very committed to environmental responsibility to involvement and support,” says John Hatfield, vice president the two million fans who so passionately support this baseball of communication for APS, which serves more than 1.1 team.” million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. “The D-backs are an important partner for APS, and we look Brown is a Valley-based freelancer who remembers the first Earth Day, azwriter.com forward to working with them for years into the future.” Photo by Christina McMaster

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