Feeling lost without a football game to watch? I certainly am! After 19 days of straight play I feel lost without the World Cup. Well here's a scorecard you probably haven't thought about yet, the environmental score of the 2010 World Cup. Since we have time to kill before the quarterfinals let's take a look.
Sporting events like the World Cup and Olympics provide a powerful international stage for spreading sustainable practices. In my opinion, an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted. So, has South Africa stepped up to the plate? I think so.
South Africa developed the Green Goal 2010 in hopes of reducing carbon emissions and to green the World Cup and their country for generations to come. Here is a link to the official press release on the program.
My personal favorite is the Green Passport Program.
In addition to South Africa's initiatives individuals teams are also being environmentally responsible. 11 teams announced they will offset the emissions caused by their participation in the event. While any offsetting is better than nothing, I'd like to especially thank Chile, England, Republic of Korea and Serbia for committing to their own offsetting. The other 7 are sponsored by PUMA. I can't mention PUMA without applauding the company for all it is doing this year for the environment. PUMA partnered with the UNEP to to develop Play for Life which supports the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
The idea is to use football to raise awareness about habitat and species conservation. Here's a great video of Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA announcing the partnership and talking about their efforts at the World Cup.
And because the African Unity Kits would be nothing without the professional football players who wear them here's the PUMA Africa Unity Kit Video with the athletes!
All in all, I must say that the 2010 World Cup seems to be scoring high for the environment. But the final score won't be known until after the games.
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