ELMONT, N.Y. — Celebrating its second anniversary since its doors opened to New York Islanders fans, UBS Arena simply isn’t resting on its laurels as one of the premier sporting and concert venues in the country.
On Tuesday, the venue announced a new sustainability agenda that will advance its environmental impact and influence on the surrounding community within the Nassau County and Queens border.
Headlined by “three core pillars” to unlock “sustainable brilliance,” UBS Arena’s new plan is focused on giving back to the Queens and Long Island area and ensuring even cleaner environmental operations.
Among those goals is a community resilience plan, featuring energy storage solutions for emergency situations, which will have a targeted completion date of 2030. There will also be added stress on maintaining a local workforce, hoping to fill 30% of the venue’s jobs with neighborhood residents.
An impact fund is also on the horizon where at least $100,000 will be donated by 2025 to action-oriented organizations focused on career development, health and wellness, the arts, and climate justice. At least another $1 million in sponsorship dollars are expected to be activated from brands with sustainability solutions and community impact by 2024, as well.
“Our organization’s commitments are deeply rooted in making a difference,” Kim Stone, president of UBS Arena, said. “This bold sustainability framework gives us an even greater opportunity to make further strides in those promises. It’s important that we don’t just talk about these values, but how we are committed to actions.”
From an environmental standpoint, UBS Arena had already achieved carbon neutrality for all Scope 1 and 2 emissions from operations before its first anniversary — two years ahead of schedule.
The hope is to maintain that neutrality while reducing Scope 3 emissions by 25% under its 2022 baseline by 2030. Scope 3 emissions, according to NationalGrid.com, “are…
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