I have always been fascinated with the concept of sports. I grew up in a household where basketball was king. To this day, my father still owns his VHS tapes of all the Chicago Bulls games. Of course, now living in LA he has become a fan of the Lakers, but his devotion to Michael Jordan has never skipped a beat.
As die-hard fans, we superstitiously sleep in our favorite sports jersey night after night just to see our team win the playoffs. We religiously gather as a community to show our support to our little leagues, college, state-wide and even international sports teams. It’s what keep our hearts racing down to the very last nail-bitting moments.
Today’s Inspiration: The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is quickly approaching and their sponsor Coca-Cola has recently announced their sustainability campaign for the event. Coca-Cola will accept and recycle plastic (PET) bottles by reusing them to make new chair linings of the 6,773 seats in the new Maracanã Stadium, the venue for the final FIFA World Cup match.
Participating cities – Rio de Janeiro and Brasília – have joined forces to provide 100 accessible collection points for residents to drop off their bottles for recycling. Since each seat requires 100 600ml plastic (PET) bottles to be recycled, having numerous collection points in the community will be key to ensuring adequate supply for the renovation.
While the purpose of this campaign is to make the 2014 FIFA World Cup more sustainable, it is also an educational experience for local residents by encouraging a recycling culture into their homes. FIFA recently conducted a public opinion tracker in Brazil and the topic of sustainability resonated in the results. According to the tracker, “92% of Brazilians believe the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil should be environmentally friendly. Additionally 50% believe that the stadiums should have facilities for recycling and proper disposal of waste.”
By doing so, Brazilian sport’s enthusiasts and residents will not only learn about the importance of this recycling initiative, its affects on the stadium and the community around them, they will feel a greater connection to their love of sport.
To learn more about the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil’s Sustainability Strategy Concept, click here.