Guardians of the Future: Emerging Sustainability Practices within Greater DTPHX
Sustainability isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
What some see as simple recycling, others view as a vital strategy to conserve precious resources that are too costly to waste—especially in the desert.
As Phoenix continues to warm, it requires innovative solutions to build the City of Phoenix's aspirations as “the most sustainable desert city.” The aspirations to transform Phoenix into this future-looking city have even been codified within multiple City of Phoenix policies, which now include countless sustainability initiatives.
These are a collection of strategies by PCA Members, who are a fraction of the many contributing to the transformation of Greater Downtown Phoenix.
Arizona Diamondbacks:
As one of the oldest MLB ballparks in the nation, Chase Field has nearly 30,000 fans who attend at least 82 games a year, not to mention concerts, conventions, and even a rodeo. Innovative practices guide the team’s environmental stewardship for optimal operations.
Common features throughout Chase Field allude to their green initiatives, such as the 17,280 square feet APS Solar Pavilion along the main entrance, known for providing shade for fans. This pavilion generates 100,000 kWh of solar energy, enough to power the lights for 11 home games and electric vehicle charging stations. The synthetic grass field players play on has reduced water consumption by more than two million gallons yearly since 2019.
Conservation of resources is taken into account with much of their daily operations, from basic recycling stations, each made from 1,200 upcycled milk jugs, to the adoption of reusable plastic cups for beverages. In August 2024, Chase Field introduced reusable plastic cups for beverages in their Bar-S All-You-Can-Eat Seats.
In partnership with Pepsi, Bold Reuse drinkware was collected from a separate receptacle, sanitized, and reused. For the remainder of the season, they diverted 16,088 single-use cups, equivalent to 798 lbs. of waste, from the landfill. This season, the first MLB park to launch such an initiative will see how effective the program is when it expands to two sections of the park for a full season.
More information on the Arizona Diamondbacks sustainability initiatives can be found here.
Key Quote: “There was an initial assumption that reusables might slow things down or require significant changes, but the reality was quite the opposite,” said Stephanie Spezialetti, Arizona Diamondbacks’ Senior Manager of Integrated Communications. “In just a short time, this program has already made a huge impact, and it’s only going to grow as we find new ways to incorporate it through the ballpark.
Fair Trade Cafe:
When the City of Phoenix requested that Downtown businesses participate in Project REDUCE, Fair Trade Cafe and its founder and owner, Stephanie Vasquez, were immediately drawn to the cause. In 2024, the pilot program supported local restaurants in discovering innovative solutions to divert food waste by donating leftovers, composting, and modifying business practices.
The program’s ethos aligns perfectly with the cafe’s longstanding commitment to sustainable practices, which have helped reduce its overall environmental impact. Moreover, the initiative allowed the business to deepen its foundational commitment and inspire social responsibility in customers, which they could utilize in their communities (and for the planet).
With the assistance of local chef Chris Lenza, Fair Trade Cafe diverted more than 550 pounds of waste weekly for ten weeks. Overall, the cafe and the other five participating businesses saved 31,000 lbs. of food waste for repurposing at a nearby composting site.
More information about Project REDUCE can be found here.
Key Quote: “The difficulty came not from the waste reduction practices themselves—since they were already part of our routine—but in making sure we were effectively communicating our message to the public and encouraging them to take similar actions at home,” said Vasquez. “The program offers valuable tools, resources, and support to help businesses reduce their environmental footprint and foster a culture of sustainability.”
Keep Phoenix Beautiful:
Imagine seven miles of promotional signage left behind following a major sporting event. That’s precisely what happened during Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix in 2015.
But it’s here that NFL Green and Keep Phoenix Beautiful saw an opportunity to practice environmental stewardship when the Super Bowl returned to the valley in 2023. The thick scrim and banners that promoted the game, not only acted as protective, durable shade inside community gardens, but the gardeners who used them also loved reclaiming them as their own mementos from the game. According to their estimates, the reuse effort saved nearly 90 percent from the landfill.
This only hints at Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s broader efforts to promote accessibility to sustainability resources. Some of their key initiatives include signature donation and recycling events, access to community gardens, monthly free workshops, and various educational programs inside schools.
More information about what community members can do to contribute to Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s mission can be found here.
Key Quote: “Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s role in our community has grown over 40 years from a small trash pickup organization to the many programs and initiatives we cover today. Through public outreach, volunteers, and events, we reach over 10,000 people annually promoting our mission and providing tools and resources to live their best sustainable lives,” said Cynthia Moss, Keep Phoenix Beautiful’s Director of Programs and Volunteers.
Adaptive Reuse in Construction:
Adaptive Reuse is all around us. Through a pilot program championed by Local First Arizona Founder Kimber Lanning in 2005, the City of Phoenix’s Adaptive Reuse program is now a citywide campaign for buildings up to 25,000 square feet built before 2000.
Within the Downtown community, adaptive reuse is Heather Lennon’s craft and trade. As the CEO of Imagine General Contracting & Development, a full-service design/build firm, the adaptive reuse projects they’ve completed for clients have contributed to Downtown’s revitalization. Fixtures within the community, such as the former Merryman Funeral Home (which became the Sin Muerte and former Hugo’s Cantina restaurant concepts) and Warehouse 215, are all spaces Imagine Development lent their vision toward reinventing.
But, within the construction space, there are also avenues to repurpose leftover building materials and supplies to those same ends: The nonprofit business models of Stardust Building Supplies and Habitat for Humanity emphasize both benevolent donations and reuse.
Key Quote: “I’ve worked on spaces that once housed produce warehouses, textile mills, funeral homes, churches, schools, and manufacturing plants — each shaped by the work done and the people who labored there,” said Lennon. “Rather than stripping these places of their identity, we strive to reclaim materials and preserve original details, weaving the past into the future through thoughtful design.”
Whether it is water consumption, diverting materials that could be reused, or producing solutions to the problem of food waste, these organizations set the stage for future businesses to build upon their successes.