Happy Earth Day! Time to focus on something positive for a change.

Baseball is a social institution with social responsibilities and caring for the environment is inextricably linked to all aspects of our game.  Sound environmental practices make sense in every way and protect our natural resources for future generations of baseball fans.”  — Commissioner Bud Selig

As you may know, brand new Nationals Park was the first major professional stadium to be LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.  HOK Sport, the company that oversaw sustainability efforts for the new park, focused on three many categories to achieve the impressive certification.

First, the park was built on a sustainable site.  Categorized as a brownfield redevelopment, the stadium is expected to clean up the Anacostia Rivera and re-develop land surrounding Nationals Park to anchor urban revitalization.  Additionally, the park is close to public transportation.

Second, the company achieved praise for its use of materials throughout the stadium.  Efficient plumbing fixtures are expected to save 3.6 million gallons of water every year.  Air-cooled chillers instead of water-cooled chillers will save an additional 6 million gallons of water per year.  Landscaping around the park was made drought resistent, which also helps to conserve water. 

The energy efficient stadium lights will save 21% of energy costs over traditional lighting.  Building materials were produced locally, saving on transportation costs and boosting local businesses.  Even the roof materials were made to minimize the heat released into the environment, including a special 6,300 square foot green roof near left field.  Finally, 5,500 tons of construction waste were recycled.

HOK Sport was also very concerned about the stadium’s proximity to the Anacostia River.  As such, they installed an “intricate water filtration system that separates water used for cleaning the ballpark from rainwater falling on the ballpark and treats both sources of water before it is released to the sanitary and stormwater systems.”

“The whole design team went above and beyond the call by achieving LEED Silver Certification – it’s like we asked them for a  for a home run and we got a grand slam.” — Stan Kasten

You can do your part, not just on Earth Day, by recycling at the 100+ bins available throughout the park.

Here’s the sustainability diagram if you’re curious.

Here’s more on MLB’s overall efforts toward making this world a greener place.

You have to applaud the efforts.  We may not have a winning team but we have a first class, environmentally-sound ballpark.  Now, if only Ryan Zimmerman can take one deep on another holiday and Lindsey’s birthday.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 8:23 am and is filed under Miscellaneous, New Nationals Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.