Sustainable Sport Index - Benchmarking Sustainability in Sport

 "What's a good waste diversion percentage for a sports stadium?"

This was the question posed to us a few months ago and, while seemingly simple, upon further reflection the answer is unusually complex. Does the venue have access to commercial composting? Does the venue consider waste-to-energy as diversion? Is there a back-of-house waste sort? The conversation spiraled and rather than the question of what is a “good waste diversion” we were struggling to find the answer to “what is realistic and respectable”.  To answer that question, we needed to know what an average waste diversion of a sport venue is.  And finding that answer was surprisingly difficult.

Questions like this and others around best practices continually arise in our work with stadiums, arenas, and ballparks. Although data is widely collected by teams and venues to make business decisions, it was surprising that this did not apply to environmental and social key performance indicators.

In fact, in an industry so reliant on metrics and statistics, the information we sought had never been collected or aggregated. It was with this realization that we at Honeycomb Strategies, supported by Max-R and Eco-Products, sought to develop the Sustainable Sport Index (SSI), the sport industry's first benchmark of key social and environmental performance indicators.

“The sports industry relies on data for all aspects of decision making… yet environmental and social sustainability impacts have never been understood. We're pleased to be part of the industry's first attempt to quantitatively and anonymously measure how teams and venues compare through the Sustainable Sport Index." -Chan Onechanh, VP Engineering, Transportation & Parking, SoFi Stadium.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Sustainable Sport Index, launched Earth Day 2021, will capture KPIs from sport venues in the areas of energy, water, and waste, as well as transportation, carbon, fan and staff engagement, procurement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.  It is FREE for venues to participate in the survey and contribute to this effort. By collecting and compiling this data and reporting in a comprehensive and anonymous report, we will gain a better understanding of the impacts of the sport industry and an understanding of those simple questions… like, “What is a good waste diversion percentage for a sports stadium?”.

Why has this never been done before and why now? 

We've heard elaborate reasons about why this has never been done, such as sports organizations are reluctant to share information and simply acquiring the information from busy businesses is a challenge. However, there is a tangible shift in the sport industry towards increased environmental responsibility and social awareness like we have never seen before.  The biggest question sport venues are facing is What to do? What are my peers doing? And How do we get started?

The Sustainable Sports Index will provide participants an understanding of their practices as they compare to the industry, and a path to move their internal practices forward. 

State Farm Area

The Sustainable Sport Index achieves this with two reports.  The first report is a comprehensive and anonymous public facing industry report that will highlight the sum of the data collected, best practices, and venue case studies.  A second confidential report is provided to each team/venue that participates that is custom and specifically identifies where they align against their peers, their areas of best practice, and opportunity for improvement.

All of this leads to the goal of the Sustainable Sport Index to advance sustainability practices in an industry that has immense influence by showing improvement year-over-year. Yet, as an inaugural report, it is essential that there is buy-in across teams, leagues, and venues. The more data received means better solutions for the industry.   That is why participation is FREE for all venues.

Those that are participants in this first iteration of the Sustainable Sport Index will not only have insight into their position regarding sustainability against those with which they compete on the field, rink, or court, but they will be highlighted as initial supporters of a cause that is necessary to advance the industry as a whole.

Who Should Participate?  

We are seeking data from stadiums, arenas and field sports facilities at this time. If you represent a team that plays in these type of facilities we also welcome your participation. NBA, NCAA, WNBA, MLS, MLB, NHL - All acronyms welcome!

How to Participate?

The Sustainable Sport Index is open to teams and venues and goes through June 30, 2021.  Simply head to the website and click on the link to get started. 

Honeycomb Strategies advisors are also available to assist any venue operator in completing the survey.

Honeycomb Strategies, in partnership with Max-R and Eco-Products, plan to release the 2021 Sustainable Sport Index report in early September.

For more information or to participate in the industry's first Sustainable Sport Index, please visit www.sustainablesportindex.com or email connect@sustainablesportindex.com.

“Max-R is proud and excited to support the inaugural Sustainable Sport Index. We know that our clients and partners need data driven metrics to help them achieve their waste diversion [and all other sustainability] goals, and the 'dream team' at Honeycomb Strategies have established a program that will set you up on a path to success. “

-Todd Shuttleworth, Max-R Corporate Sales Manager