The Philadelphia Eagles have gone green in more ways than one and now the Birds and the stadium they call home have received a historic environmental honor for their efforts.
The team announced Tuesday, June 18, that Lincoln Financial Field has been certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum building due to its commitment to sustainability. LEED, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the most widely used green building ratings system and provides a framework to create healthy, efficient and cost-saving buildings.
The Linc is only one of two previously constructed stadiums in the NFL to achieve Platinum status – the highest of all LEED certifications – and the only one that is more than 10 years old to receive the honor
Lincoln Financial Field has earned three levels from the USGBC since opening in 2003, winning LEED silver in 2013, LEED Gold in 2018 and now LEED Platinum in 2024.
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“LEED is a transformative tool that ensures a building is designed and operated to achieve high performance, improve human health, and protect the environment,” Peter Templeton, the President and CEO of USGBC, said. “By prioritizing sustainability, the Philadelphia Eagles are leading the way in their industry and helping USGBC continue towards our goal of green buildings for everyone within this generation.”
Throughout the years, the Linc has implemented strategies and solutions in sustainable site development, water saving, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The Eagles are also the first professional sports team in North America to install a hydrogen refueling station to power its passenger vehicles while the Linc is the first NFL stadium to recycle beverage containers through the usage of reverse vending machines. The Linc also features 10,456 solar panels that produce around four megawatts of clean energy every year.
The Linc also installed water filtration fountains that eliminated the use of more than one million plastic water bottles, implemented a closed-loop recycling program that collects bottle caps and turns them into new material for use at the stadium, replaced the stadium’s lights with high-powered LED lighting technology which led to a 50% reduction in wattage, diverted 99% of waste from landfills and operates on 100% clean energy.
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“This certification speaks to the collaboration that exists at all levels of the organization where sustainability is prioritized as a key business strategy,” Norman Vossschulte, Vice President of Fan Experience and Sustainability for the Philadelphia Eagles, said. “It also represents the support we receive externally, which has included the valuable insight and consultation from Lindsay Arell of Honeycomb Strategies. Lindsay has built her career on pioneering sustainability efforts for the live events industry and was integral in the process to Lincoln Financial Field becoming LEED Platinum certified.”
