USC Athletics to Join Program to Help Curb Climate Change Emissions

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - USC Athletics announced today that it will join the United Nations Sports for Climate Action initiative, which spells out measures needed to help curb emissions linked to climate change.

“In alignment with USC's bold vision for sustainability, we are thrilled to become the fifth collegiate athletic department to join this important initiative,'' said Mike Bohn, the university's director of athletics. “We support the plan outlined in the Sports for Climate Action framework, and we commit to working collaboratively with our peers and relevant stakeholders to drive climate action and awareness through sports.''

The initiative is aimed at undertaking systematic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility, reducing overall climate impact, educating for climate action, promoting sustainable and responsible consumption and advocating for climate action through communication.

The University of Colorado Boulder, Ohio State University, the University of Miami and Wake Forest University have also committed to the initiative, along with the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Football Club and more than 200 other sports organizations.

USC has hosted “zero-waste'' football and basketball games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Galen Center -- the latter of which has 1,500 solar energy modules installed on its roof to supply about 15% of the arena's electricity.

USC won the Pac-12 zero waste competition in football in 2017 and 2018.

“Athletics is one of USC's biggest -- and earliest – sustainability champions,'' said Ellen Dux, the associate director of the USC Office of Sustainability. “Participation in the U.N. Sports for Climate Action framework, plus the many other actions already undertaken by the athletics program, demonstrates our commitment to address climate change as we integrate sustainability principles into daily operations.''

Photo: Getty Images

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