Chelsea Piers Goes Green!
Chelsea Piers is proud of the role it plays in the lives of so many New Yorkers. Year-round, day and night, adults and children alike have an outlet for healthy recreation and athletic competition. We aim to be not only the best amateur sports complex in the country, but also a responsible and proactive environmental steward.
OUR GREEN MISSION
Chelsea Piers has made a commitment to environmental best practices, including: the purchase of energy from renewable resources; reduced consumption of energy and water; use of healthful and sustainable indoor and outdoor materials; proper supply chain management to ensure we are working with eco-friendly partners and vendors; and effective recycling strategies to minimize our carbon footprint. Sustainable practices are an integral part of our business operations. Our commitment to environmental responsibility is consistent with our commitment to providing a clean, safe, friendly and fun destination for all of our visitors and customers.
Chelsea Piers is purchasing 100% of its energy from renewable resources.
Effective October 1, 2008, Chelsea Piers began purchasing green power equal to 100% of its annual electricity usage from a renewable energy source - wind! This purchase offset 13,344 metric tons of electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions (CO2), an amount equal to taking 2,856 cars off the road or planting 12,292 acres of trees.
Chelsea Piers is purchasing 100% green power in the form of Green-E certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) equal to its annual projected electricity usage. Purchasing RECs directly affects how much renewable energy is produced in the energy grid. The more RECs sold, the more renewable energy produced.
Chelsea Piers is now a Green Power Leadership Club member of the EPA's Green Power Partnership. Leadership Club requirements include the purchase of at least 20% green power (electricity generated from eligible renewable resources) over a one year period.
Identifying ways to reduce energy consumption and solid waste.
Working closely with its employees, tenants and vendors, Chelsea Piers seeks way to reduce its demand for energy and to generate less waste. Here are some of the ways we are accomplishing this:
Measure Consumption and Establish Goals for Improvement
Electric, water, gas usage and solid waste generation have been analyzed in order to establish a benchmark for measuring future consumption. Our goal is to achieve decreases of 6% on energy consumption and 10% in solid waste.
Pier Sixty invested in GIANCO Environmental's/ Austin Wood's Green Machine, an organic food waste disposal machine. This eco-friendly machine uses nonpathogenic microorganisms to convert food waste into CO2 and H2O, eliminating waste that would normally go to a landfill.
Reducing Demand for Power
In 2007, Chelsea Piers conducted a detailed energy audit to study and identify ways to reduce the overall electricity consumption at the Piers. As a result of this study, Chelsea Piers implemented a variety of changes, including an investment of over $500,000 to replace more than 690 high-bay light fixtures and control systems throughout the complex with more energy efficient fixtures and systems. This resulted in an annual electrical savings of over 680,000 kwh.
Secure Employee Support for Green Initiatives:
In June 2008, Chelsea Piers invited interested employees to join the Chelsea Piers "Green Team." Green Team members represent all of the operating business units at Chelsea Piers. They work together to identify best practices within our business operations that will reduce our company's carbon footprint.
Marketing Materials and Customer Communications
The vast majority of printed marketing materials at Chelsea Piers are printed on paper with post-consumer recycled content. More importantly, Chelsea Piers also seeks ways to reduce the amount of materials printed. For example, Chelsea Piers summer camp registration is now completely paperless and new software has been purchased that will virtually eliminate paper forms at the Field House. We have also cleaned up our mailing lists and utilizing email and our website as the primary method of communication.
Information Sharing with Chelsea Piers tenants
Chelsea Piers is home to a wide range of tenants, including restaurants, boats at the marina and the television studios. All of our tenants work cooperatively with Chelsea Piers Management to address the impact of their businesses on the Chelsea Piers site.
Implementing an on-site recycling program.
Recycling receptacles are in easily accessible and highly visible areas throughout the property to make recycling easier for our customers.
The vast majority of waste generated at Chelsea Piers is comprised of plastic soda and water bottles. In order to keep these out of the landfill, Chelsea Piers staff removes all bottles and cans for on-site collection, shredding and distribution to a plastics recycling facility.
Within all of the Chelsea Piers venue offices, paper recycling is a central focus for all of our employees.
With every ton of paper you recycle, you save:
- 17 trees
- 79 gallons of oil
- 7,000 gallons of water
- 41,000 kilowatts of energy
- 60 gallons of air pollution
- 3 cubic yards of landfill space
Reducing consumption and purchasing a wide range of supplies with recycled content & biodegradability features.
Chelsea Piers analyzed its various purchasing requirements and identified a wide range of eco-friendly substitutes.
Office Supplies
Chelsea Piers purchases eco-friendly paper supplies with recycled content and reducing usage.
Bathroom Supplies
LEED-certified toilet paper, paper towels and towel dispensers have been secured for all of the Chelsea Piers-owned sports venues. Biodegradable/compostable single-use serving plates, bowls, cups and cutlery are now in place at the Sports Center Cafè.
Site Maintenance
All facility painting projects use low VOC paints.
Equipment Upgrades
Where possible, all equipment upgrades are Energy Star compliant. Gently used equipment (e.g. computers) is donated to local community groups. Wherever possible, we seek out LEED-certified products (LEED = Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Employee Initiatives
In June 2008, Chelsea Piers announced to its employees plans to develop a green initiative. In response, each of the Chelsea Piers-owned sports venues, event spaces and the management office formed "Green Teams" to review business practices and identify ways to reduce energy consumption and waste.
The Green Teams implemented a wide range of in-venue initiatives at Chelsea Piers. Recognizing that this is a journey, the Green Team is the driving force behind the development and implementation of best practices that contribute to reducing our carbon footprint.