US Trail Running Conference Earns Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport

Conference Recognized for Commitment to Sustainable Practices

January 22, 2020, PORTLAND, OR—The US Trail Running Conference has earned official certification of its annual conference by the Council for Responsible Sport (Council). Until now, only competitive sporting events have become certified, making this a first-of-its-kind certification. The Council is an Oregon-based nonprofit that provides independent verification of the socially and environmentally responsible work that event organizers do to make a difference in their communities.

The US Trail Running Conference, an educational and networking gathering for the growing sport of trail running, has been hosted annually since 2013, and is organized by Active at Altitude in partnership with the American Trail Running Association.

The conference earned 30 credits based on best practice standards for producing events responsibly, as evaluated by a third party during the 2018 event, and continued engagement throughout 2019. Basic certification requires evidence and verification of at least 27 credits. The gathering earned credit in each of the program’s five categories, including planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity and community legacy.  

 “I am excited that the Conference has gained official certification from the Council for Responsible Sport. The certification process has been incredibly rewarding and enlightening and will help guide future developments for this industry leading event,” said Terry Chiplin, Event Director of the US Trail Running Conference and Owner of Active at Altitude.

Chiplin added, “This process has been key in helping us focus on creating a more inclusive and diverse event that is welcoming to as many participants as possible, while taking leadership as a responsible event. We are grateful that the path to certification with the Council was made possible by an initial sponsorship provided by Ragnar Events, an organization with longstanding dedication to responsibility in its own right.”

The 2018 the Conference moved for the first time outside of Colorado to San Luis Obispo, California and hosted guests at the Dairy Creek Golf Club. Dairy Creek Golf Club was in part selected for having earned awards for its zero waste efforts on the golf course. Those initiatives are focused on recycling on-site resources and nutrients from the various operations of the site—food waste from the kitchens and plant matter from the grounds gets composted with worm bins and a compost tea brewer, providing fertilizer for the golf course.

“One key to the successful completion of Council certification at a new venue, is stating your intentions and expectations in the RFP sent to potential event hosts. Terry did that, and found a great partner in the Dairy Creek Golf Club as a result,” said Keith Peters, who served as evaluator at the 2018 event.

“I’m so very proud of Terry’s commitment to the environment as evidenced through this certification,” said Nancy Hobbs, American Trail Running Association executive director. “He has worked with his team and alongside the hosting venues to ensure that expectations are met for a more sustainable event. I hope more race directors and event planners will learn from this example and work toward certifying their conferences and events – whether indoors, or outdoors –through the Council for Responsible Sport.”

About the US Trail Running Conference

The mission of the US Trail Running Conference is to lead, educate, connect and empower an inclusive tribe of trail runners, race directors and industry leaders working to share best practices with the trail running community. The 2020 US Trail Running Conference takes place in Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 21-24 and will feature the theme of ‘Trail Running Communities for Climate Action and Sustainability’. Fayetteville was selected in part due to their detailed and positive response to the RFP requirements generated from the Council for Responsible Sport Certification process. There are registration options for race directors, trail runners, sponsors and exhibitors. The 2020 Conference is the eighth edition of the industry leading event. www.ustrailrunningconference.com

About Active at Altitude

Active at Altitude create experiences that educate, inspire, and empower an active, healthy, mindful lifestyle. They hold women’s running camps and co-ed trail running camps during the summer in Estes Park, Colorado, and have been rated by Runner’s World and Shape magazine as one of the top providers of adult running camps in the US. They are also the Official Training Partner for the National Parks half marathon series from Vacation Races. A positive growth mindset is a central feature of their camps and training, supported by their app activacuity, and race mindset programs.  www.activeataltitude.com/

Green Turns into Silver at Ohio’s Air Force Marathon

The growing race earns silver level certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for social and environmental responsibility

The 2019 Air Force Marathon has officially achieved silver level responsible sport certification, the Council for Responsible Sport (Council) announced. Held September 19-21, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio, the weekend of events consisted of a marathon, half marathon, 10k, 5k, and 1k kids races that served as an avenue for affecting environmental action in the greater Dayton community.

Hosting over 12,000 participants this year, the Air Force Marathon is now one of five certified responsible events in Ohio out of over 170 total certified events worldwide. By committing to incorporating tactics to prevent and divert waste, water conservation strategies, and carbon offsetting initiatives, the event organizers have set a new precedent for sustainable sporting events in the Dayton community.

Brandon Hough, Air Force Marathon director said, “We are extremely excited to achieve this status and to work with the Council for Responsible Sport in obtaining a more environmentally friendly event. We’ve worked hard to educate ourselves, and in turn educate those on our base and in our community, to make a positive impact on our environment. We are looking forward to using what we have learned and building upon it to continue creating a cleaner environment and a more unified community as the Air Force Marathon.”

As part of the certification, event organizers created and launched a three-year plan to minimize the environmental harm resulting from event operations while communicating positive messages to attendees through their environmental and community efforts. Organizers made good on their promise of prioritizing waste reduction throughout the event by extensively advertising compost and recycling bins, tracking the climate-changing greenhouse emissions of the event, and promoting emissions reduction initiatives to attendees.

Event organizers earned credit for implementing 36 of the best practices recommended in the Council’s Responsible Sport Standards (version 4.2) across five categories for social and environmental responsibility: planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity, and community legacy. The two-year certification was awarded based on written documentation of efforts, the submission of plans, policies, and results, plus interviews with organizers and an on-site assessment of the event from an independent, third-party evaluator.

Social and environmental highlights from the race weekend that earned credit towards certification include:

• Developed guidelines for decreasing the event’s environmental footprint, including waste reduction and water conservation scheme

• Developed a formal 3-year plan to improve event’s impact on and involvement with local community

• Worked with HighTech Signs to source 100 percent post-consumer recycled material for printed event signage

• Utilized ‘Water Monsters’ to serve in bulk, replacing single-use plastic water bottles.

• Partnered with a local company, GoZero, to incorporate compost bins alongside landfill and recycling bins for the first time

• Provided drop off locations for used shoe donations for the international water purification nonprofit, WaterStep

• Provided a mobility clinic for differently-abled athletes facilitated by a Paralympian gold medalist

• Worked with local company, Green Speed, to provide compostable service wares for vendors

• An educational space at the Expo to help teach the attendees about the impacts of pro-environmental waste disposal as well as local river clean up in the Miami Valley

• Partnered with local transit authority to provide event bussing and subsidized transit to event participants

• Donated leftover unserved food to local organization, USO, as part of a food drive

• Began work on a multi-year legacy project to improve a shared running trail on the Wright-Patterson Airforce Base with lighting, a water fountain, restrooms and trail maintenance

“The Council was impressed by the intentionality the Air Force Marathon organizing team brought to the certification effort” said Shelley Villalobos, managing director of the Council. “The event demonstrated a genuine willingness to rethink operations and decision-making with an eye for the broader implications of those decisions and a desire to improve. They were ambitious and deserve recognition for this well-earned certification.”

About the Air Force Marathon

The Air Force Marathon takes place every year, the third Saturday of September. Our weekend events include an expo, a pasta dinner, a breakfast and a Tailwind Trot 1K Kids’

Run, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Full Marathon and Challenge series. We are hosted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Each year we have a featured aircraft with a military flyover. We are where perseverance and pride take flight! www.usafmarathon.com

TD Beach to Beacon 2019 Road Race Achieves Prestigious “Evergreen” Level Certification

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (October 22, 2019) – The TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race’s commitment to sustainability was recognized once again with Evergreen Certification by the Council for Responsible Sport.

In a letter to race organizers, Shelley Villalobos, Managing Director at the Council for Responsible Sport, noted that in 2019, the TD Beach to Beacon 10K implemented 95 percent of the entire set of standards considered for Evergreen Certification, which she called “incredibly impressive and not easy to do.”

Race founder and running icon Joan Benoit Samuelson, a Maine native and 1984 Olympic gold medalist, said, “This is the second time the TD Beach to Beacon 10K has achieved Evergreen Certification and we are part of a very elite and select group of athletic events that have achieved Evergreen status.” Samuelson added,

“The responsibility for being good stewards of our planet belongs to everyone. All of us who are involved with the TD Beach to Beacon 10K are fully committed to doing our part in the effort.” -Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic gold medalist and race founder

With the help of Bruce Rayner, Founder and Chief Greening Officer of Athletes for a Fit Planet, the TD Beach to Beacon 10K first attained Evergreen Certification following the 2016 race, by completing a rigorous review of the environmental and social sustainability programs in place at the race, ranging from comprehensive recycling, measuring and reducing carbon emissions, raising money for charities, and building a positive legacy in the community. Rayner led the charge to complete the process for the 2109 certification as well.

A green team volunteer helps sort items at a recycling station at the 2019 TD Beach to Beacon race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The event diverted 77% of its waste from the landfill in 2019.

The TD Beach to Beacon 10K is one of only seven mass-participation events to achieve Evergreen Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport, and the first major road race in North America to achieve the top status. (A small road race in La Jolla, Calif., achieved the honor in 2009, but is no longer certified.) The TD Beach to Beacon 10K achieved Silver Certification in 2012 and Gold Certification in 2014 before achieving the highest Evergreen level in 2016. The certification is valid for two years.

The Council for Responsible Sport is an Oregon-based nonprofit, founded in 2007, that provides objective, independent verification of the socially and environmentally responsible work event organizers are performing nationwide. The process is meticulous; event organizers are required to provide detailed measurement and documentation of sustainability efforts and outcomes.

“This renewal of Evergreen status, and the improvements made to an already-strong sustainability program by the TD Beach to Beacon 10K represent world-class integrity in sustainable event design and production, which touches nearly every aspect of the event itself. The entire community that hosts and supports this race has a lot to be proud of." said Shelley Villalobos, managing director of the Council for Responsible Sport.

Highlights that were incorporated into the 2019 TD Beach to Beacon 10K that helped earn Evergreen Certification included:

• Recycled and composted waste at the start and finish and at the volunteer and VIP dinners, for a combined total waste diversion rate of 77%.

• Recycled old running shoes through Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program, providing new life for the materials in such things as playgrounds, basketball courts and running tracks.

• Partnered with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to provide runners, volunteers and spectators with free and secure bike valet parking at Fort Williams. This year, 310 runners, volunteers and spectators used the service, up nearly 50% from 2018.

• Collected a record 4,607 redeemable bottles and cans at the finish in a partnership with redemption service provider CLYNK. The proceeds totaled $387.50, that was donated to The Telling Room, this year’s TD Beach to Beacon 10K charity.

• Offset the carbon emissions of operations vehicles and generators used for the race.

• Runner and volunteer shirts are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic

• Eliminated latex balloons from the start line and on the course and replaced them with banners made of used sails by a local company called SeaBags.
  

To learn more about TD Beach to Beacon 10K’s sustainability measures, visit https://www.beach2beacon.org/about/greening-b2b/

The TD Beach to Beacon 10K, which took place August 3, draws runners from throughout the region and the world to picturesque Cape Elizabeth, ME. The race begins near the Crescent Beach State Park entrance on Route 77, winds along tree-lined streets, past breathtaking ocean vistas, and ends in Fort Williams Park at the historic Portland Head Light, the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

More than $90,000 in prize money was awarded to the top finishers and place winners in the various categories for men and women, and a separate $30,000 donation is provided each year by the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, to a selected local charity. The Telling Room was the 2019 race beneficiary.

For additional information about the race, visit www.beach2beacon.org, and find the TD Beach to Beacon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the TD Charitable Foundation

The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank ®, one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has distributed over $199 million and more than 19,400 grants through donations to local nonprofits from Maine to Florida. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation, including the online grant application, is available at TDBank.com.

About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank ®

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In management services through TD Wealth ®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com.

Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee Pursues First-Ever Sustainable Major Event Certification During 2019 NCAA​®​ Women’s Final Four​®

Tampa, Fla. (​February 5, 2019​) -- ​For the first time in Tampa Bay major event history, the Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee (TBLOC), TECO Energy and Amalie Arena will team up during the 2019 NCAA​® Women’s Final Four​® in pursuit of the prestigious sustainable event certification, presented by the Council for Responsible Sport.

The Council for Responsible Sport is the world’s leading sustainable sports certification program, offering three core programs that help manage, measure and deliver purposeful events that go above and beyond the bottom line. The certification process recognizes efforts across five pillars of responsible sport; planning and communication, procurement, resource management, access and equity, and community legacy. To lead the efforts, a subcommittee consisting of community partners, local experts and sustainability thought leaders have been chosen to help guide the process and elevate Tampa Bay’s innovative green initiatives. The robust subcommittee consists of representatives from the following organizations: TECO Energy, Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay Sports Commission, City of Tampa, Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation, the University of South Florida Patel College of Sustainability, Strategic Property Partners, Tampa Convention Center, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Feeding Tampa Bay, Hilton Tampa Downtown, Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Westin Tampa Bay, Westin Tampa Waterside, Renaissance Tampa International Plaza, The Recycling Partnership, and Resource Recycling Systems.

"Sustainability applied to events is much more than recycling. The TBLOC and its partners are going through a robust process of putting systems and plans in place that are tailored to ensure accessibility to the event and ancillary activities, weigh the environmental impacts as part of purchasing decisions for good and services, engage and inspire local youth, and elevate local businesses to maximize positive local economic impact--and to have those efforts verified according to industry best practices put forth by the Council for Responsible Sport,” said Shelley Villalobos, Managing Director of the Council for Responsible Sport.

“We are incredibly grateful to our community partners at TECO Energy and Amalie Arena for helping us to invest in and elevate the sustainability efforts around the premier women’s championship,” said Claire Lessinger, Executive Director of the TBLOC. “The opportunity to team up with the Council for Responsible Sport further highlights the ongoing social impact and lasting legacy that the NCAA​® Women’s Final Four​® continues to have on the Tampa Bay community.”

Over the upcoming months, community partners will provide support and host events designed to achieve the TBLOC’s social and environmental goals. Notably, TECO Energy will provide renewable energy offsets, helping produce a carbon neutral championship at Amalie Arena on April 5 & 7, 2019.

“TECO Energy is excited to be part of the 2019 NCAA Women’s Final Four, supporting sustainability in Tampa,” said Sarah MacDonald, President of TECO Services, Inc. “Their efforts to be environmental stewards matches TECO’s efforts around sustainability as we focus on safely delivering cleaner, affordable and reliable energy to customers everywhere we operate. We have similar interests in building a strong community legacy and taking care of our resources; in fact, some of the six million solar panels we’re installing throughout Tampa will contribute to making the energy the Final Four uses carbon neutral. A community effort that leaves a lasting legacy? We wouldn’t want to miss being a part of that.”

About the Tampa Bay Sports Commission

The Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC), host of the 2019 NCAA​® Women’s Final Four​®​, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating social and economic impact through sports and entertainment in the Tampa Bay Area. As part of the championship efforts, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission provides local expertise, marketing and event management, and is responsible for raising the funds required to produce the Women’s Final Four and all supporting events. The 2019 NCAA​® Women’s Final Four​® will be held at Amalie Arena from April 5 -7. For more information on game tickets, please visit ​ncaa.com/womensfinalfour​. For more informationon event festivities, sponsorship, or volunteer opportunities, please visit ​wfftampabay.com​. For news and event information, follow the TBSC on Facebook, TwitterandInstagramorsubscribe to the #WFFTampaBay newsletter.