The Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER) is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and raising awareness among the millions of students, athletes and visitors that participate in its programs throughout each year.
Join the Cardinal Green Athletics Team!• Use our Sustainable Tailgate Checklist to plan your next tailgating event
• Stanford Athletics has expanded recycling and compost bin locations throughout its facilities: make sure you're #WinningAtBinning by properly sorting your recyclables, compostables, and trash
• Bring empty, reusable water bottles to use at the water refilling stations
• Don't forget you're using precious water; try to keep showers in the rec center to five minutes or less
• Carpool or use alternative transport (like Caltrain or the free Marguerite Shuttle) to get to the game
• Bring clear trash bags to tailgates to help separate your waste (clear bags help people see what's inside!)
• Donate used athletics gear (especially shoes!) at the Stanford Recycling center at the corner of Serra Street and Campus Drive
• Sign up for My Cardinal Green to receive a customized list of other ways to reduce your impact – and earn a reward! (Must have a SUNet ID to participate)
Sustainability Milestones and Achievements
DAPER operates 70 buildings on the Stanford campus, totaling almost 800,000 square feet, and has taken significant strides to address energy and water conservation and minimize waste in each of them. Participation from our fans and community is essential to truly make a Sustainable Stanford: see how you can support Cardinal Green Athletics below!
2018-2019
• Increased stadium waste diversion rate to 43%
• Created "tailgate kits" with instructions & correctly colored liners for each waste stream to distribute in tailgate areas
• Measured diversion in tailgate areas separately for the first time and achieved a 16% diversion rate
• Created a video highlighting Cardinal Green Athletics initiatives utilizing a grant awarded through the Pac-12 Conference Team Green Program and Unifi
• Stanford athletes (men's and women's basketball and football) share their passion for sustainability through Pac-12 Team Green
• Stanford Bookstore highlighted for selling apparel made from recycled bottles
2017-2018
• Paper towel composting launched in AOERC
• Tailgate sustainability program introduced, including 12 new sets of dumpster trios
• Flyer and bag distribution to tailgaters expanded via student interns and volunteers
• Student-led food recovery initiatives resulted in 2,777 lbs of food donated from football games
• All-time high diversion rate of 68% reached at Maples Pavilion for women's basketball Game Day Challenge
• Inaugural student athlete competition hosted through My Cardinal Green
2016-2017
• A 636 kW solar installation was installed on top of Maples Pavilion - the largest of any building on campus
• Paper towel composting launched in the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation (ACSR)
• Compost bins were added at Stanford Stadium during football season for the first time, more than doubling the Stadium diversion rates from 2015
• Outdoor waste stations with recycling, composting, and landfill bins added to eight locations surrounding Athletics venues
2015-2016
• Student representatives from Students for a Sustainable Stanford, Stanford Students Environmental Consulting (SSEC), and Cardinal Council partnered to reduce the environmental impact of athletic-related travel, securing enough funding to offset all 2015 varsity team air travel emissions - a total of 2,640 metric tons.
• Stanford joined the Pac-12 Green Sports Group
• Stanford Stadium recycled over 23 tons of material during the 2015 football season
• Avery Aquatic Center underwent an LED lighting retrofit
• Athletics saved 6.7 million gallons of potable water and 15 million gallons of non-potable water
2015 and earlier
• 7,300 sq. ft. of lawn was converted to artificial turf to save water
• Four high efficiency water fountains were added to Arrillaga Family Sports Center, reducing the need for 50,000 water bottles in just one year
• Green Sports Alliance toured Stanford Stadium; SaveOnEnergy.com ranked the university 2nd in stadium sustainability among the top-25 ranked football programs that yearRead MoreFact Sheet: Cardinal Green Stanford Athletics
Stanford Report Interview with Athletics Director Bernard Muir