Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.09
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date March 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

Swarthmore College
IN-16: Green Athletics

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 0.50 Elizabeth Drake
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution’s green athletics program include the following?:
Yes or No
Zero waste and/or carbon neutral athletic events Yes
A stadium or arena certified under a green building rating system No
A sustainable food and beverage purchasing program that includes athletic event vendors and concessions Yes
A program to minimize the sustainability impacts of turf management (e.g., by installing low input turfgrass or environmentally preferable artificial turf) No
A program to support more sustainable transportation options for athletic events No
Community engagement efforts, e.g. to educate students and fans/supporters about the institution’s sustainability initiatives Yes
An athletic team certification program Yes

A brief description of the institution’s green athletics program:
Swarthmore's Garnet Go Green host Go Green Games at which a composting system is implemented alongside more sustainable concession options. Garnet Go Green members are present at the event to answer questions about sustainability efforts for fans at the game and on campus. Garnet Go Green additionally has helped to green the Athletic's Department end of the year event held for approximately 300 guests. At the banquet, compostable dinnerware is used, a bring your own water bottle (BYOWB) campaign is initiated and water bottle refill stations are present to eliminate cans and bottles as much as possible form the event.

During the 2019-2020 school year, the men's and women's basketball teams participated in a "3's for Trees" campaign inspired by the Portland Trailblazers, that planted a tree for every three-pointer made by a Swarthmore player. This totaled to 331 trees, which will be planted in collaboration with the grounds staff in the coming year.

Varsity sports teams are also graded on a system developed by the Garnet Go Green student team according to their sustainability performance (which comprises of spreading awareness on their social media accounts, conducting donation drives, using reusable water bottles, and composting at away games).

The Athletics department also has a Sustainability Mission Statement (https://swarthmoreathletics.com/documents/2018/11/7//Sustainability_Mission_Statement.pdf?id=1319) that commits the department to educating the community about the benefits of environmentally-friendly practices. For example, during "Zero Waste Games", designated zero-waste ambassadors are stationed near trash receptacles to answer questions about the effort and help attendees sort compostable and recyclable materials into the appropriate containers in support of the College's zero waste goals.

Website URL where information about the green athletics program is available:

Optional Fields 

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information for this credit was compiled by representatives from the Office of Sustainability.

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