The Texas A&M athletics department has released its Athletics Sustainability Master Plan (ASMP), making it what it says is the first athletics department in the country to implement such efforts to establish official sustainability targets.
The plan includes a guide for how the athletics department will support Texas A&M’s university-wide Campus Sustainability Master Plan that was launched in 2018. The ASMP features short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals and is based on four focus areas: physical environment, waste management, social sustainability, and institutional efforts. Also included are twelve themes that support the focus areas, such as zero waste goals, energy use, and outreach and education.
More than 50 staff members from the Texas A&M Athletics Sustainability Plan working group have collaborated since June 2021 to create the ASMP, under the guidance of Lauren Lichterman, collegiate sustainability engagement expert with the Green Sports Alliance and lead author of the new plan.
“The power of sport, particularly collegiate sport, to do good things for people and planet, and create opportunities for others to follow in that journey is extremely special,” said Lichterman. “Seeing Texas A&M athletics champion this cause in such a concerted and transparent way is inspirational and should serve as a guide for how other athletics departments across the country can inspire and innovate as well.”
The sports industry has seen increased efforts to use their platform for promoting sustainability, especially in recent years as the world experiences the worsening effects of climate change.
In September of this year, the University of Southern California football team hosted a zero-waste game in partnership with compostable cups company, Better for All. At the professional level, the NHL’s Seattle Kraken currently plays at the Climate Pledge Arena, which aims to be the first zero-carbon arena in the world and to be free of single-use plastics by 2024.
ESG efforts have been emphasized more and more across industries, and sports have started to catch on to this trend. The EPA offers guidance on how colleges and universities may make sports on campus greener, and several college recognition programs have been put in place to incentivize further efforts.
