NFL Green wants Super Bowl to benefit Arizona community, environment

Director, NFL Environmental Program Jack Groh, affiliate director, NFL Environmental Program Susan Groh, president, PepsiCo Drinks North America West Division Johannes Evenblij and director, FORCE BLUE Jim Ritterhoff attend NFL, Pepsi Stronger Collectively and FORCE BLUE Restore Soccer Discipline-Sized Kelp Forest at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on January 24, 2022 in San Pedro, California. (Photograph by Vivien Killilea/Getty Photos for Pepsi Stronger Collectively)

(Photograph by Vivien Killilea/Getty Photos for Pepsi Stronger Collectively)

With an occasion as momentous because the Tremendous Bowl, there might be a lot of site visitors coming to the larger Phoenix space from everywhere in the world.

Whereas there’s deal with making the occasion itself entertaining, the NFL is taking steps to make sure the group and atmosphere are taken correct care of, NFL Inexperienced administrators Jack and Susan Groh informed Dave Burns on KTAR Information 92.3’s Tremendous Bowl Host Committee Present.

“NFL Inexperienced is the model for the NFL sustainability platform,” Jack Groh stated. “Round our particular occasions, we take a look at the sustainability parts.

“One factor is how can we mitigate the environmental impacts? How can we lighten the footprint? … And the second factor is how can we create a permanent inexperienced legacy that we are able to depart behind in every group?”

The group crops bushes and pollinator gardens and carried out habitat restoration work up to now. Susan Groh stated the workforce in Arizona will use tons of of volunteers to scrub up the decrease Salt River.

“We’re additionally working with navy veterans who might be eradicating a number of the invasive apple snails which might be destroying that habitat,” she stated. “In order that they’ll be within the water pulling these snails out whereas volunteers are working to scrub up the riverbed and river banks.”

NFL Inexperienced additionally has plans to positively influence the group away from the environmental facet.

“We’re reaching out to about 100 faculties that’ll donate books, sports activities tools, faculty provides and video games,” Susan Groh stated. “In January, they maintain a giant assortment drive at their very own faculty for brand new or gently used objects and, on Jan. 26, we’ll have a giant Tremendous Youngsters occasion on the Salvation Military Kroc Heart in Phoenix.

“It’s common for us to gather between 20,000 and 50,000 objects in a single hour.”

NFL Inexperienced additionally works to make the identical group influence with meals restoration. There are a number of events and occasions throughout and across the Tremendous Bowl, with hundreds of kilos of unused meals. This group works with native meals banks and corporations to get better that meals and ship it again into the group.

“For those who’re holding a giant get together, you by no means wish to run out of meals, so that you over-prepare,” Susan Groh stated. “Proper after Tremendous Bowl, we’ll have our companions in there to gather [unserved food] and get them instantly into the group.

“We attain out to all the occasion managers … It’s common for a Tremendous Bowl to gather tens of hundreds of kilos of meals and feed as many as 50,000 folks.”