For sports fans, the thrill of the game often overshadows any thoughts of its environmental impact. But as fans are eagerly awaiting the next big match, teams are crisscrossing the nation and leaving behind tons of carbon emissions in their wake. Which has us wondering, how big of an environmental footprint do our favorite sports teams make?To shed light on this issue, we analyzed data from past seasons of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, estimating each team’s carbon footprint based on their travel between arenas. Join us as we unfold our findings and highlight which teams leave the biggest and smallest environmental imprint.
Key Takeaways
- On average, the NFL has the largest carbon footprint per game played (20.8 metric tons of CO2), followed by the MLS (18.2), NBA (13.7), NHL (12.2), and MLB (5.6).
- In the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks had the highest estimated carbon footprint in their last complete season (611 metric tons of CO2); the Pittsburgh Steelers had the lowest (115).
- In the NBA, the Sacramento Kings had the highest estimated carbon footprint in their last complete season (1,315 metric tons of CO2); the Washington Wizards had the lowest (790).
- In the MLB, the Oakland Athletics had the highest estimated carbon footprint in their last complete season (1,495 metric tons of CO2); the St. Louis Cardinals had the lowest (644).
- In the NHL, the San Jose Sharks had the highest estimated carbon footprint in their last complete season (1,542 metric tons of CO2); the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres tied with the lowest (763).
- In the MLS, the Vancouver Whitecaps had the highest estimated carbon footprint in their last complete season (628 metric tons of CO2); the D.C. United had the lowest (188).
- The cities with the highest average carbon emissions per game played in the last five completed seasons are Vancouver, Canada (17.9 metric tons of CO2), San Jose, CA (17.5), and Portland, OR (17.1).
Sports Teams’ Carbon Footprints
Let’s do a quick review of our study’s methodology and then see how the teams ranked across all five sports leagues.