In our commitment to Protect our Planet, Sounders FC commits to annual measure, offset and reduce our carbon footprint. We educate ourselves and our soccer family about the role each of us play to reduce our individual and collective impacts. We invest in programs and with partners that educate youth most impacted by environmental injustice to empower them to improve environmental and community health outcomes.
In 2019 we measured and offset our 2017 footprint, becoming the first pro sports team in the US and first soccer club in North America to commit to carbon neutrality (as defined at that time). Between 2017-2021 we partnered with local nonprofit Forterra to plant over 1400 trees at four projects along the Green-Duwamish River watershed that restored habitat, removed invasive species, and supported long term carbon capture and sequestration. Beginning in 2022, we continue to measure our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to offset our Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions, to match our energy usage with renewable energy and we collaborate with BEF to invest in the PNW region via Promise the Pod and the Tribal Renewable Energy Fund.
In addition, since 2012 we have partnered with EarthGen (fka Washington Green Schools) on 19+ project sites, – to build outdoor playscapes informed by the students and communities they serve; infused with sustainability education via rain gardens, pea patches, and green spaces, including at three sites specific projects to capture water runoff from our RAVE Foundation mini-pitch investments
The design, construction and operation of our new facility presented a new opportunity for Sounders FC to live its values through our Social Justice Framework and specific commitment to Protect our Planet. Our general contractor, Venture, became our partner in this opportunity, aligning their organizational commitment to environmental sustainability in construction and construction management.
Our wins through construction of our training facility:
- 47% of all workers on site live within 25 miles of our facility (jobsite): We hired local construction crews not only directly supporting a diverse local economy and working families but reducing our carbon footprint for worker travel.
- 2-way hauling / Nighttime hauling: We used the same trucks to truck in and out material (versus one truck for each) and conducted hauling at night which reduced the number of trips, truck idle time and time in traffic – all which cut carbon emissions from construction activities.
- We obtained Salmon Safe certification – including the onsite treatment and return of cleaner water to the adjacent watershed – including up to 100,000 gallons of water per day.
- We selected cork as the compression infill for our artificial fields – ensuring that toxins effecting salmon which are present in other materials do not leak into the watershed.
- Design and construction maximizes natural light through windows on site and 100% of lighting fixtures including on outdoor turf fields.
- We included motion activated on and off lights in every room, individual thermostat controls, high efficiency heating and heat recovery infrastructure, and separate metering of systems to ensure efficient healing and cooling and measurement of our footprint.
In addition to Protect our Planet, our project also provided an opportunity to live our values to Fight Racism and to provide opportunities and access to BIPOC identifying and historically underrepresented groups.
Our wins through construction of our training facility:
- 31% of subcontractors on site were MWBE businesses
- 37% of the workforce on site identify as women or BIPOC
- Over 16,500 hours representing 19% of all hours (to date) in apprenticeship hours
- Venture partnered with ANEW, a pre-apprenticeship program focused on racial and gender equity in the construction trades and Construct Diversity, a high school program giving BIPOC youth visibility into construction fields and hosted ongoing learning and mentorship programs throughout construction