Advancing packaging sustainability in sports and entertainment

By Dan Fisher*

Not only do sports and entertainment venues have massive influence and reach, but they also have the power to unite communities around the world behind a common interest. This means that there is an opportunity to leverage this platform to drive positive change and accelerate solutions to society’s most pressing issues.

As hubs of cultural and community moments, sports venues – and their teams and players – have the power to be true vehicles for change on sustainability, in particular. From committing to meeting net-zero emissions, utilizing renewable energy, serving food and beverages in 100% recyclable containers, and sourcing sustainable food, some sports and entertainment venues are already creating a microcosm of what is possible in a more sustainable world. At the same time, they are also educating fans on how simple actions – like recycling, making more conscious purchase decisions and using less water – can help them reduce their own impact on the environment.

At Ball, we’re finding innovative ways to further our own commitment to helping consumers live more sustainably through partnerships with stadiums, sports teams and athletes around the world that increase use and recycling of aluminium beverage packaging – cans, cups and bottles. Aluminium is an innovative and 100% recyclable material, and we’re proud to leverage our years of expertise to both improve our product stewardship and find new ways to advance sustainability with the material. In addition to upstream enhancements like achieving Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Certification for all of our beverage packaging plants, we also invented a first-of-its-kind product – the Ball Aluminum Cup™ – to help advance sustainability and reduce plastic waste at concerts, sporting events, picnics, parties, tailgates and more.

Since the Ball Aluminum Cup’s introduction in 2019, it has played a role in advancing sustainability and enhancing recycling at dozens of stadiums, concerts, sporting events and more. From the aluminium cup’s availability at the past three Big Games to its upcoming presence at the Formula 1 race in Miami, the cup is helping consumers celebrate more sustainably.

With each of our partners, we have seen exciting progress aimed at strengthening in-venue aluminium recycling, providing fans recycling education, and showcasing aluminum beverage packaging – cans, bottles and the Ball Aluminum Cup – as the most sustainable choice for in-venue drinks. In fact, the cup is now made with 90% recycled content which helps reduce its carbon footprint. As one example of offering sustainable choices to venues, last year we established a first-of-itskind partnership with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to bring the aluminium cup to three marquee venues in Denver, Los Angeles, and London and advance these goals.

At Denver’s Ball Arena, for example, the partners have been able to bring fans a more sustainable in-stadium experience. By introducing multiple sizes and formats of infi nitely recyclable aluminium cans, cups and bottles, Ball Arena has eliminated more than 350,000 single-use plastic cups and bottles and is on pace to eliminate more than 1 million single-use plastic cups and bottles in 2022. Ball and KSE have also spearheaded The Green Assists program, which is focused on recycling and education, and launched consumer activations such as Team Aluminium, a program that makes recycling easy for fans by enlisting ambassadors to collect recyclables using backpacks.

Additionally, this year’s Big Game at SoFi Stadium marked the third year in a row Ball has teamed up with Bud Light to bring the Ball Aluminum Cup to fans both in the stadium and at home. Building upon our efforts at Raymond James Stadium in 2021 and in 2020, when the aluminium cups were part of Hard Rock Stadium’s initiative to phase out 99.4% of single-use plastics that year, we were excited to also engage the wider Southern California community with a series of events including the Rams Tailgate Tour and the Chargers Bolts Experience at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. We even saw a few outstanding athletes – and outspoken sustainability advocates – like Sage Erickson and Cooper Kupp enjoying and celebrating with the Ball Aluminum Cup, marking another exciting milestone for sustainability in the sports and entertainment industry.

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We are so proud of each of our partnerships and the ways they help to educate fans on aluminium recycling, inspire communities to make sustainability a cornerstone of their everyday lifestyles, and assist organisations and teams to reach their sustainability goals.

It’s going to take a collective effort to create a lasting impact on our planet. Venues like Ball Arena, events like the Big Game, and all the related community events show the magnitude of the sports and entertainment industry in driving sustainability. It also reminds me how fun it can be to unite behind a cause, in addition to a team.

While we at Ball are so proud of what we have accomplished with our partners over the past few years, we recognise there is so much more to be done. It is not enough that aluminium is a sustainable and infi nitely recyclable material – we also need to make sure aluminium cans, cups and bottles truly get recycled. Those in our industry must work together to continue improving aluminium sustainability and increasing the use of aluminium across industries to move towards a truly circular economy, where materials can be – and actually are – used again and again.

I’m looking forward to taking what we’ve learned and accomplishing even more through collaboration. Together, we can cheer on our teams while making a true difference for our planet. �