Our goal is to be the most progressive, responsible and sustainable arena in the world. It might sound ambitious, but that’s the point. We aren’t named after a corporation. We are named after The Climate Pledge, founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019, which is a commitment from companies globally to be net zero carbon by 2040.
Climate Pledge Arena serves as a long-lasting and regular reminder of the urgent need for climate action to achieve net zero carbon by 2040.
LEED Certification: Silver
Climate Pledge Arena is a LEED v4 for BD+C: New Construction and Major Renovation project.
LEEDÂ is a third-party designation that verifies a building or community was designed and built using strategies and materials to maximize sustainability.
LEED-certified buildings are designed and constructed with a focus on energy savings, water efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and improved indoor air quality.
Climate Pledge Arena is the first arena in the world to achieve the International Living Future Institute Zero Carbon Certification.
This certification provides a vision for a future of carbon positive buildings that reverse the effects of climate change. By addressing both operational and embodied carbon emissions, Zero Carbon Certification offers organizations a valuable tool to demonstrate credible climate action.
Our embodied carbon from construction was calculated to be 34,400 metric tons.
We are an all-electric arena. This means, no fossil fuel consumption in the arena for daily use.
All of our mechanical systems, heating systems, Zambonis, forklifts, dehumidification, and cooking equipment have been converted to run fully on electric power.
We are powered by 100% on and off-site renewable energy. What we can’t generate on-site, we look for renewable sources off-site. One of the ways to procure this power is through Renewable Energy Certificates.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are a market-based instrument that certifies the bearer owns one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource. Once the power provider has fed the energy into the grid, the RECs received can then be sold on the open market as an energy commodity. RECs earned may be sold, for example, to other entities as a credit to offset their emissions.
We purchased our RECs in part from Puget Sound Energy’s Snake River wind farm. These RECs were then retired so they can’t be reused or resold. From 2021 to 2025, we will be powered by 100% renewable energy thanks to RECs like those we’ve purchased from PSE and others.
Starting in 2025, Climate Pledge Arena has committed to being one of the first commercial clients of Seattle City Light’s Renewable Plus Program. Targeting to be online in 2025, the Renewable Plus program will stand up brand new wind and solar farms. It will offer the energy generated by those new renewable sources to clients like Climate Pledge Arena.
Nature-based carbon offsets allow individuals, companies, and governments to offset their carbon footprint by investing in projects that remove or reduce carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
We have done a lot to reduce our carbon emissions, but to be carbon zero, we need to take carbon out of the atmosphere equal to what we put in.
To meet and achieve ILFI’s Zero Carbon Certification, Climate Pledge Arena, in partnership with Amazon, has purchased and retired 37,835 metric tons of carbon associated with pre-operational emissions from the building materials necessary to reconstruct the arena.
These offsets were purchased through the Verra Registry Verified Carbon Standard VCU. The VCU was issued in accordance to Verified Carbon Standard protocols.
Before entry to the arena, fans can optionally save their tickets to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay.
The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO committed to catalyzing the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.
The Institute is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The Institute operates the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most advanced, holistic performance standard for buildings.
The ILFI Zero Carbon Certification goes above and beyond most green building certifications by requiring buildings to account for and offset the carbon emissions associated with construction.
It is a hub for many other visionary programs that support the transformation toward a living future.
We have installed solar panels on the roof of the Alaska Airlines Atrium as well as cantilevered a second array of solar panels on the roof of our 1st Ave N. Garage.
Both arrays combined equates to more than 1,300 on-site solar panels generating an average of around 440,000 kwh annually.
We are currently prohibited from installing solar panels on our roof due to it being a nationally registered historic landmark.
Embodied carbon is the term for carbon emissions associated with materials and initial construction of the building and any other infrastructure added throughout the whole lifecycle of a building.
It includes any C02 created during the manufacturing of building materials (material extraction, transport to manufacture, manufacturing), and the transport of those materials to the job site.
Thanks to the preservation of our 44 million pound historic roof, Climate Pledge Arena has one of the lowest estimated embodied carbon figures of buildings our size.
Since opening, we’ve been tracking all elements of Climate Pledge Arena’s environmental footprint. This includes not only arena utilities (energy, water, waste, solar), but all Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions associated with the building’s operations. We actively work to reduce emissions year over year. What emissions we can’t reduce, we offset using credible nature based solutions.
Climate Pledge Arena will continue to track, measure, verify, and offset all Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions annually.
Year 1 carbon verification has been supported by two third party companies:
We will continue to report annually on all the arena’s carbon emissions.
Climate Pledge Arena has been awarded TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum certification for its efforts in operating as a functionally zero waste arena. This means that over +90% of waste generated onsite is diverted from a landfill.
Administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), TRUE helps facilities measure, improve and recognize zero waste performance by encouraging the adoption of sustainable waste management and reduction practices, which contribute to positive environmental, health and economic outcomes.
Read below and watch the video to learn all the ways we get to zero waste!
What we purchase is what we throw away, compost, reuse, or recycle.
Fans around our concourse will only encounter compostable or recyclable materials. This not only helps guests make the right decision at the bins, but also helps us simplify our zero waste operations by reducing the materials being sent to the landfill.
Here are a few ways we educate our guests about our zero waste program:
1. Education and Awareness: The arena provides information and educational materials about sustainability initiatives, such as reducing waste, conserving energy, water, and using eco-friendly transportation options.
2. Recycling and Waste Reduction: With clearly marked bins and clear communication, we ensure guests have everything they need to recycle and compost correctly.
3. Reuse: Guests are also encouraged to use the 30 water refill stations for reusable bottles located around our concourse.
To help us reach our waste goals, we sort every bag of material generated at our arena on-site.
On-site waste sorting at an arena involves the process of separating and categorizing waste materials, such as recyclables, compostables, and general waste, during and after our events.
We work with specialized recycling partners to recycle materials that cannot go through normal disposal systems.
What we cannot recycle, we try to upcycle or donate to ensure we are sending as little as possible to the landfill, to not only meet our waste diversion goal but to reduce our environmental footprint.
– Styrofoam/thin plastic film from vendor deliveries (Ridwell)
– Cooking Oil (FIltaFry)
– Batteries (Ridwell)
– Furniture (Donated to local companies)
To help reduce unintentional contamination, we utilize a three stream bin system with a color coded bags. This helps fans and staff keep it sorted!
– Blue bags: recycling
– Green compostable bags: compost
– Clear bags: landfill
We have an Environmental Purchasing Policy (EPP), a set of guidelines and principles that an organization adopts to promote the procurement of products and services that have a reduced environmental impact.
We also have a Waste Policy, a formal document or set of guidelines that outlines our approach to managing waste materials, helping us stay on track with our waste diversion goals.
Climate Pledge Arena has registered for the TRUE Zero Waste Certification.
A TRUE project’s goal is to divert all solid waste from the landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) and the environment. Facilities achieve certification by meeting seven minimum program requirements and attaining at least 31 points on the TRUE Application.
One of the biggest contributors to landfill waste in an arena is single-use plastics.
We removed all single-use plastics in February of 2023, replacing all single-use plastic beverages sold in our arena with fully aluminum cans that are infinitely recyclable.
We are powered by 100% on- and off-site renewable energy.
Both on the Alaska Airlines Atrium roof and above the 1st Ave N. Garage, we have more than 1,300 on-site solar panels generating an average of 440,000 kwh annually.
What we can’t generate on-site, we look for renewable sources off-site. One of the ways to procure this power is through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
We purchased our RECs in part from Puget Sound Energy’s Snake River wind farm and then retired those RECs so they can’t be reused or resold.
Starting in 2025, Climate Pledge Arena has committed to being one of the first commercial clients of Seattle City Light’s Renewable Plus Program. The Renewable Plus Program will build brand new wind and solar farms and will offer the energy generated by those new renewable sources to clients like Climate Pledge Arena.
Climate Pledge Arena is one of the only arenas in the country to offer free public transportation to games and publicly ticketed events.
Our goal is to have of 25% of guests choose public transit.
Watch and learn how to access your public transit pass or plan your next trip.
Climate Pledge Arena has a large 15,000 gallon cistern to capture rainwater off the roof to make our NHL ice.
Given our location on the Puget Sound, we believe it’s important to demonstrate leadership in water quality and water reuse whenever we can.
Along with our Rain-to-Rink System, we also installed waterless urinals and ultra-efficient showers and have significant on-site retention tanks to reduce stormwater runoff.
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