Austin FC’s commitment to sustainability through its Evergreen initiative was recognized by Major League Soccer (MLS) on Monday, as the Club was announced as the winner of the 2024 Mark Abbott MLS Club Award for Sponsorship Activation of the Year.
In April 2024, Austin FC and partner YETI launched Evergreen, a year-round platform to amplify ongoing sustainability initiatives. Evergreen was created to bring Austin FC partners, fans and staff together towards a common goal of earning True Certification for zero waste through three (3) pillars: Green & Clean, Resource Efficiency, and Waste Diversion.
Austin has implemented those pillars through events like tree plantings, a clean-up at Festival Beach with partners Dawn, and Nourish ATX powered by H-E-B. In February, CapMetro’s McKalla Station officially opened providing direct rail service to Q2 Stadium, and in collaboration with YETI, water stations are available inside Q2 Stadium to allow fans to sustainably refresh and rehydrate.
Through the impact of the Evergreen platform and supporting partner Texas Disposal Systems (TDS), in 2024 Austin FC’s home venue Q2 Stadium became the first soccer-specific stadium and fifth sports venue in the world to earn Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) Gold certification. By earning this certification and by consistently diverting more than 90 percent of its waste, Q2 Stadium is now officially a zero-waste venue.
To help sustain and exceed 90 percent diversion from the landfill, Texas Disposal Systems created a custom sorting system for Austin FC inside of Q2 Stadium. With this new system, materials discarded throughout Q2 Stadium are now being processed and properly sorted into the correct recycling, compost, and waste streams through a mini Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
