Arcadia and NFL Green: Creating a Sustainable Legacy at Super Bowl LIX

Use Case

Coordinating and optimizing sustainability efforts across a large-scale, multi-stakeholder event to reduce environmental impact, improve resource recovery, and enable measurable progress toward carbon and waste reduction goals. 

Challenge

The NFL's journey toward creating a more sustainable Super Bowl LIX involved tackling several complex environmental challenges. The organization faced multiple obstacles in its efforts to minimize the ecological impact of one of the world's largest sporting events.

• Carbon Footprint Management: Calculating, reducing, and offsetting emissions from venues and thousands of participants
• Waste Diversion: Implementing strategies to handle massive amounts of food waste, promotional materials, and general refuse
• Resource Recovery: Ensuring valuable materials weren't wasted through proper donation of excess food and materials
• Stakeholder Engagement: Educating and involving staff, fans, and media in sustainability initiatives
• Measurement and Reporting: Tracking environmental impacts to demonstrate progress compared to previous events

Solution

Arcadia implemented a sustainability strategy with three core pillars. The first focused on carbon footprint reduction, where Arcadia conducted greenhouse gas accounting across a range of emissions and coordinated with the Host Committee to develop an energy procurement plan. The team worked closely with NFL Green vendors to identify decarbonization opportunities and secured zero-emission energy and carbon offsets through Entergy.

The second pillar centered on material recovery and waste diversion. Arcadia expanded waste sorting and improved diversion rates at various events across Super Bowl week, creating new recycling systems at the Superdome by contracting specialized sorting services. The team hosted two Zero Waste Events (NFL House and Commissioner's Party) and oversaw the recovery and distribution of materials to local and regional organizations, ensuring resources were properly utilized.

The third pillar emphasized strategic communications. Arcadia developed external communications, including signage at several events. Sustainability messaging was integrated on the official website and NFL OnePass app, while media opportunities were created with the Host Committee. Sustainability Teammates were deployed to engage with fans and attendees, and a Sustainability Committee was established with the Host Committee to ensure alignment and coordination of efforts.

Benefits

Arcadia‘s work with NFL Green delivered impressive results for Super Bowl LIX. On the environmental front, 250 tons of materials were recovered, representing a five-fold increase from the previous Super Bowl. The team delivered a Net Zero Energy Super Bowl and offsets for approximately 3,000 additional tons of CO₂, reducing the event's carbon footprint.

The strategic benefits were equally substantial. Stakeholder engagement improved relations with fans, vendors, and venues, positioning the NFL as a sustainability leader in sports. The initiative strengthened appeal to environmentally conscious Gen Z and Millennial fans, an increasingly important demographic for the league. Additionally, it set up the NFL to manage waste diversion and clean energy regulations at future events, providing a framework for continued progress.

The initiative demonstrated that sustainability is not just an environmental imperative but a strategic investment that delivers tangible returns while building brand loyalty and community goodwill. Through innovative approaches to waste management, carbon reduction, and stakeholder engagement, Arcadia and NFL Green established a new standard for sustainable event management that will influence future Super Bowls and other major sporting events for years to come.