Annual Sustainability Report (2021-2022)

Annual Sustainability Report (2021-2022)

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As the COVID threat recedes and the events industry regains momentum, our sustainability program has also picked up the pace of its efforts. We continue to pursue energy efficiency upgrades, look for new ways to purchase greener products, and continually work to improve our recycling and composting program. We are also working toward recertification as sustainable facilities - through LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), as well as the Events Industry Council’s Sustainable Events framework. Meanwhile, we have renewed our focus on sharing information and best practices with other leaders in the industry through the United Nations Sports for Climate Action coalition, the NHL’s sustainability metrics program, and the City of Saint Paul’s energy benchmarking platform. By working alongside these other groups, we seek to help pave the way forward toward an ever more sustainable future.

‍Over the course of the 2021-22 NHL season, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Minnesota Wild and operators of Xcel Energy Center, has offset 1,300 tons of CO2 -- done through a sustainable forestry partnership with paper mill UPM Blandin – which was equal to the Wild’s entire season of team air travel. Additionally, MSE purchased 2.1 million kWh of wind source renewable energy and 5.3 million kWh solar power generated through a nearby Solar Garden collaboration. Additionally, Jim Ibister, VP/Facility Administration was recently named one of Sports Business Journal’s top executives who are leading planet-conscious actions across sports franchises. Ibister designed the sustainability model that helped the Minnesota Wild’s Xcel Energy Center and adjacent Saint Paul River Centre become the world’s first facility to achieve LEED, Green Globes and American Society for Testing and Materials certification simultaneously in 2014, and then led the site’s platinum level award in 2019.