Sustainability at MBS

Leaders in Zero Waste and the First Professional Sports Venue in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum Certification

“We set out to build a venue that would not only exceed expectations, but also push the limits of what was possible in terms of stadium design, fan experience, and sustainability.”
— Arthur M. Blank

LEED Platinum Certification

Mercedes Benz Stadium is the first professional sports venue in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum Certification.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). There are multiple project types that can apply for LEED status and four different levels of LEED certification for projects that qualify; Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.  To achieve the highest level of LEED Platinum certification, the rating system requires 80+ points to be earned on the LEED scorecard through innovative and sustainable building design.

Today, these building features help the stadium operate efficiently on a day to day basis, minimize the environmental impact on event day, and benefit the surrounding Atlanta community.

Zero Waste

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is committed to achieving Zero Waste, which is defined by diverting 90% or more of all waste from the landfill.
We strive to achieve zero waste by:

  • ELIMINATING all unnecessary waste
  • REDUCING the amount of overall waste generated on site
  • REUSING, REPURPOSING, or DONATING materials rather than discarding
  • RECYCLING and COMPOSTING

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has partnered with Gainesville Waste and Recycling to collect waste accumulated at MBS and convert it into composted soil.

In March of 2022, MBS received its first bags of soil made from those composted material generated from trash at the stadium. A portion of that composted soil has been transported back to MBS and planted in our urban garden on property.

Zero waste stations and awareness signs are located throughout the stadium concourses. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is committed to being a leader in the realm of zero waste venues by implementing a recycling and composting program that will keep a minimum of 90%+ of all waste generated at the stadium from ever going to a landfill.

Straws shouldn’t last for centuries. Now they don’t. Our partner phade® has developed an innovative eco-straw that performs like a traditional straw but breaks down and returns to the environment in just a matter of months. While phade® is meant for composting, it will even disappear in a marine environment in the unfortunate event that it ends up there. See for yourself and enjoy during your next visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium!

CHaRM — The Center for Hard to Recycle Materials

The facility is operated by Live Thrive — a local nonprofit. It is a permanent drop-off facility that aims to improve our environmental health by encouraging reuse and diverting thousands of pounds or household hazardous waste, bulky trash, and other hard to recycle items from Metro-Atlanta landfills and water systems. CHaRM also provides single stream recycling for those that do not have access.

Food Recovery

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has partnered with Second Helpings Atlanta to donate unused food from the stadium to provide meals directly to the Westside Atlanta community. Following an event, Mercedes-Benz Stadium packages unused and prepared food for pickup. second helpings Atlanta volunteers arrive shortly after to transport the food to local agencies for distribution.

To date, more than 250,000 pounds of food have been donated to Second Helpings Atlanta, creating over 208,000 meals for Atlanta residents in need.

Energy

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is designed to be extremely energy efficient, leveraging renewable energy sources and innovative design to reduce electrical use by 29%.
The stadium site, and Georgia World Congress Center campus, is equipped with 4,000 solar PV panels.  These solar panels are located in highly visible areas such as the stadium’s ticketing canopies, parking areas, and VIP Entrances to provide shade and help raise awareness for renewable energy.The solar panels at Mercedes-Benz Stadium produce approximately 1.6 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy per year. That’s enough energy to power 9 Atlanta Falcons games, 13 Atlanta United matches, or 160 households in Atlanta with renewable energy.The renewable energy generated by Mercedes-Benz Stadium reduces greenhouse gas emissions and provides renewable energy for the Georgia Power electrical grid.

Photos: Outside and inside views of the Window to the City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that allows natural light to enter the stadium and reduces overall electrical consumption.

Water

Stormwater Management

Managing stormwater is an important issue for Atlanta’s westside that has experienced issues with flooding. The stadium sits in the head waters of the Proctor Creek watershed that flows west toward the Chattahoochee River. As good neighbors, Mercedes-Benz Stadium is equipped with a 2.1 million gallon stormwater management system made up of bioswales, a cistern, and a stormwater vault.

A bioswale is a landscape feature that collects stormwater runoff from the stadium site. The bioswales assist with the collection, cleaning, and conveyance of stormwater.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s 680,000-gallon cistern harvests rainwater that is used for irrigating the exterior landscape and for make-up water for the stadium’s cooling towers.

The stadium is also equipped with a 1.1 million gallon underground stormwater vault designed to capture and slowly release stormwater to help prevent flooding in the neighboring communities.

The design and function of the stormwater management system contributed to Mercedes-Benz Stadium receiving all water-related credits as part of the LEED Platinum certification and allows for the stadium use of recycled water where appropriate.

Water Conservation

Mercedes-Benz Stadium achieved every available water related credit under LEED certification and is designed to achieve a 47% reduction in water use.

For example, nearly all plumbing fixtures inside of the stadium, including faucets and toilets in the concourse restrooms, are equipped with “low-flow” plumbing fixtures that use significantly less water in comparison to traditional plumbing fixtures. Further, the men’s restrooms at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are outfitted with waterless urinals.

The stormwater management system on the exterior of the stadium also contributes to Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s water conservation efforts. The captured stormwater collected in the underground 680,000 gallon cistern is used for landscape and urban garden irrigation at the stadium.

watershed sustainability
Photo: One of the many bioswales located at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that helps with stormwater management.

Alternate Transportation

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Atlanta.  The site’s central location promotes the use of public and alternate transportation to events held at the stadium.

Public Transit

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has two MARTA rail stations (Vine City and GWCC/CNN/State Farm Arena) located within ¼ mile of the stadium.  Each station provides guests a convenient and affordable public transportation option to travel to and from stadium events.

Bike

There are 250 bike racks available for use around the stadium and on the Georgia World Congress Center campus. Fans can also take advantage of Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s complimentary bike valet program.  The stadium has partnered with Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (ABC) to provide free bike valet services for all Atlanta Falcons games and Atlanta United matches.

Walk

Fans can beat the traffic and avoid parking by walking to the stadium.  Mercedes-Benz Stadium is located adjacent to the Westside PATH; an off-road trail for pedestrians and cyclists connecting the stadium to Centennial Park, Georgia Tech, and the Westside Atlanta Beltline.

Drive

Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the surrounding Georgia World Congress Center parking decks offer electric vehicle (EV) charging stations with capacity to charge up to 48 electric cars simultaneously.

Urban Garden

As part of the LEED Platinum design, Mercedes-Benz Stadium installed edible landscape and an onsite urban garden on the exterior of the building to create a biological ecosystem within a built environment. The urban garden is used as a laboratory for our AGSTEM program, Westside Works Culinary program, and our stadium associates, with a hands-on approach to growing food and carbon sequestration.

Using the garden as a place to share the importance of our food system’s ecological footprint, we connect these lessons to the overall sustainability effort at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For example, soil regeneration as a best practice in the urban garden, is a key element to fighting climate change, and also improves our personal nutrient intake from the meals we eat. By growing our own food and utilizing compost in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium urban garden, we allow a full circle food system to thrive!

STEAM Program

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has established a STEAM based curriculum for grades 3-12 that meets the Georgia Department of Education’s Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) criteria. STEAM focuses educational efforts on science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s STEAM program pairs a tailored STEAM stadium tour with a classroom curriculum that teachers can incorporate into their lesson plans pre and post stadium tour. Interactive activities at Mercedes-Benz Stadium allow students to see STEAM disciplines applied directly to the stadium environment, igniting professional aspirations to pursue careers in related fields.