Eagles’ ‘Go Green’ initiatives turned the Linc into one of the NFL’s most sustainable venues

Lincoln Financial Field is known for its thrilling atmosphere on Eagles game days. In addition, nonfootball events — like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, WrestleMania XL, and major soccer games — have brought in fans from across the country.

But many who spend a few hours at the Linc on any given Sunday with family, friends, and strangers, might not know much about the venue itself — like that it’s actually one of the most sustainable venues in the NFL.

Those green seats fans sit in? When one breaks, the fiberglass gets recycled and 3D-printed into benches that are stationed around the stadium. The Eagles have donated benches to community gardens in the area.

Or how about the roofs in Lot J, right outside the stadium’s entrance? That wasn’t designed to keep tailgaters dry so they can grill burgers and dogs while drinking beer in any weather. The roofing has solar panels on top. The Linc has almost 11,000 solar panels throughout the stadium. It produces 4 megawatts of clean energy annually that is used to power the building.

The roofing shields fans because the experience is what it’s all about. But when the stadium was built in 2003, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had other concerns as well. He put the question forward: “We’re a corporate citizen; what are we doing for the environment?”

The Eagles’ Go Green initiative has been part of the stadium since its inception, and two decades later, the organization has taken sustainability to another level. In June, the Linc became LEED-certified platinum, the highest level for sustainability by the U.S. Green Building Council. The venue is one of only two already-built stadiums in the NFL to achieve platinum status.

“Everyone’s always blown away, wondering why on earth [are] the Eagles so invested in sustainability. Well, our color is green, so we better be,” said Norman Vossschulte, the team’s vice president of fan experience and sustainability. “But I think to be part of this, it really shows that the Eagles do care about fans and the community.”

» READ MORE: The Linc is awarded highest certification for building sustainability

Vossschulte has been the leading voice in the Eagles' efforts to make Philadelphia a greener space. He took The Inquirer behind the scenes of the Linc and went under and around the stadium to look at the sustainable initiatives.

The Go Green initiatives started by putting blue recycling bins around the stadium. Now, they make up a renowned sustainability program.

But the partnerships and a person to spearhead those relationships have allowed the Eagles to get where they are now. That’s where Vossschulte has made his impact.

“You have to ask yourself daily, ‘Is there something we can do better? Is there something else there?’” he said. “Innovation happens. New things come up in the world. Other teams are doing something you haven’t heard of, so you ask those questions, you talk to people. That’s why relationships are so important.”

Vossschulte was born in Germany and received a biology and physical science degree from Elly-Heuss-Schule in Wiesbaden. He moved to New York City in 1996, where he aspired to become an actor and attended acting school at the Herbert Berghof Studio. That led him to a job at the Walt Disney Co. and then the Eagles.

But his role with the Eagles started with work on the fan experience. In 2014, Vossschulte officially became the spokesperson for their Go Green initiatives.

Early on, Vossschulte met with members of the Green Sports Alliance, which started in 2010 and helps connect sports industries to sustainability partners.

Through that relationship, the Eagles have worked with organizations such as Aramark, the Bellwether District, Braskem, NRG, PDC Machines, Sportsbeams, Waste Masters Solutions, and West Pharmaceutical Services to measure, mitigate, and advance their sustainability.

» READ MORE: Going green isn't just for the Eagles: Area workplaces embrace sustainability

“Our fans come here to be entertained for sports, and we are not experts in sustainability,” Vossschulte said. “The building wasn’t really built with sustainability in mind, so it’s all about partnerships.”

One of the biggest projects that the Linc has become well known for its renewable energy system. In 2011, the Eagles began installing solar panels through a $30 million investment by SolarBlue. It was projected that over 20 years, they would save an estimated $60 million in energy costs.

The 10,456 solar panels that wrap around the building and over the parking area create the largest solar power system in the NFL.

Over the years the Eagles have added some flair to it: “If you just have this big wall of panels that kind of looks pretty grayish and blackish, that’s not really attractive,” Vossschulte said. “We had to do something to show our Eagles spirit, so there’s these gaps in between the solar panel. We were like, ‘This is perfect for installing an eagle wing.’

“If you drive on I-95 or you’re flying into the airport, you can see the wing flapping, especially at night.”

Not all of their environmental initiatives need millions to create. Since 2008, the Eagles also have prioritized recycling by having 75 staff members sort through every trash bag in the stadium after a game, which takes about 21 hours to do. “It’s a pretty rough job,” Vossschulte said. Afterward, 15 members finish the sorting for about three to five days.

» READ MORE: The World Cup wants a sustainable stadium. Are the Eagles green enough?

All aluminum cans are taken to the bowels of the stadium, where they go through a baler, a $10,000 machine that the Eagles purchased about 12 years ago. It compresses the materials, which are taken to a recycler in the Poconos. The investment has had tremendous return. Annually, the Eagles recycle more than 1,000 tons of aluminum, glass, plastic, and organic waste. On average, they recycle three tons of food a week for composting along with a half ton of aluminum. For baling one ton of aluminum, Vossschulte said, they can receive between $800 and $1,200.

“You get quite a bit of return on investment if you bale your own aluminum,” he said. “In all of our premium spaces, we have aluminum cups; no more plastic. ... Someone could say, ‘Aluminum cups are way more expensive than plastic and we’re not going to make that investment.' If you have this system, you actually make more money back than you’re spending on the aluminum.”

The list goes on, from collecting bottle caps that turn into new material around the stadium — like the life-size replica of the Lombardi Trophy — to replacing the stadium’s lights with high-powered LED lighting, which reduced its wattage by 50%.

The Eagles have spent about a decade evolving their sustainability initiatives. Sports teams around the world, including the Seattle Seahawks, San Diego Padres, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, have reached out about ideas and partnerships.

“By prioritizing sustainability, the Philadelphia Eagles are leading the way in their industry and helping the U.S. Green Building Council continue towards our goal of green buildings for everyone within this generation,” Peter Templeton, the council’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

The Linc will host a 2026 World Cup game, and it’s currently the only venue with platinum status to host a game. The Eagles also recently became the first professional sports team in North America to install a hydrogen refueling station to power its passenger vehicles.

Vossschulte looks at everything they’ve done as contributing toward reducing Philadelphia’s carbon footprint, and there’s still much more to do.

It doesn’t happen overnight — most projects can take months or years to get going — but the Eagles’ investment in sustainability shows it can have a greater return in the future.

“Sustainability has a real impact on people’s experiences,” he said. “I know people love to go on vacations. We love to enjoy Mother Earth. But if we don’t take care of it, we’re going to have less and less opportunity to enjoy it.

“It’s the same for us at the Eagles. That’s where fan experience and sustainability really come together. We do sustainability because it’s the right thing to do. The next step is inspiring our fans to do the same.”