Amazon and Seattle Kraken’s ‘Climate Pledge’ Is Promising, but Incomplete

Bloomberg Law

July 28, 2020

The Seattle Kraken, Oak View Group, and Amazon made waves in announcing plans to rechristen the new and much-improved Key Arena as Climate Pledge Arena. It’s an intriguing move, and easily the highest profile pro sports venue naming rights deal to be centered so prominently around sustainability. It’s an encouraging, but incomplete start.

Underpinning the name are several promising commitments: a fully carbon-neutral facility, a functionally zero-waste operation, and the “greenest ice” in the world has seen—complete with electric-powered Zambonis. These represent potentially game-changing achievements, building on years of increased momentum across the sports industry to build better and greener buildings.

However, amidst these meaningful pledges is a glaring blind spot, one missed not only in Seattle, but by the sports industry as a whole: a true commitment to environmental justice.

The Need to Think Beyond Buildings

Discussions of sustainability in sports have focused largely on how to better design, build and operate sports facilities. Stadiums and arenas have grown more adept at reducing energy and water consumption, utilizing greener supplies and materials, reducing trash, promoting recycling, and accommodating public transit. 

But in any given community, the reach of a sports team is far greater than the footprint of its stadium or arena. To be truly bold and innovative on sustainability, teams must work harder to think beyond their buildings. 

Practically every city that a pro sports team calls home also is home to thousands of residents disproportionately impacted by the negative consequences of the collective mismanagement of our air, water and soil. Tragically, America has a decades-long legacy of dumping pollution onto the doorsteps of our poorest communities. These sacrifice zones are where we place everything no one else wants—incinerators, coal fired power plants, waste treatment facilities, bus depots, lower-income housing, roads and much more. 

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“Who Are We Now?” Series

Cal Alumni Association and Lotus Advisory

July 24, 2020

What happens when your identity is tied to the headlines and no longer in your control?

This moment in history will no doubt impact our identities as individuals and, ultimately, as a society. To address this historic moment, Cal Alumni Association and Lotus Advisory are producing the “Who Are We Now?” series. We are engaging Cal alumni and students in virtual discussions around current events to learn how their experiences at Cal have shaped their identities.

Leveraging the Power of Sports for Impactful Progress on Environmental and Social Justice

Green Sports Alliance

July 15, 2020

The Green Sports Alliance hosted a conversation centered around the role of sports in advancing progress on environmental and social justice.

Sports are a catalyst and platform for change. How can we leverage the power of sports to accelerate material progress on environmental and social justice issues as we support the Black Lives Matter movement and the Sport for Climate Action Framework? How can we combat institutional racism alongside climate change? In this discussion we will dive into examples of how teams, leagues, brands and athletes are making their voices heard and backing them up with meaningful action.

Welcome: Kristin Hanczor, Senior Partnership Manager, Green Sports Alliance

Moderator: Roger McClendon, Executive Director, Green Sports Alliance

Speakers: Alonzo Jones, Associate Athletic Director for Inclusion + Championship Life, Arizona State University

Dr. John McClendon III, Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University

Kunal Merchant, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Lotus Advisory

A Message from Our Executive Director: Let There Be Light

Cal Alumni Association

By Clothilde Hewlett

June 5, 2020

Dear Cal alumni, students, and friends:

“Oh Freedom!”—the song you just heard—was what my mother sang with the Freedom Riders.

She trained in Philadelphia and traveled to the South to engage in nonviolent resistance alongside Martin Luther King Jr. As an eight-year-old girl, I marched in the March on Washington. So, I speak to you today not only as Cal Alumni Association’s executive director, but also as a wife, mother, sister, aunt, and grandmother who comes from a family involved in the fight for civil rights in the United States of America.

In our UC Berkeley community, we grieve and express our deepest sympathy to the family of George Floyd in Minneapolis. His brutal death, and the ensuing insensitive remarks regarding this senseless killing, are indicative our country is at a critical inflection point in our history.    

We are at a significant juncture, just as we were on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington. We appreciate the diversity of voices who have joined the peaceful demonstrations in cities across this world to acknowledge the sanctity of human life. Peaceful demonstrations that acknowledge the suffering, indifference, and dehumanization that systemic racism has inflicted upon a people just because of the color of their skin.

Yes, our country is at a critical inflection point in our twenty-first century history.

We must ask ourselves: What do we stand for? What are we willing to do to support our principles of peace, human rights, and the value of human life?

You may be asking yourself: “What can I do?”

We, as the Cal Alumni Association community, can support each other. Listen to our sisters and brothers. Respect the life of everyone we encounter, although they may come from cultural backgrounds different than our own.

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CalOZ Webcast: Conversation with U.S. Senator Tim Scott

CalOZ

June 2, 2020

On June 2, CalOZ, RevOZ, OFA, and CLA hosted a webcast with U.S. Senator Tim Scott to discuss the state of Opportunity Zones in the wake of COVID-19.

Senator Scott shared his perspective on a range of topics with over 350 attendees, including potential additional federal action on Opportunity Zones; early success stories of OZ impact around the country; and the heightened need for Opportunity Zone investment in the wake of COVID-19. 

Watch the Webcast

SBA Covid-19 Recovery Resources Overview

AirBNB

April 29, 2020

Lotus’ Monisha Merchant facilitated a special webinar focused around providing insights to help hosts understand recent federal relief programs for those impacted by COVID-19. Joining Monisha were Susheel Kumar, Public Information Officer of the SBA; Darlene Chiu, Executive Director of Global: SF. For more information on Airbnb’s efforts in this area, please visit their site.