Business View Magazine | November 2019

191 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 DIGNI TY HEALTH SPORTS PARK landscaping with recycled water since opening in 2003, installed waterless urinals and faucet aerators to reduce water consumption, and in 2016, became the first soccer-specific MLS stadium to install LED sports lighting and the first stadium in the world to install a battery-based, energy storage system. “We have a Tesla battery pack attached to our stadium to offset a portion of our peak power,” Pandolfo explains. “The battery operates whenever we have peak power demands. It charges at night, when the demand and price of power is not that great, and it’s discharged during the day to offset the demand from Edison.” The Sports Park also built a greenhouse, a chicken coop, and a bee farm to grow local produce that can be used onsite. “We have a Galaxy Garden here, too,” Pandolfo adds. “We allow our staff to have a garden box so they can grow their own food. We have a number of players who also have boxes in our garden. “At the beginning of the year we launched a new partnership with the San Francisco based company Copia, whose mission is to make healthy food more accessible to people in the community by helping businesses redistribute high-quality excess food to feed people in need. After every major event, we utilize Copia’s app-based technology to send excess food to local non-profits to help feed the needy. For any food or food scraps that can’t be consumed or donated, we utilize an on-site ORCA Digester which is an innovative food waste solution. The ORCA churns the food, which mimics a natural digestion process, until it comes out in liquid form into a sewer line, so it doesn’t have to go into a dumpster and then on a truck to be hauled away; it’s an economical way of eliminating food waste, and it’s also a lot more earth-friendly. We try and use as many things that we can that are fully compostable, but we do have a recycling program for all of our events.” “We’re a world-class Sports Park,” says Pandolfo, in conclusion, “with high-level, professional athletes and people aspiring to be professional athletes. Dignity Health is a new partner that came onboard