Our journey to become the first zero-carbon-certified arena in the world began in 2018 with a roof and a group of passionate hockey fans committed to making the Seattle Kraken’s home ice the most sustainable arena in the world. Originally built in 1962 for the World’s Fair, Climate Pledge Arena’s roof is a historic landmark. So, when we first started dreaming about what the arena would look like, we knew we wanted to save it. We dreamed of tearing down the old arena, building a new one from scratch, and then connecting it to that iconic sloped structure.

Shortly after we began designing the new space, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge. Inspired by that vision and motivated by scientific consensus that we must act now to mitigate the worst effects of global warming, our teams doubled down on sustainability as our guiding principle.

We eliminated fossil fuels from all planned arena operations, making us one of the only arenas to be 100% electric and powered by only renewable energy sources. We installed solar panels on site and we’re offsetting the remainder of our energy use through renewable energy certificates from Puget Sound Energy and other utility companies. We tracked all carbon emissions from construction and are countering those with credible, nature-based carbon offsets. In 2025 we will be powered through a new exclusively renewable energy program stood up by Seattle City Light.

And our sustainability efforts don’t stop there. We track 100% of carbon emissions from the arena’s operations and offset them. We partner with public transit agencies to provide free rides to the arena for employees and fans attending events there. We’ve eliminated all fan-facing, single-use plastics. We’ve applied to be a certified zero-waste facility and divert more than 90% of our waste from landfills. We collect rainwater from our roof and transform it into the greenest ice in the NHL for the Seattle Kraken’s home games. Our partners at Delaware North are sourcing more than 60% of our food ingredients from within 300 miles. And our 1,700-square-foot living wall with more than 8,500 plants is an important visual reminder of the value of our natural environment.

As of this month, Climate Pledge Arena is now the first International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Zero Carbon Certified arena in the world. It’s also the largest building in the world to receive ILFI’s Zero Carbon Certification.

We believe there is real urgency to take action to combat climate change, which is why we went zero carbon now. We know our actions are inspiring others in the sports and live entertainment space to measure their emissions, reduce them, and finally get to net zero. If our arena can do it—while busy with 17,000 fans each night for more than 200 nights a year—anyone can!

None of this would be possible without the support of our partners. We’d like to thank Jeff Bezos, Amazon, and The Climate Pledge team for providing the vision to inspire this work. Our arena design team from Populous, ME Engineers, CAA ICON, and McLennan Design helped make that vision a reality. Mortenson, Hermanson, Unico, and McKinstry provided construction expertise to execute the vision. And the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council—alongside the Laborers’ International Union of North America and other partners—helped build the world’s most sustainable arena during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are proof that when the public and private sectors work together, we can reverse the worst effects of climate change.

Learn more about Climate Pledge Arena’s sustainability initiatives at climatepledgearena.com/sustainability.