Texas A&M University
IN-16: Green Athletics

The Athletics Department has created a green athletics program called the "12th Man Green Team." The team consists of four members, listed below, who meet on a regular basis to investigate and then implement sustainable initiatives into athletics operations.

Scot Obergefell - Director of Facilities - Athletics Department
Rebekah Rabun - Director of Administration - Athletics Department
Tanna Burge - Assistant Athletics Director - Sport Performance
Howard Gray - Assistant Athletics Director - Sport Science

Below is a summary of the 12 Man Green Team's initiatives currently in place.

All athletic events have clearly marked recycling cans throughout the facility and currently, 60% of waste is diverted at football games played at Kyle Field. Other sports utilize the same process and have similar diversion rates for games. As part of our normal operation and service agreement with Brazos Valley Recycling, they sort through the trash collected, both after home athletic events as well as day to day, removing every item with the ability to be recycled or reused.

While we do not certify our stadiums under a green building rating system, we utilize green building practices in the design and maintenance of buildings when feasible. Green building features include low flow toilets, showerheads, and sinks, recirculating pumps on all hot water heaters, and separation of all disposal materials during construction.

TAMU contracts with Levy for in-game concessions. Levy is currently participating in several sustainable purchasing initiatives:
•Souvenir cups are recyclable and are sold with the intent customers will retain them and reuse them at their homes. The cup was designed to fit on the top rack of a standard residential dishwasher. This was implemented to prevent the cup from melting and the end-user discarding it in the “trash” can.
•Food packaging from concessions to end-user are made from recyclable materials.
•Levy currently composts all food waste from both athletic competitions and special events (Yellow bins)
•Levy separates and recycles all cardboard and glass from athletic competitions and special events.
•Non-souvenir soda cups (purchased from Pepsi) are made from recyclable materials.

TAMU Athletics partners with Transportation Services to provide sustainable travel options for athletic events. For example, the following initiatives are available for football gameday:
• All TAMU bus routes are operating at $0 cost to anyone coming to campus.
• Park and Ride program ~7-10k participants per game
• VeoRide bikeshare program
• A corporate partnership with Lyft and Uber
• Athletics promotes these options to All ticket holders, donors, and students

TAMU Athletics has numerous community engagement efforts to advance our sustainability efforts.
• Public address announcement and video board ad at every home event providing information on the how, where, and what of athletic event recycling.
• Partnered with the student-athlete green team to broaden our reach through their current communication protocols.
• Created 12th Man Green Team (Student-Athlete Volunteer Team) to assist in communication and sustainability initiatives.

While an athletic team certification is not complete, progress is being made.
• Prior to COVID-19 our 12th Man Green Team (Student-Athlete Volunteer Group) was meeting with each team to educate them on waste management/diversion.
• The 12th Man Green Team and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee put together a recycling drive due to the amount of plastic we were using for our to-go boxes and water bottles (due to COVID-19).
• Working with 12th Man Green Team to create team certification
o Food waste management at all fueling stations
o Waste diversion of water bottles and food containers
o Educational Content

In addition, Athletics has or is taking actions not counted above.
• Participated in Utilities and Energy Services Energy Performance Improvement program. Results from successful participation resulted in avoiding $547,000 in energy costs at Kyle Field.
• In process of signing the UN Sport for Climate Change framework.
• In process of producing a Sustainability Plan for the Athletics department. It will be the first of its kind among SEC peers and universities in the state of Texas.