Smart Venues, Real Outcomes: Sustainability Showcase at Green Sports Alliance Summit
John Strom, Vice President and General Manager, Innovation, GP PRO
The annual Green Sports Alliance (GSA) Summit in Cleveland this past May brought together venue operators, sustainability professionals, and league executives from the NFL, MLB, WNBA, NBA, MLS, and F1 to celebrate innovation at the intersection of sports, sustainability, and social responsibility.
Celebrating Resilient People in Sports Operations
The alliance selected “RESILIENT” as this year’s official theme to celebrate the people behind the progress—those who show up every day and continually innovate. I was privileged to host three industry trailblazers during a main-stage panel discussion on how smart venues are closing the sustainability loop:
- Christy Briggs, Sustainability Manager, Lumen Field
- Rosalie Morrison, Assistant Director of Facility Operations, Progressive Field
- Alejandra Alvarez, Senior Manager of Maintenance Operations, Oracle Park
According to Rosalie, resilience should be part of the job description. “Anyone who works in facilities operations has to be resilient and adaptable,” she said. “You need to be ready to jump in and bounce back, because at the end of the day, they’re still opening the gates.”
Winning the Waste Game
A central topic was how data enables circular playbooks. At Oracle Park, Lumen Field, and Progressive Field, GP PRO’s Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled KOLO® Smart Monitoring System helps turn zero-waste goals into measurable business outcomes.
The KOLO system uses embedded IoT sensors in tissue, towel, soap, and sanitizer dispensers to monitor product usage and send real-time alerts to mobile devices. During their respective 2025 sports seasons, these iconic venues leveraged KOLO alerts to optimize labor and drive significant gains in operational efficiency while achieving up to 60% reductions in source waste.
Instead of relying on rigid schedule-based checks, custodial teams receive actionable data on supply levels and traffic patterns. At Lumen Field, Christy recalled housekeeping supervisors expressing deep gratitude when the technology was deployed across 1,100 dispensers.
“The cool thing for me as we adopted it was the supervisors on the housekeeping team saying they were so excited,” she said. “They thanked us for investing in this because it made their jobs easier. Often those teams don't feel that investment, and this was an opportunity for them to see technology and resources put directly into what they do."
Christy also explained how KOLO data contributed to Lumen Field’s TRUE Gold Certification under the Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) rating system. Traditionally, staff replaced partially used paper towel and tissue rolls before major events to avoid runouts during peak hours. With KOLO data, staff can safely run rolls down to their minimum threshold without risking empty dispensers, driving up to a 75% reduction in upstream paper waste.
“The cool thing for me as we adopted it was the supervisors on the housekeeping team saying they were so excited. They thanked us for investing in this because it made their jobs easier. Often those teams don't feel that investment, and this was an opportunity for them to see technology and resources put directly into what they do."
Christy Briggs, Sustainability Manager, Lumen Field
Precision through Data
At Progressive Field, Rosalie shared how KOLO reports help her build custom predictive data models that combine fan attendance with historical dispensing data. Armed with accurate data, she can be precise when ordering through distributors, preventing over-stocking or sudden supply shortages while deploying staff exactly where demand dictates.
At Oracle Park, KOLO data has helped to reduce tissue and towel waste significantly, preventing 3,598 lbs. of emissions—equivalent to planting 41 trees. From GP PRO’s perspective, it was inspiring to hear how creatively our customers extract multidimensional value from KOLO data.
Blueprint for Closed-Loop Operations
A founding GSA member, Lumen Field was recognized at this year’s summit as an Energy Efficiency Leader and Material Management Champion in a new “verified” category, backed by KOLO sustainability impact reports and TRUE waste-diversion data.
According to Christy, plans are underway to evaluate direct-to-mill materials recovery, remove costly links from Lumen Field’s supply chain, and ensure sorted waste has a verifiable second life. As part of exploring the value proposition of a potential closed-loop recycling model, she has discussed opportunities with Georgia-Pacific Recycling (GP Recycling)—one of the world’s largest buyers and sellers of recyclable paper, plastics, and metal—to support that effort.
“One of my goals for 2026 was to go more ‘closed loop’ with our recycling by cutting out our hauler and starting on-site baling for greater financial and operational efficiency,” she said. “I am super excited about the prospect.”
Building a Sustainable Future Together
As we wrapped the panel, I was grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with these sustainability leaders as we work together to make facility jobs easier, fan experiences more enjoyable, and zero-waste goals a reality for all.
