Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the Sacramento Kings and City of Sacramento announced that the Entertainment and Sports Center (ESC) project exceeded its recycling goals during the demolition of the Downtown Plaza. Nearly 101,000 tons, over 98 percent, of the Downtown Plaza was recycled during August 2014-March 2015. California state law state requires the recycling of at least 50 percent of construction waste; the ESC’s project goal was 75 percent.
“Environmental stewardship is in Sacramento’s DNA,” said Kings President Chris Granger. “We’re thrilled that nearly all of the Downtown Plaza has been recycled and will find new life in projects throughout Sacramento. Under Owner Vivek Ranadivé's NBA 3.0 philosophy, the Kings are committed to building the greenest arena in the greenest state in the country.”
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“In Sacramento, we're starting to make a habit of setting lofty goals and then exceeding them, but recycling an amazing 98 percent of the downtown plaza is a spectacular notch in our belt that needs to be recognized,” said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. “I could not be prouder of our City and our partners at the Kings for the commitment to sustainability during construction of what is expected to be the first LEED Gold arena in California.”
Recycling Breakdown (August 2014-March 2015):
- Concrete: 87,723.25
- Metal: 6,594.37
- Other: 6,465.94
- Wood: 50.89
- Paper: 14.21
- TOTAL: 100,848.66 tons of recycled materials
The total tonnage is roughly equivalent to the weight of two Titanic ships (52,310 tons/per) or nearly three years of recyclable material collected by the City of Sacramento (35,000 tons/year) or 50,000 cars (2 tons/per).
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Teichert (Sacramento), Bell Marine (Sacramento) and Crete Crush (Sacramento) recycled nearly 88,000 tons of concrete into aggregate, with a portion being repurposed into the ESC’s foundation. Metals were handled by Schnitzer Steel and Cass Inc. (Oakland). Wood and other materials were handled by Recology (Vacaville) and L&D Landfill (Sacramento).
Today’s announcement represents the latest in a series of activities to develop a robust sustainability agenda for the ESC:
- September 2013: Announcement that the project would seek LEED Gold certification, which makes the ESC the first LEED Gold in California and one of the first in the country to achieve this prestigious status. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a widely recognized green building certification process administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
- October 2013: Focus group of top sustainability and green technology experts and advocates in the Sacramento region to discuss and vet a range of specific initiatives and strategies to ensure a strong green presence in the ESC project.
- April 2014: Completion of a comprehensive, 13-month environmental impact analysis of the ESC site, which identified a range of significant sustainability benefits of moving from a suburban Natomas location to an urban downtown location. For example, studies concluded that the downtown location will reduce average miles traveled per attendee by 20 percent, cut overall air emissions by 24 percent, and reduce travel-related greenhouse gas emissions per attendee by 36 percent by 2020.
- May 2014: Partnership with the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), a nationally acclaimed non-profit organization dedicated to helping sports teams, venues and leagues enhance their environmental performance.
- October 2014: Announcement that 90 percent of food and beverages would be locally sourced within 150 miles – establishing the ESC as the nation’s preeminent farm-to-fork arena. Working with Legends Hospitality, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and GSA, the Kings are creating a more sustainable food supply system in the Sacramento region. Utilizing local resources will also help reduce fuel consumption and the pollution associated with transporting food long distances.
The ESC is scheduled to open fall of 2016, in time for the 2016-2017 NBA season. For more information, visit SacramentoESC.com.