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The NFL Environmental Program has been trying to make the Super Bowl more eco-friendly every year for the past 18 years. This year, the NFL is partnering up with Green Mountain Energy to make Super Bowl XLVI the greenest Super Bowl yet. Green Mountain Energy is going to provide 15,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy certificates to help offset the amount of greenhouse gas emissions at the Super Bowl this year. These renewable energy certificates will come from wind farms in North Dakota, and they will help offset the energy used by the six major facilities associated with the Super Bowl.

As you might imagine, it takes a lot of energy to power up the Super Bowl, and using up a lot of energy usually results in a substantial amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The NFL’s partnership with Green Mountain Energy will prevent 14,000 tons of detrimental greenhouse gas emissions from being produced as a result of this year’s Super Bowl.

In order to offset the environmental harm caused by plane and car travel to the Super Bowl, the Green Mountain Energy Company will be planting trees in inner-city Indianapolis this spring, with help from the local non-profit, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Once all the trees have been planted, Green Mountain Energy will pass a golden shovel onto New Orleans, the city that will host next year’s Super Bowl. This golden shovel is a promise that Green Mountain Energy will help New Orleans reduce the carbon footprint of the Super Bowl next year. Green Mountain Energy will also install an array of solar panels in one of Indianapolis’s central neighborhoods to help offset the energy consumption as a result of this year’s big game.

The NFL Environmental Program isn’t just working with Green Mountain Energy to make Super Bowl XLVI more eco-friendly. The program also plans to help clean up litter, reduce waste, and even donate books to children in Indianapolis.

If you want to help reduce the environmental impact of this year’s Super Bowl, consider watching the game with a large group of friends. Something as simple as reducing the number of TVs turned on during the game can have a big, positive impact on the environment.