To save its ice, hockey is thinking green
Hockey features glove saves, skate saves and stick saves — though these are nothing, really, next to the most audacious save on which the NHL has set its sights:
Save the planet.
That may sound like a joke. What does hockey have to do with environmental policy? Well, for one thing, the game is played on ice. And frozen ponds, where so many of the league’s players learned to skate, are in trouble. The average length of the skating sea- son may shrink by one-third in eastern Canada and by 20% in western Canada in coming decades.
That’s according to research in the NHL’s 2018 sustainability report, out Wednesday morning. The report assesses the league’s own environmental impact and its commitment to fighting climate change.
Allen Hershkowitz, founding director and chairman of the Board of Sport and Sustainability International, credits the NHL for using that term — “climate change” — after the Trump administration announced in June that the U.S. would walk away from the 195-nation Paris climate accord and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming.
“It would be dishonest not to acknowledge that the report is coming out
“How we think about our environment ... is going to be a critical element in making sure our sport has a future.” Kim Davis National Hockey League
when the world is facing the most challenging political climate in the United States as it relates to climate change policies,” says Hershkowitz, whose non-governmental organization has members in more than 50 countries.
Leagues prefer to stay far away from controversy so they don’t alienate fans. Just look at the NFL, where players kneeling for the national anthem last season caused considerable outcry.
Hershkowitz says climate change is about science, not politics. Even so, does the NHL worry about disaffecting fans who may think otherwise?
“What I would say is, when we do this work, we try to do it as apolitically as possible,” says Omar Mitchell, NHL vice president for corporate social responsibility. “Because at the end of the day, as our commissioner would say, this is the right thing to do.”
More than a dozen federal agencies issued a report late last year that said humans are the dominant cause of a rise in global temperatures that has led to the warmest period in the history of civilization. That report said global average temperatures have increased 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 115 years.
That’s a period of time that encompasses the rise of hockey. The NHL celebrated its centennial in 2017 — and it wants to be around for its bicentennial.
“How we think about our environment and how we think about sustainability is going to be a critical element in making sure our sport has a future,” says Kim Davis, NHL executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs.
The NHL’s report is voluntary. “And what gives the report its teeth is that we did a carbon inventory” of the league’s own environmental impact, Mitchell says. “Hockey is a very energy-intensive sport. Our analysis shows about 66% of our carbon footprint is attributed to energy usage to create an ice sheet. So what we are trying to do is to promote innovations that will lower energy consumption within our buildings.”
The league launched its NHL Green
“When we do this work, we try to do it as apolitically as possible.” Omar Mitchell NHL vice president for corporate social responsibility
initiative in 2010 and released its first sustainability report in 2014. Among highlights of this second report:
❚ The NHL reduced energy consumption 1% from fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2016.
❚ The NHL decreased water consumption 7% from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2016.
❚ The NHL reduced CO2 emissions by
2% year-over-year from fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2016.
“The single most important thing the NHL has done is measure, and refine the measurement protocol, for professional sports,” Hershkowitz says. “It can’t be understated how important that is, (measuring) energy use, water use and waste generation at arenas that you don’t own and that you occupy for only a fraction of the time.”
Scott Jenkins is general manager of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and chairman of the Green Sports Alliance, which includes nearly 500 sports teams and venues from 15 sports leagues in 14 countries. He says sports teams are in favorable positions to influence the broader culture on environmental concerns and to show that being environmentally sensitive is good for business.
“We can’t afford to live on the sidelines,” Jenkins says. “We have to get in the game.”
Which brings us back to frozen ponds. The NHL’s sustainability report tells of Rink Watch, which encourages citizens to monitor outdoor rinks and ponds in their neighborhoods. The initiative was launched by researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, in 2013. More than 1,400 rinks and ponds are tracked to help scientists study the long-term effects of climate change.
“If you trace (hockey) back to the sort of humble beginnings, particularly in Canada, it all goes back to frozen ponds,” Davis says. “A lot of NHL players grew up playing hockey outdoors. It’s such a critical part of the game, and it’s important that access remains available for future generations.”