Oakland Roots SC announced its commitment to becoming climate positive by 2022, going beyond achieving net-zero emissions and setting the path as one of the first professional teams in the world to do so. Oakland Roots will establish science-based, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 1.5-degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures, as described in the latest Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Roots X EBCE X SBC Climate Positive FAQ
What does it mean to be Climate Positive?
‘Climate Positive’ is defined as ‘an activity that goes beyond achieving net zero carbon emissions to actually create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the organization emits’. Oakland Roots will achieve this by reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and offsetting any that it cannot reduce internally.
Why did you choose Sustainability Consulting Group to help calculate your carbon footprint?
SBC specializes in helping organizations provide more value to their community through better environment, climate and social justice practices. SBC has helped over 220 organizations – including professional sports teams – and will provide the expert guidance and support required for us to achieve our sustainability targets. Starting in September 2021, we will be evaluating the following;
- Energy use and waste from home games
- Air and bus travel for away games
- Business travel including scouting
- Front Office operations including energy, waste, water, shipping, recycling and employee commuting
- Emissions generated by fans traveling to and from home games
What type of carbon offsets will you be investing in?
Oakland Roots will fund emission reduction projects with a focus on the local community and by planting trees that sequester carbon and help clean the water and air in the East Bay. Roots prefers to invest locally and is actively seeking additional partners to help make it happen.
Doesn’t offsetting just allow organizations to keep emitting carbon and polluting the environment without making the difficult decisions that will eventually need to be made?
We believe that helping to build a healthier and more sustainable Oakland is an integral part of our purpose and it’s our responsibility to understand and reduce our own operational emissions. We view offsets as an important, near-term step for areas we immediately cannot control and reduce our footprint.
How do we know these offset projects are occurring? Is it just greenwashing?
We are working with a number of local initiatives working on tree planting in Oakland to ensure as much offsetting as possible can be done locally, that we can stay accountable and ensure the trees continue to grow and sequester carbon as they are designed to do. Also, with support from Sustainability Consulting Group, we will submit a letter to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to drive ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets, establishing our intent to set a SBTi and follow the criteria to put us in the best position for official validation and full transparency.
Why are we partnering with East Bay Community Energy on this Initiave?
EBCE has been a founding partner of the Oakland Roots since the very beginning. Their mission is aligned with Roots clean energy and sustainability goals as they leverage wind and solar to help East Bay residents and businesses save millions of dollars every year. We believe that it’s our responsibility as an EBCE partner to support their mission of empowering the East Bay to embrace green power and sustainability.
Can fans get involved in this initiative?
Oakland Roots and EBCE encourage fans and employees to opt in to Renewable 100, East Bay Community Energy’s electric service that provides 100% California solar & wind energy. Oakland Roots will create opportunities for fans to get involved in tree planting and community greening programs and we’ll also be asking fans about their travel and consumption habits around gamedays so we can better understand how to reduce our direct and indirect carbon footprint.
Why invest in climate justice instead of racial and gender equity, food insecurity, education or crime?
Oakland Roots was founded with a purpose; to harness the magic of Oakland and the power of sport as a force for social good. For us, this means being intentional about every aspect of our business and not only about charitable commitments. As a proud local business we believe it’s our responsibility to support the City of Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP), a 10 year plan to reduce greenhouse gases and improve the well-being for everyone in the Town.
