49ers & Eagles: How NFL Green Brings Sustainability to Sport

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 and is the highest professional level of American football in the world.

It features 32 teams competing over an 18-week season, attracting approximately 19 million fans to its stadiums over the course of one season.

Many NFL stadiums have adopted initiatives to improve their sustainability, including installing solar panels, implementing recycling programmes and setting zero waste targets. 

The NFL Green programme

The NFL first launched its NFL Green programme in 1993.

Since then, it has earned recognition for the Super Bowl as the greenest professional sports event in America.

NFL Green is the league’s environmental programme which aims to create a “green” legacy throughout American football communities.

It works to mitigate the environmental impact of the NFL’s major events, including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and the NFL Draft.

These goals are met through active partnerships with NFL sponsors, local committees, government agencies and nonprofit organisations.

Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL, says: “The people who make up the NFL – owners, coaches, players, staff – understand that having a massive platform comes with great responsibility.

“As a league, we are not only committed to delivering the best sports and entertainment to our incredible fans, but to using football to build a better world for all of us.”

Cutting waste at NFL stadiums

One way NFL Green aims to empower communities is through waste reduction initiatives.

The NFL partners with local food banks and event managers to donate prepared, unserved and packaged food and drinks to those in need.

According to the NFL, the Super Bowl can generate up to 140,000 pounds of donatable food and drinks.

The NFL’s other events can generate tens of thousands of pounds of material such as fabric, carpet, building materials and other donatable items.

NFL Green initiatives work alongside community partners to recover valuable materials and donate them to local nonprofit groups like Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army.

This network ensures that materials are kept out of landfills and it can be used to donate and repurpose materials from wider community events.

San Francisco 49ers: engaging fans in sustainability

NFL Green’s initiatives reach across the whole league, impacting teams like the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers have launched a reusable cup programme with PepsiCo at its home, Levi’s Stadium to improve the experience of its fans, known as the Faithful.

The programme allows fans to have beverages in durable, reusable cups, which are then collected to be sanitised and redistributed for future games.

This partnership with PepsiCo, launched at the start of the 2025/26 season, is projected to eliminate the need for tens of thousands of disposable single-use cups.

Kevin Hilton, VP of Corporate Partnerships at the 49ers, says: “Sustainability has always been a core pillar of Levi’s Stadium, dating back to its early designs, and we are constantly trying to find new ways to reduce waste, consumption and emissions.

“This reusable cup programme not only reduces plastic waste, in addition to other behind-the-scenes practices, it also allows the Faithful to take an active role in our sustainability mission.”

How the Philadelphia Eagles generate hydrogen energy

In 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles became the first professional sports team in North America to install and utilise a hydrogen refueling station to power its passenger vehicles.

The hydrogen refueling station uses 10,456 solar panels at the Lincoln Financial Field stadium to provide electricity, which is then mixed with water to create green hydrogen energy.

The only emission this generation method produces is water vapour, which makes it a clean fuel when compared to gasoline or diesel.

Don Smolenski, President of the Eagles, said at the launch: “Today marks another milestone for Lincoln Financial Field, the Philadelphia Eagles Go Green programme, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia.

“This is another stop on our sustainability journey as we continually strive to reduce our carbon footprint.”