CPG Logo Indy 2022
CPG Logo Indy 2022

January 7, 2022 / Jessica Davis

Indianapolis is a National Champion of Sport Sustainability

The CFP's Playoff Green initiative is setting new standards for sustainability in hosting major sporting events.

Most folks wouldn’t put sports and sustainability in the same sentence, but in Indianapolis, they go together like Hoosiers and hospitality.
 
Indianapolis is preparing to host the most sustainable College Football Playoff National Championship in history, thanks to the dedicated members of the Sustainability Local Organizing Committee, co-chaired by Jessica Davis, Director of IUPUI Sustainability, and Jeremy Kranowitz, President of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.  In support of CFP’s Playoff Green initiative led by the Green Sports Alliance, the 2022 CFP Indianapolis Host Committee has outlined aggressive sustainability targets for the event and has allocated $100,000 in support of these efforts.
 
The sustainability highlight reel:

  • Students and staff at IUPUI Sustainability are leading the effort to quantify and mitigate the environmental impact of the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.  The IUPUI team will collect utility data – electricity, natural gas, steam, water – from all event venues and create a greenhouse gas emissions profile and water footprint of the event.  Carbon and water offsets will be purchased to achieve a carbon and water neutral College Football Playoff National Championship. 
  • Julia Spangler of Ecosystem Events and Michael Kraus of Food Loops will lead a team to ensure waste generated by CFP events and venues is sorted correctly, including collecting food waste for compost, aiming for the highest waste diversion rate possible. 
  • IUPUI Sustainability and the 2022 College Football Playoff – Indianapolis Host Committee have partnered to launch the IUPUI Sustainability Scholarship.  This $20,000 award will support one student in earning a four-year undergraduate degree at IUPUI through the lens of sustainability.  Applications are due Jan 23. 
  • Downtown Indianapolis is one of the most pedestrian and bike-friendly host cities for large-scale events.  As fans arrive, many will park their cars and not drive again until they depart.  Taking advantage of Indy’s sustainable transportation options like IndyGo, Pacers Bikeshare, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, or simply your own feet over single-occupancy vehicles improves local air quality and offers a safer experience for our many visitors.