By now, those of you who know me and read this blog regularly know that I am passionate about Philadelphia sports.  I had a wonderful childhood growing up just outside the town where during the late 70s and early 80s we were known as the City of Champions.  Then I left for Hartford and had to watch from afar with all these nasty Giant, Patriot, Met, Red Sox, Yankee, Celtics fans claiming how wonderful their teams are and where’s Philly.  This place is way conflicted when it comes to sports loyalty.  But I suffered through it all with the worst being watching the Eagles lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  Not anymore.  We win.  But during all the mayhem of being crowned World Series Champs, I’ll bet you didn’t know that the Phillies last week were also named a champion off the field by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Center for Resource Solutions. The awards serve to recognize the leading voluntary actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources.  According to the EPA’s Web site, the Phillies were one of nine organizations sighted for their green power purchases.  The club invested in renewable energy certificates (RECs) from wind and biomass resources at a tune of 20 million kilowatt-hours annually, which is enough to power 100 percent of the annual electricity use for Citizens Bank Park. Other organizations in this category include ING, PepsiCo., Inc., The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. and the U.S. Air Force.

In early April when this memorable season started, the Fighten launched Red Goes Green which was their overall green initiative which includes recycling programs, water use, and community enhancement programs.  It is a known fact that one of the outcomes associated with incorporating best green business practices into an organization’s DNA is an increase in worker productivity.  I can think of no better example now then your 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.  You can bet I will be adding this to my speeches for the next month to emphasize this point – though I should be cautious not to jinx the Phils, the Mets new CitiBank Ballpark which is scheduled to open next season will be pretty green.

One last point.  Now that it is officially football season and not to be outdone, the Philadelphia Eagles who play this afternoon at 4 pm, are one of the greenest NFL teams and its not based on the uniform color.  According to team’s web site, as part of the Go Green initiative, the team uses solar energy at its NovaCare Complex and fans can offset their emissions to the games by contributing to the Eagles Forest located in Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, PA.  This is right in their back yard and not half way around the world.  If the green thing worked for the Phillies, maybe it will work for the Eagles.  Go Birds.

Filed under: Energy, Green Buildings, Green Business, Green Sports