Austin FC launching new environmental initiative

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin FC have announced a new environmentally focused initiative known as "Evergreen" in order to focus on sustainability and the environment year-round.

Nick Bannin, KXAN Meteorologist and host of Austin FC show Verde Lights, spoke with Trennis Jones, Austin FC's vice president of community impact, about this new focus.

KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Big announcement from Austin F.C. a new initiative called "Evergreen," so fitting, right?

Trennis Jones, Austin FC: "Evergreen" is an exciting opportunity for us, in partnership with Yeti, really just to amplify sustainability efforts that are happening around the club, with the club, with our partners. Doing a better job, I think, of making sure that we can tell that story to allow people to join us in these efforts that are so essential to our community.

Bannin: Austin FC is already green-focused. How is this different?

Jones: The difference in "Evergreen" is that it allows us to identify just the segments of work that we do with [and] around sustainability. First, being green and clean, allowing us to clean up places, you know, with partnerships like Austin Parks Foundation, planting trees with TreeFolks, right? Those things that sometimes we see the most of, moving into the resource efficiency space, making sure that, you know, the Cap Metro McKalla [station] that opened this year, you know, is an intentional thing to make sure that people who, if they want to come and cheer on the team, they can do that without having to drive a car. And certainly, lastly, you know, moving into the waste diversion space. It's a big part of Q2 Stadium, the way that we establish these things, we're proud to say that 83% of the waste that was collected last year during soccer matches was diverted right from a place that would have been a landfill and it's something that's useful.

Bannin: So, is it fair to say that this "Evergreen" initiative is more about a year-round focus rather than on just specific times like Earth Day and that sort of thing?

Jones: It has to be, right? If we're really trying to make an impact and we're really trying to leave a legacy. It has to require that we're doing this on an annual basis and doing it year-round. Now, we're going to use April as an opportunity to celebrate, as an opportunity to amplify these opportunities, but if it starts and stops in April we're going to have a limited result.