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Phoenix Coyotes’ “Going Green” intiative is setting the example

As part of Earth Week, we’ll be highlighting a few initiatives from around the NHL that teams and arenas are taking to help minimize the footprint we’re leaving on the environment.

A lot of the focus this past season has been on the Phoenix Coyotes and their ownership situation, whether they’ll move elsewhere and then (finally) on how the team has drastically improved on the ice. Yet the Coyotes are working hard to ensure that they become one of the leading examples in the NHL when it comes to minimizing the impact they have on the environment.

Coyotes President Douglas Moss has spearheaded the “Phoenix Coyotes Going Green” initiative, as they hope to “do our part in reducing our carbon footprint on the environment” according to Moss.

As part of the initiative, “green” standards have been implemented from top to bottom in the company as every employee works to reduce the energy usage by turning off lights, computer monitors and computers when not in use and reducing the amount of paper the company uses on a whole.

The Coyotes are in the second year of their initiative, which also affects the events at Jobing.com Arena itself. The Coyotes have teamed up with Waste Management, who have sponsored eight “Automatic Recycling Machines” placed around the arena. The ARMs print receipts after every use, with each one having a one-in-four chance of receiving a prize.

Per Mellissa Quillard of Waste Management:

“The ARM program was designed to encourage recycling by giving out prizes,” she said, “and was a result of a great demand and want to go green in the community.”

The Coyotes are working hard not just to use these initiatives themselves as a company but to spread awareness of the positive impact of recycling and energy-friendly measures each person can take. The Coyotes place “Green Facts” messages on the video screen during games, have fans get rewarded for recycling during games, and have been using compostable and biodegradable cups, plates, bowls and utensils.

Many sports teams claim to be “green friendly” and take time out a couple of weeks each year to highlight what fans can be done. The Coyotes have taken this to a whole other level, setting the foundation themselves for how a company can set the example for being environmentally friendly and then taking up that initiative with fans.