BBVA Compass Stadium dons bank's blue logo, but gets award for “green” efforts
Soccer isn’t just played on a green pitch in Houston – it’s also played in a green stadium.
BBVA Compass Stadium, home to Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, earned an Environmental Innovator of the Year award from the Green Sports Alliance during its annual summit last week for being a green-friendly stadium. Specifically, the award is given to stadiums in each major sport in the United States for “accelerating environmental progress by integrating” environmentally friendly stadium operations.
“BBVA (Compass Stadium) has embraced (environmentally conscious practices) at a level that others are trying to get to,” said Green Sports Alliance Co-Founder and Executive Director Justin Zuelner in an interview with the Houston Business Journal. “BBVA (Compass Stadium), for a soccer facility, has done more than (most) in Major League Soccer.”
“BBVA (Compass Stadium) has embraced (environmentally conscious practices) at a level that others are trying to get to
In the same interview, Zuelner listed some of the alliance’s criteria for a “green” stadium: energy efficiencies; water conservation and “greener” cleaning; transportation, transit, biking and waste strategies and food donation strategies.
BBVA Compass Stadium wins award recognizing its #environmental efforts.
The Green Sports Alliance is an Oregon-based, non-profit organization that “leverages the cultural and market influence of sports to promote healthy, sustainable communities.” Its members come from more than 300 sports teams and its venues from 20 different sports leagues and 14 countries.
In a separate article, the Houston Business Journal reported BBVA Compass Stadium as the first sports facility in the city to earn a LEED® Silver certification for new construction in 2012, around the time it opened. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green building certification rating system.
BBVA Compass’ corporate office building in Houston, which opened its doors in 2013, was designed to meet all LEED® Gold requirements, the second-highest certification in the system.