Athletics departments at Football Bowl Subdivision schools are lagging behind the rest of the university in environmental sustainability practices and planning, a recent study concludes. However, instead of regarding the results as a negative, an official at the national environmental group that sponsored the research sees an opportunity.

“Athletics really does have a tremendous opportunity, and we are seeing more movement toward sustainability,” said Julian Dautremont-Smith, associate director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. “I hope this report stimulates further action and thought among athletics directors about sustainability and how they might play a leadership role in helping their institutions achieve their sustainability goals.”

“Sustainability” in an environmental sense means using methods, systems and materials that will not deplete resources or harm natural cycles.

Sustainability advocate Mark McSherry surveyed all 119 FBS athletics departments and received 97 responses. Many institutions reported that sustainability was a “high” or “very high” priority for the university as a whole, but only 44 percent reported it as an athletics department priority. Fewer than 10 percent of the athletics departments had a strategic plan for sustainability.

The survey found collegiate athletics departments trail professional teams in their commitment to sustainability and implementation of environmental initiatives.

Dautremont-Smith theorized that the disconnect between a university’s sustainability goals and those of the athletics department could be a result of the sheer size of many of the FBS schools. In some cases, the university’s priorities do not get passed through all  departments.

“We started paying more attention to athletics recently because a number of departments have stepped up and are making efforts to become more sustainable,” he said.

Changing the athletics mindset

DeDee Delongpre Johnston, sustainability director at Wake Forest, said she and her colleagues need to approach the athletics department differently than most other departments on campus. Athletics is not swayed by traditional arguments about reduced consumption of resources and the long-term viability of an institution, she said. The bottom line for many athletics administrators is winning, and money is invested accordingly.

“We need to reframe our argument based on how we think we can connect with our audience,” Johnston said. “We need to talk about it in terms of sponsorship and fan loyalty.”

Johnston, who held a similar position at Florida for several years, arranged a tailgate recycling program sponsored by Pepsi, with bags donated by Sam’s Club. The program was staffed by student volunteers who walked the 650-acre tailgating areas, collecting recyclables. When Florida contracted with IMG to oversee some external relations, the company found a sponsor to donate recycling bins for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was money that the athletics department wasn’t going to (spend),” Johnston said. “Over the three years we did the (tailgate recycling) program, they saw increased fan loyalty and the staff saw it made their lives easier because there was less trash.”

Johnston said a switch to greener policies in athletics probably will not prompt more people to attend a game, but she does see it as an opportunity to build a stronger attachment with fans, especially with the tailgate recycling program.

‘No bad news’

Another success story is found at Colorado, which has increased fan loyalty since it went to a zero-waste philosophy last year at Folsom Field. The school pulled all trash cans from the stadium and replaced them with a two-container system: recycling and compost. Vendors changed all the materials within the stadium to either recyclable or compostable.

“Zero waste is easy if you change everything; it’s just that changing everything is really, really hard,” said Dave Newport, director of the school’s environmental center. “But once you do it, there is no bad news. There is no down side. In terms of messaging for your fans, alumni base, donors and students, you don’t get blamed for anything.”

Colorado found new donors for its athletics department as well. Newport said so-called “green money” often does not advertise in collegiate athletics because companies don’t see the market as consistent with their target audience. But as soon as Colorado began its zero-waste campaign, several new companies with a sustainability focus signed on to support the Buffaloes. White Wave Foods, an organic division of Dean Foods that is committed to sustainable practices just signed on as a sponsor.

In addition to the zero-waste commitment, which will spread to all of the school’s athletics facilities in 2009-10, Colorado also has created a carbon-reduction program that invests in local, renewable-energy projects across the state to offset the athletics department’s carbon footprint. The school also offers free valet parking for bicycles on game days. Last week, the Sierra Club named the Boulder campus the top school for its campus-wide planet-preserving techniques.

Experts acknowledge that up-front funding is required for these initiatives, but they say the returns – and new sponsorship dollars – can far outweigh the startup costs. In fact, eventually, sustainability practices save money.

“Any time you’re not consuming more stuff, you’re ultimately going to save money, and in this economic environment, it becomes more of a central issue,” Newport said. “To say you’re going to capitalize on this tomorrow would be disingenuous. It takes money to transition to this system. Having said that, our entire transition cost last year for the whole season was $20,000. And half of that is still in the bank for this year. The money is nothing.”

And some practices – such as turning off the lights in a building when no one is there – cost nothing and save immediately. Recycled materials can be sold to generate revenue. Planning new buildings with energy conservation and other green features in mind can garner more return on investment in a new facility. McSherry, the author of the study, prepared a list of other tips for athletics departments interested in moving toward more sustainable operations.

NCAA efforts

The NCAA is a member of AASHE and has established a “Green Team” composed of national office staff, athletics administrators from all divisions and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members. The national office has implemented numerous “green” business practices, has made partnerships with sustainability in mind and is working on multipronged strategies to help preserve the environment.

Dautremont-Smith at AASHE said he is not discouraged by the lackluster showing of athletics departments compared to the pros – or to the university community as a whole. Change is slow in higher education, he said, but as schools their peers go green and still be successful athletically, more will enlist in the cause.

“We want to get folks thinking about it,” he said. “We’re talking about partnering with the NCAA on an online discussion forum, where folks can have conversations about sustainability and best practices. The best role the NCAA can fill is providing support and allowing members to learn from each other about sustainability.”