The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas Athletics receives Green Sports Alliance Innovators of the Year award
06.29.2018 | Texas Athletics, Bleed Orange. Live Green.
The award recognizes Texas Athletics for achieving a zero waste baseball season in 2017, the first Division I program to do so.
Texas Athletics was announced as a 2018 Green Sports Alliance Innovator of the Year at the 8th annual Green Sports Alliance Summit on June 26, 2018. The Innovators of the Year awards are given to organizations and individuals for outstanding work in the green sports movement. Texas Athletics was chosen as an award recipient for achieving a zero waste baseball season in the spring of 2017 -- the first Division I collegiate baseball stadium to do so. Zero waste means diverting 90 percent of waste that would normally go to the landfill by either composting or recycling it.
"What an incredible achievement by our Sustainability Staff and student volunteers to be recognized by their peers for this award," said University of Texas Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte. "Sustainability is an integral part of our daily operations and our team will continue to implement these strategies at all of our venues." These efforts have already shown promise as Texas Athletics achieved a second consecutive zero waste baseball season.
The Green Sports Alliance (GSA) is a national organization whose membership includes teams, leagues, and venues at the collegiate and professional levels. Texas Athletics joined GSA in 2011 and is one of over 600 sports teams to gain membership. Each year GSA hosts a summit for sports professionals to learn how to bring sustainability into the sports industry. The 2018 summit's theme was "Play Greener: Get in the Game" and held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Through skill building and problem solving workshops, attendees were encouraged to collaboratively develop environmental and socially responsible solutions.
Lauren Lichterman, Operations and Sustainability Coordinator, attended her fourth GSA Summit and accepted the Innovators of the Year award on behalf of Texas Athletics. Lichterman was also a panelist during the "Trash to Treasure: New Approaches to Collegiate Revenue Generation" workshop. The workshop focused on the different opportunities and barriers with funding a collegiate sustainability program.
"This conference is a great opportunity to collaborate with others who are as passionate and committed to the mission of sustainability as we are," said Lichterman. "We can share each other's successes and work together on how to solve similar problems. It's a very inspiring and productive experience."
Texas Athletics is looking forward to attending the 2019 Summit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Interested in learning more about Texas Athletics sustainability efforts? Visit Texas Athletics Sustainability's website or follow them on Twitter (@TxSportsSustain) and Instagram (@bleedorangelivegreen).
