Sustainability at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Since 2007, the vision for Mercedes-Benz Stadium was to be a game-changer in every way. We strived to create a building that will be unlike any other in the industry in one of the most important areas: Sustainability.

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Mercedes-Benz Stadium is on target to meet the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ certification, the industry’s internationally-recognized rating system for environmentally conscience developers and setting the bar for environmental responsibility for venues around the world. This was our promise to the city of Atlanta, our guests and our industry.

“Arthur set a goal. He said ‘I want this building to be LEED certified. I want it to be LEED certified at least at a gold level.’ It was initially described to us as potentially not doable,” says Falcons President & CEO Rich McKay.

Then when Stadium General Manager and Chairman of the Green Sports Alliance Scott Jenkins came onboard, that goal shifted even higher. The chase to LEED Platinum started to become realistic.

Thanks to Arthur and his unwavering commitment to maintain the highest environmental standards, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is designed to:

• Save 29% in energy usage compared to a typical stadium design
• Has 4,000 solar panels generating around 1.6 million kilowatt hours per year of renewable energy – enough to power 160 households in Atlanta; more than nine Atlanta Falcons home games or 13 Atlanta United home matches
• Electric car charging stations
• Onsite edible landscaping
• 680,000-gallon cistern used for water recapture and reuse for land irrigation
• 1 million gallon cooling tower

These efforts also led to the White House Office of Science and Technology recognizing Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the newly formed Green Sports Day on October 6, 2016.

“It’s the right thing to do and we believe that most things we do, we do for the right reasons and worry about whether the economics make sense later,” says Owner Arthur Blank.

Jenkins agrees. He spent years working on Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles), and Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers), but those pale in comparison to the project he encountered with Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We benefitted by Arthur’s vision and commandment to this project and that is unusual to have someone to care that much about sustainability and put their money where their mouth is,” says Jenkins.

Sustainability is just another component of the future fan experience at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to be one of the most unique and finest sports and entertainment complexes in the world.