The Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal Hospitality (FGH) will celebrate the ongoing sustainability efforts at CenturyLink Field during this Sunday's game against the Houston Texans as the stadium continues to be one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable sports and entertainment facilities in the world.
"We didn't get to this stage overnight, but rather a 10-year journey of continuous improvements starting with food sustainability to energy and environment," said David Young, Senior Vice President of Operations/General Manager of CenturyLink Field.
The Seahawks and FGH have partnered with Cedar Grove Composting and Sound Sustainable Farms to focus on locally sourced, organic products that provide the highest quality food and beverage choices for Seahawks fans while supporting eco-friendly practices. The move in this direction benefits the environment in many ways, as Cedar Grove creates compost from CenturyLink Field's food waste, which Sound Sustainable Farms uses as natural fertilizer to grow produce to sell back to CenturyLink Field.
"This initiative started from FGH touring Sound Sustainable Farm and having the vision to create a fully sustainable program at the stadium," Young said.
This Sunday, all french fries served at the stadium - 6,000 pounds of cut potatoes - will come from Sound Sustainable Farms. Seahawks fans will be able to get their hands on fresh potatoes at a number of onsite restaurants like Chicken & Waffle (Section 126, 321), Great State Burger (122), and John Howie Beardslee Public House (204, 240). Along with potatoes, Country Natural Beef provides 1,500 pounds of naturally raised brisket at all Smokehouse locations (120, 305, 335, P132), while East Anchor Seafood provides local and sustainable seafood in all concessions, suites and catering, as well as a seafood display in the Verizon Lounge. Additionally, more than 36,700 glasses of Northwest Beer are served per game; and more than 4,600 glasses of Washington wine are poured.
After each game, 600 pounds of food is donated to Farestart, Food Lifeline, and the Salvation Army, and more than 16 tons of compost are sent to Cedar Grove Compost to fertilize the farm. Along with improving food sustainability, a recent partnership with Lonely Whale - an organization helping to reduce plastic waste entering our oceans - means all utensils at CenturyLink Field are now compostable or recyclable. This makes it easy for fans to stay green while enjoying the great food and beverage options at the game. FGH has also adopted SmartCatch, a program designed to increase demand and availability of sustainable seafood by working with chefs and restaurateurs.
"The sustainability efforts don't stop at the stadium. If the Seahawks can do it, why can't we do it at home?" Young said. "We chose potatoes because it's easy and a great gateway to solve this issue as we educate our service staff and fans to improve our sustainable practices. It's been a group effort to make all of this work."
