Nov 12 2008
The GW School of Business' Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Sport Management program has launched a "Green Sports Score Card" research initiative that will help sports organizations globally assess their environmental friendliness.
Lisa Delpy-Neirotti, GW associate professor of tourism and sport management and leader of the Green Sports Score Card initiative
The Green Sports Score Card is an assessment tool that sports teams and other organizations, from youth to professional levels, may use to determine their "green score" and compare how they rank among peers. The GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility Sports Green Team, comprising students, faculty, and staff, will provide organizations with reports that suggest ways to reduce their environmental impact, ranging from immediate, no-cost ideas to long-range, budgeted items. The initial assessment will focus on a team?s front office, facilities, concessions, travel, equipment, policies, and event-management practices.
"This is a great opportunity to involve GW School of Business faculty and students in a research initiative vital to the sports industry," said Lisa Delpy Neirotti, GW associate professor of tourism and sport management and leader of the Green Sports Score Card initiative. "As most teams and sports organizations are just now forming committees to tackle this issue, the GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility will lead the way in providing advice and assistance in finding the best practices." Dr. Neirotti was inspired to promote the greening of sports in the United States after attending the 2007 International Olympic Committees Sports and Environment Conference in Beijing.
The GW Department of Athletics and the Maryland SoccerPlex currently are pilot testing the Green Sports Score Card. Representatives from the following events and organizations have already committed to participate: the Eaglebank Bowl, the first NCAA-sanctioned, post-season bowl game played in Washington, D.C.; NCAA Men?s Frozen Four, the official college hockey championship; the SunTrust National Marathon, Washington Wizards, and the Capitol Hill Volleyball Classic.
GW's Green Sports Score Card initiative is a joint venture between the School of Business' sport management program and the Institute for Corporate Responsibility's environmental sustainability program. The institute also will serve as a resource for teams and sports organizations to research green best practices worldwide.
"Various environmental measurement tools have been developed for fields such as higher education, businesses, and individual households," said Mark Starik, GW professor of strategic management and public policy and director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility's environmental sustainability program. "A Green Sports Score Card is a natural and smart progression. It will offer not only a baseline but an additional incentive for teams and sports organizations to take this issue seriously. It will help them act now to reduce their impact on the environment."
The GW School of Business sport management program curriculum, offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels, prepares students to market and manage sporting events, organizations, media, products, and athletes -- as well as sport-tourism destinations and facilities. Students learn how to succeed in a competitive marketplace through practical assignments with leading professionals and organizations in the sports industry. Since 1991, the School of Business has placed over 700 students in the sports industry.
The GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility is devoted to the development and dissemination of scholarship, including research and teaching, pertaining to corporate responsibility. It serves as a vehicle for continuing education, curriculum development, conferences, and seminars. The institute's environmental sustainability program studies, advances, and critiques the integration of environmental issues and responses within the social and economic policies and practices of international and domestic businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations.
GW's School of Business prepares students for professional management and academic careers. The depth and variety of its academic and professional programs, including five specialized master's programs, provide rich opportunities for students in the school's core Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Accountancy, Master of Business Administration, and doctoral programs. GW's undergraduate- and graduate-level international business programs rank among the world's best.