The Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team has partnered with green-focused financial services provider Aspiration to neutralise the greenhouse gas emissions of fans attending games at Fenway Park.
As part of the agreement, the Red Sox will use Aspiration’s sustainable impact services and Planet Protection feature. The Red Sox said the deal will deliver the “first carbon-neutral experience in baseball”.
The team will embed an Aspiration Planet Protection contribution in every ticket purchase for Fenway Park to easily integrate climate action into the day-to-day fan experience.
Aspiration, which has also become the official sustainability provider of the Red Sox, will contribute a portion of the sale from each ticket to the Aspiration Planet Protection Fund for the purchase of verified carbon credits, and to provide other sustainability services that help counter fans’ individual climate impact.
Fenway Park opened in 1912 and is one of the oldest ballparks in the US. The partnership with Aspiration will seek to build on an initiative that began in 2007, when the Red Sox undertook a five-year greening plan for the stadium through work with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
That initiative included the installation of solar panels and the implementation of the stadium’s Green Team recycling initiative.
Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said: “Finding sustainable and efficient ways to lower our carbon footprint and help offset the environmental impact of a 110-year-old ballpark requires creativity, unique methods, and deeply passionate partners like Aspiration.
“With this deal, a portion of the sale of every Red Sox ticket will be contributed to the Aspiration Planet Protection Fund which will help neutralise the climate impact of each fan attending a game at Fenway Park. We are thrilled to be working with a company that is fighting climate change by infusing that mission into every aspect of their business.”
Andrei Cherny, chief executive and co-founder of Aspiration, added: “We’re honoured to partner with the Red Sox in this effort to bring easy, automated climate impact to every fan that walks into Fenway Park and are excited to set a new standard for climate accountability in sports.”
Meanwhile
In September, Aspiration agreed a deal to become the first founding partner of the Intuit Dome, the under-construction new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
Aspiration will look to aid the Clippers’ goal of developing the world’s first climate-positive arena. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but it was reported that the agreement is worth more than $300m (£229m/€271m).
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have agreed a deal for CLEAResult to become the team’s official energy efficiency partner. CLEAResult will work with the Red Sox to realise the team’s ambitious energy savings goals for Fenway Park.
The deal will include an assessment of the Red Sox’s energy needs and the creation of a custom plan for achieving their reduction goals over the next three years. CLEAResult’s energy efficiency and energy transition solutions will be used to support the team.
Image: Taylor Rooney on Unsplash
