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The biggest game in American sports has dominated headlines and timelines this weekend. But a surprising revelation about the Super Bowl’s sustainability initiatives has got people talking.
As the most-watched sporting event in the US, the Super Bowl has some staggeringly unsustainable statistics attached to it.
From the gross overproduction and consumption of game-day cuisine, to the high-profile and high-emission journeys of its guests, the big game is certainly accountable for a huge amount of environmental warfare.
But, somewhat surprisingly, this year’s Super Bowl has strived to be different, and may just have had its ‘greenest’ year to date – or so it would have you believe.
USA Today reported that the 2024 Super Bowl was the first to be fully powered by renewable energy, after the host stadium made a deal with a solar farm.
More than 621,000 solar panels found and reclaimed from the Nevada desert helped power the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which, according to their website, is 100% ‘powered by Nevada-sourced renewable energy’.
To put that into perspective, for an event on the scale of the Super Bowl, solar panels must produce 10 megawatts, enough to power 46,000 homes.
But critics have been quick to point out the irony of celebrating a supposedly green Super Bowl while ignoring the glaring environmental footprint of the event itself.
Earlier this week, it was reported that an eye-watering 700 million chickens were slaughtered to provide the chicken wings favoured as a game day snack by Americans.
Besides the staggering amount of food that equates to, the emissions that go into producing chicken wings on that scale is difficult to fathom.
On top of that, a lot of conversation has surrounded the travel tactics of those attending the Super Bowl, namely Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift. The use of private jets by the big-name celebrities attending the game will have undoubtedly outweighed any positive impact from greener energy sources.
There’s also the extravagant parties, single-use plastics, and lavish excess of food and drink that contrast any sustainability message purported by the use of renewable energy.
The use of solar power on such a large and public scale is a significant milestone for a sporting event on this scale, and even the most symbolic of gestures as important for raising awareness and driving change.
Arguably, it doesn’t help anyone to be pedantic about environmental efforts, when each and every act counts in the fight against climate change.
However, it’s equally important to call out greenwashing for what it is. And the danger that this message of renewable energy will overshadow the damaging impacts of the Super Bowl is very prevalent.
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