Is Climate Pledge Arena A Sustainability Model For Venues Going Forward?

I was in that zone just before drifting off to sleep last night. I flipped the channel over to the last half of the game between our hometown Atlanta Dream and the Seattle Storm. The WNBA is awesome, and I have always enjoyed it. However, basketball is not the focus of this essay. What caught my eye was the arena they were playing in – Climate Pledge Arena. As a climate scientist, I was compelled to write about it since our collective focus must aggressively shift to a solutions-oriented society. Climate change is here.

The Seattle-based arena actually opened in 2021 so I am obviously late to the party. Ironically, a Coldplay concert was the first event in the newly-opened facility. I recently read an article on how Coldplay is using kinetic dance floors and stationary bicycles to allow fans to generate energy for the show. Climate Pledge Arena, which has a capacity of roughly 17,000 to 18,000, is a full purpose concert-live events venue. It is also the home of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. The ownership model, according to the facility’s website, is a Public-Private Partnership between the Seattle Kraken Hockey, Oak View Group, and Seattle Center.

Why is it called Climate Pledge Arena? It was designed to be ILFI Net-Zero Carbon Certified. At this point you may be saying, “Dr. Shepherd, that’s gibberish to me, please explain.” According to the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) website, “The ILFI Zero Carbon Certification is the first worldwide Zero Carbon third-party certified standard.” It has emerged as a, “broad-based tool for highlighting highly energy efficient buildings which are designed and operated to fully account for their carbon emissions impacts,” according to ILFI’s site.

A key principle of the certification is that 100% of the energy associated with the project seeking certification must be offset by renewable energy. Additionally, carbon emission impacts from construction, including materials, must be offset and disclosed. Some of the sustainability features of Climate Pledge Arena include:

• Rainwater harvesting to support resurfacing the hockey rink ice – “Rain to Rink”
• 12,500 plants and trees plus the The Climate Pledge Living Wall
• Renewable energy sources
• Preservation of the original roof built for the 1962 World Fair, which offsets carbon emissions associated with new building materials
• An all-electric Zamboni
• A zero-waste approach, with durable and compostable collectors, which minimizes landfill waste
• Phase-out of single-use plastics
• Game tickets which are also free public transit passes
• Locally-sourced food (unused portions are donated to community programs)

Amazon Climate PledgeClimate Pledge Arena to become the world’s first net-zero carbon arena

The arena itself is not named after a corporate sponsor, which is the typical approach these days. Instead, Climate Pledge Arena notes on its website that, “We are taking the goals Amazon and Global Optimism set by creating The Climate Pledge and inviting others to join….it says that even big, complex companies that have a lot of physical infrastructure can and should reduce their carbon emissions.” Chris Roe is Amazon’s head of sustainable operations. In a Climate Pledge press release, he said, “While LEED certification focuses broadly on green building, this ILFI standard goes above and beyond LEED with regards to reducing carbon emissions.” The building is eligible for certification after at least a year of operations.