What is the ‘climate pledge’ that Seattle’s hockey arena is named after?

Published Sunday, October 17, 2021, 6:51 pm

Join AFP’s 100,000+ followers on Facebook

Purchase a subscription to AFP

Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes and Spotify

News, press releases, letters to the editor: augustafreepress2@gmail.com

Advertising inquiries: freepress@ntelos.net

(© Nicola – stock.adobe.com)

Dear EarthTalk: What is the “Climate Promise” after which Seattle’s new hockey arena is named?
– E. Howard, Washington, DC

When Seattle’s new sports and concert arena opened its doors to the public in October, many people scratched their heads about what the hell the building’s name meant. It turns out that e-commerce juggernaut Amazon bought the naming rights from its hometown and decided to take the opportunity to raise awareness of the climate pledge. The climate pledge calls on companies to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than required by the Paris Climate Agreement. Amazon founded the Climate Pledge 2019 together with the organizer Global Optimism and was immediately the first to sign. Cut to the present and 200 other companies – including Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Visa and PepsiCo – have since signed up.

The Seattle Climate Pledge Arena is indeed a fitting showcase of what signatory companies are hoping for. The new building – home to the National Hockey League’s expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, and the Women’s National Basketball League, The Seattle Storm – was designed by architect Jason McLennan. As the founder of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), McLennan helped set the standard for how buildings are likely to function in the low-carbon days to come. In fact, ILFI’s Living Building Challenge certifies “net zero” buildings and others at the extreme end of the sustainability spectrum, while advocating tougher standards for new builds for emission reduction / elimination and energy efficiency in the US and beyond.

In the Climate Pledge Arena, the solar panels on the roof cover most, if not all, of the energy demand. No fossil fuels are used, making it the first net-zero arena of its size in the world. The elimination of fossil fuels inside makes transportation to and from the arena the biggest contributor to its overall carbon footprint. Amazon is stepping up and paying for its carbon offset through the non-profit nature conservation organization Nature Conservancy, which buys and expands agricultural and forest land that serves as carbon sinks. Fans who purchase tickets through the Climate Pledge Arena app can also download free return travel vouchers.

Reusing rainwater is a big part of the goals of the Living Building Challenge, and the Climate Pledge Arena was designed from the ground up using a series of chutes and gutters to divert Seattle’s massive rainwater into cisterns which then go on to carry out the ice-making processes the arena and everything else feed water requirements on site.

Another aspect of the arena’s green appeal is that 75 percent of the ingredients for the food and drink served come from sources within 300 miles of the facility, which significantly reduces food miles emissions. Single-use plastics are a no-go; Sellers must stick to aluminum or biodegradable / compostable containers, straws, cutlery and to-go packaging. All paper products must contain at least 30 percent post-consumer content, while cans, bottles and other non-compostable materials are recycled. Since there is no “rubbish” in the arena, visitors have to get used to seeing only compost and recycling bins for their waste.

Only time will tell whether these green features will become standard in other arenas and new buildings in the future. That is what environmentalists hope, among others.

CONTACTS: Climate Pledge Arena: Sustainability, climatepledgearena.com/sustainability; “Climate Pledge Arena goes on the offensive with sustainability goals”, kuow.org/stories/Climate-pledge-arena-goes-on-offensive-with-climate-goals; The Environmental Promise, theclimatepledge.com.

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for nonprofit 501 (c) 3 EarthTalk. More information is available at emagazine.com. To donate, visit earthtalk.org. Send questions to: question@earthtalk.org.

Related