523 NHLPA Members Go Green with David Suzuki

March 10, 2008 Over 500 NHLPA members take the ‘NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge' for the 2007/2008 hockey season as part of the NHLPA’s commitment to the environment together with the David Suzuki Foundation

TORONTO  - The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and Canadian environmental organization, the David Suzuki Foundation, announced their groundbreaking partnership in December 2007 to promote action on climate change and environmental responsibility, and at that time launched the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge, which was initiated by Boston Bruins’ defenseman Andrew Ference.

Now, a major milestone has been reached in the professional sports world, with over 500 NHLPA members taking action on global warming through the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge. This is the largest and most successful initiative of its kind, involving players from all 30 teams in the league. It is also just one piece of a wider initiative as the NHLPA and its membership are intent on protecting the environment.

Measures have been taken at the NHLPA’s office towards developing a conservation program focusing on energy efficiency improvements and waste reduction. These measures include using a renewable energy source as well as encouraging players and staff to ‘green’ their own daily activities.

NHLPA members participating in the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge have gone carbon neutral by purchasing high quality, Gold Standard carbon credits to offset the travel emissions associated with playing professional hockey.

The program was designed by the David Suzuki Foundation. To calculate the players' climate impact, the Foundation looked at the regular season schedules for each team in the NHL, and included emissions from the following major sources: air travel for away games; road travel for home and away games; and energy used during hotel stays. On average, each player was found to be responsible for 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The players were invited to participate in the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge during the NHLPA's 2007-08 Fall Tour by Paul Kelly (NHLPA Executive Director) and Eric Lindros (NHLPA Ombudsman and former NHL All-Star). To date, 523 NHLPA members have signed up which has helped offset more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon through offset projects, the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road for a year.

"It’s great to see so many players showing leadership on the issue of climate change," said Dr. David Suzuki, co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. "By taking this action on global warming, these players are delivering an important message that will inspire millions of hockey fans and be a model for other sports."

“Judging by the hundreds of players who have signed up for the carbon neutral program, and the steps being taken in their personal lives, it’s clear that our members are committed to becoming more eco-friendly,” said Paul Kelly, Executive Director of the NHLPA. “We will continue to look to the expertise of the David Suzuki Foundation to help us do the right thing and expect this initiative will lead to further efforts to protect the environment.”

"The response to the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge has been amazing, especially considering we set an initial goal of encouraging 70 players to sign-up," said Andrew Ference. "As I've said before, hockey players have great character and they continue to show it by taking action on such positive initiatives. This is an exciting step in the right direction.”

Gold Standard carbon offsets for the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge are being purchased through Montreal-based not-for-profit Planetair. "Using Gold Standard offsets gives this initiative environmental integrity, and ensures the players' offset purchase has a real benefit for the climate," said Dr. David Suzuki.

Hockey fans can get involved in this initiative by checking out both www.nhlpa.com and www.davidsuzuki.org. For a list of players participating in the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge, visit: www.davidsuzuki.orghttp://www.davidsuzuki.org/files/NHLPA.pdf

About the National Hockey League Players' Association The National Hockey League Players' Association (www.nhlpa.com), established in 1967, is a labour union whose members are the players in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHLPA works on behalf of the players in varied disciplines. The NHLPA and its membership are intent on protecting the environment through: reduction, recycling, using a 'green' alternative where there is one, and lastly, purchasing carbon offsets.

About the David Suzuki Foundation Since 1990, the David Suzuki Foundation (www.davidsuzuki.org) has worked to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that sustains us. Focusing on four program areas – oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change and clean energy, sustainability, and the Nature Challenge - the Foundation uses science and education to promote solutions that conserve nature and help achieve sustainability within a generation.

Contacts:

Jonathan Weatherdon Director, Communications NHLPA jweatherdon@nhlpa.com Phone: (416) 313-2300 Direct: (416) 313-2316

Dominic Ali Senior Communications Specialist David Suzuki Foundation (Toronto) dali@davidsuzuki.org Office: (416) 644-1032 Mobile: (647) 203-4701