This year there is a campaign to make this the most healthy, sustainable, shared, and socially responsible Super Bowl ever. An initiative called "Play Your Part" is trying to make Super Bowl 50 a net positive event. Play Your Part arises organically from the fact that Super Bowl 50 is being played in San Francisco Bay, an area well known for its leadership in innovation, sustainability, and technology.
The event is the brainchild of the 50 Fund and the 50 Host Committee. It is designed to help people make more sustainable choices in their lives now and in the future and to leave Bay Area communities better than they were before.
As they explain on their website, "We’re not just hosting the Super Bowl. We’re redefining it." Being Net Positive is about using Super Bowl 50 as a platform to do good – socially, environmentally and economically – for the benefit of the entire Bay Area.
The event is premised on four main goals:To deliver a low-emissions event (power/ transportation)
To responsibly use materials and resources (food/water/waste)
To leave a positive and lasting legacy for the region
And, last but not least, to inspire fans to join us in making all of this a reality
The Play Your Part’ campaign hopes to inspire Bay Area sports fans and residents to do the right thing and join in embracing sustainable practices. In support of this goal the organizers will showcase innovative solutions that lessen our collective impact and by inspiring people to share stories of the simple, everyday things we can do each day to make a difference. The game designed to raise awareness and minimize impacts.
EnvironmentLevi's Stadium - The first LEED gold-certified professional football stadium.
Moscone Center – The 700,000 square foot convention center, home of The NFL Experience, and a hallmark of San Francisco tourism, is also a LEED gold-certified building.
Carbon Offsets – While our first goal is to reduce and avoid emissions, Host Committee sustainability partners TerraPass are helping to offset the emissions that are unavoidable. TerraPass is also working with the NFL, Host Committee Partners and Fans to do the same.
NFL's Urban Forestry Grants – This program provides much needed support for the planting of trees in Bay Area communities through grants to local Bay Area organizations.
TransportationPublic Transportation – As part of Super Bowl 50’s overall transportation plan, the Host Committee is working with regional agencies to ensure there are increased service levels for all public transit during Super Bowl week (January 30 – February 8). This will include additional service for Golden Gate Ferry, BART, WETA, and Muni. The Host Committee is also working with VTA and Caltrain to create a joint fare that encourages public transit along the Peninsula on game day.
Public Awareness – The Host Committee will work with media partners to promote the use of public transit and to discourage the use of cars. For Super Bowl Sunday, the Host Committee has created a special ‘SB 50’ pass with VTA to ensure that public transit provides the best option to get and from Levi’s Stadium. In addition, over 35,000 branded Clipper cards will help promote the use of public transit through a partnership with the MTC. Volunteer Transportation – The Host Committee will distribute branded Clipper Cards to all 5,000 SB50 volunteers to encourage them to take public transportation to and from their shifts.
Bike Valet – The Host Committee has partnered with the San Francisco Bike Coalition to establish a Bike Valet station at Super Bowl City for all 9 days, thanks to funding from the BAAQMD.
Fan Express – The Host Committee will make available a ‘Fan Express’ charter bus system for transportation to Levi’s Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, with pick-up points spread throughout the Bay Area. Media Shuttles – The Host Committee is working with BYD to incorporate a small fleet of fully-electric buses into the NFL's media shuttle operation around downtown San Francisco.
EnergyPG&E, our official Clean Energy Partner, have made it possible for the Host Committee to run Super Bowl City on clean renewable power.
All generators used in Super Bowl City will run on Neste NEXBTL renewable diesel which to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Generators meeting EPA’s Tier 4 standards will be used in Super Bowl City to reduce emissions and noise, while Hydrogen Fuel Cell generators will be used to supplement renewable diesel generators and showcase this new technology of the future.
And we’ll be relying on the human energy provided by our 5,000 Volunteers and 100 Net Positive Champions that will be engaging with fans and helping them to have a net positive experience at Super Bowl 50.
Community25% of corporate sponsorship monies raised for Super Bowl 50 go towards creating a positive legacy by improving Bay Area communities.
The 50 Fund, with support from Host Committee Partners, the NFL, and Friends of 50 Fund, is leading the charge to make this the most giving Super Bowl ever by supporting Bay Area organizations that help young people overcome the opportunity gaps that many face. 50 Fund programs include the Game Changer and Playmaker Grants programs, as well as legacy initiatives The RE(A)D ZONE and Play 60, Play On. For details, go to 50fund.org. The NFL's Super Kids, Super Sharing initiative sees schools from across the Bay Area teaming up with the NFL, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Verizon, and the Host Committee to put books, sports equipment, and school supplies into the hands of our children, and children in need.
The YES Youth Conference, hosted by BAAQMD, will feature a Super Bowl 50 theme. The conference will be attended by over 300 youth leaders from Bay Area schools with the goal of inspiring them to embrace sustainable futures, and share these messages with their fellow learners.
The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee has collaborated with Bay.org to establish Go Places, an innovative booking system and funding platform for school field trips. Go Places’ “Ready, Set, GoPlaces” awareness initiative will provide 50 free field trip buses for underserved Bay Area classes. Through the generous support of our funders and in collaboration with our field trip and transportation partners, 1,500 students will be getting out of the classroom to experience the amazing nature and science the Bay Area has to offer including Super Bowl City.
FoodThe Host Committee’s master food concessionaire Legends will be serving locally sourced and organic food options in Super Bowl City.
A strong, active food recovery program will ensure that various food banks around the Bay Area benefit from receiving food for the needy that would otherwise go to waste.
WaterAs part of the #BringYourOwn campaign, fans are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles and will be able to rehydrate using free water stations located throughout Super Bowl City. All 5,000 volunteers and 5,000 media personnel will be using reusable BPA free stainless steel bottles provided by official sustainability partner Klean Kanteen.
Water used to irrigate the pitch at Levi's Stadium is 100% recycled.
WasteThere will be no single-use bottles at Super Bowl City. Together with official sustainability partner Klean Kanteen, we’ll be inspiring a new conversation with fans around the elimination of single-use waste in the environment through their #BringYourOwn campaign.
A robust waste management plan is being implemented to ensure the greatest diversion of waste from landfill. Attention is also being paid to what materials are brought onsite at Super Bowl City to reduce what enters the waste stream. One example is the compostable serviceware that concessionaire Legends will use to serve all food and beverages.
A materials recovery program is being conducted by the NFL and Host Committee with various local community partners. This will lead to event related materials being collected post-event and upcycled to multiple uses. The Super Bowl City Production Charter will guide those brands activating in Super Bowl City, and their production companies, to embrace sustainable design practices. The Production Awards, to be announced on Sunday, January 31st 2016, will recognize those companies that best embrace these guidelines.
Choose Your Cause and Create a Net-Positive Legacy for the Bay AreaThe 50 Fund selected four deserving Bay Area environmental non-profits to receive grants from the $1 million Sustainable Environments Grant Program. Once you submit your pledge, you receive 50 GoodCoins to give to the cause that matters to you most. You will be able to select from one of the four featured causes below. Through our collective action we’ll direct $200,000 from the Sustainable Environments Game Changer Program to causes that make a real and lasting impact on young people in the Bay Area. Thanks to the 50 Fund for supporting innovative approaches that create lasting solutions for local challenges. Causes
Education OutsideBy using green schoolyards as innovative outdoor learning laboratories and connecting students with nature and healthy food as a regular part of their school day, Education Outside is creating resilient students that have the critical thinking skills and inspiration needed to achieve high-quality careers in the sciences, life-long health, and an environmentally sustainable future.
Environmental VolunteersTo provide affordable, easy-to-schedule, efficient and safe transportation for low-income youth (K-12) in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates access to science and environmental education field trips. The Game Changer grant will expand the Transportation Fund’s reach with an additional 340 buses sending over 13,000 more students on field trips.
Children’s Discovery Museum Of San JoseTo address the lack of connection to the natural world in nearby densely urban neighborhoods by building an outdoor play space that is a bridge to nature, combining interactive experiences in a natural setting with conservation, demonstration and educational programs that respond to the learning needs of diverse families.
Hunters Point FamilyHunters Point Family’s Healthy Bayview program will be scaled to increase the capacity of Hunters Point Family’s extensive community gardens and food education programs and also support the development of a state-of-the art aquaponics social enterprise that will increase healthy food production (produce and protein) and distribution to over 1,000 Bayview Hunters Point families each year.
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