Green Initiatives

Sustainable Concession Stands: In partnership with PG&E, ABLE, Bon Appetit, and Coca-Cola, the Giants have converted several of Oracle Park’s most popular concession stands, the Gilroy Garlic Fries stands, into sustainable stands. In all, the stand’s energy efficient appliances save enough energy to fry an additional 110 tons of garlic fries. Conversion measures include:

• The addition of fryers that reduce gas consumption by 32 percent; cut utility costs by more than half and automatically reduce cooking oil consumption by 12 percent
• The installation of Coca-Cola’s Energy Management System Cooler to save up to 35 percent more energy than traditional models
• The replacement of standard lights with High Lumen lights and ballast lamp starters, which are the most efficient tube (T8) lights and starters available and use 36.5 percent less electricity
• Offering drink cups are recyclable and paper boats and carry trays that are compostable
• The installation of signage that is made on 100 percent biodegradable and recyclable materials
• The usage of paint (used to repaint the stand “green”) is environmentally friendly

Recycling: The Giants have been the industry leader throughout Major League Baseball in their recycling efforts. They have earned a total of 12 Green Glove Awards since the awards inception in 2008, the most recent in 2020. The MLB award is given out annually to one team who leads the league in recycling and general green initiatives and programming. The Giants earned their Green Gloves by drastically increasing their waste diversion numbers. Since 2009, when it was just 57 percent, they have consistently achieved numbers over 90 percent, with their best percentage of 98 percent in 2020. Recyclables and compostables include cans, bottles, plastic cups, cardboard, paper, wood pallets, electronic components, light bulbs, batteries, cooking grease, food waste and grass clippings. As such, the Giants are the single largest contributor to the San Francisco Compost Program.

Non-Smoking Facility: Oracle Park is a 100 percent non-smoking facility. There are no in-park designated smoking areas as the Giants move to ensure an environmentally friendly atmosphere for all.

Energy Efficiency: Since Oracle Park opened in 2000, improvements in energy efficiency have been a priority, especially in the area of lighting retrofits. While the fan experience has continually been enhanced throughout the years with the addition of suites, food offerings, game presentation (i.e., HD Scoreboard), the additions have actually resulted in decreased energy usage. The Giants continue to retrofit as many light fixtures throughout the park to LED. One area in particular is on the ramps, approximately 150 70W metal halide bulbs have been changed to 16W LED bulbs. This action alone can save approximately 70,000 kWh or $7,000 per year. We are continuing to source LED bulbs for replacement wherever we can leading to saving increases and energy usage decreases.

Some energy efficiency projects include:

• The replacement of several hundred incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lamps
• The installation of motion sensor lighting
• The replacement of concourse signage lighting with an infrared type high output lamp controlled by a low output ballast
• The installation of Dyson hand dryers in designated bathrooms
• The installation of stripe curtains in all walk-in refrigerators

Food Recovery: Diamond 58 donates wholesome excess food to those in need through their food recovery partner, Food Runners. Food Runners is a volunteer-run organization that relays food around San Francisco equating to 20,000 meals each week.

Water Conservation - The Field: The Giants have implemented a number of water conservation efforts to maintain one of the best playing fields in baseball. Conservation measures include:

• The installation of BETCO Fastdraw’s dilution system that conserves 30 percent of water usage
• The usage of soil sensors that monitor zones (of the field) to ensure that water is only being used when necessary, thus curtailing overwatering
• The installation of an irrigation clock which receives weather conditions, including evapotranspiration information, from five different weather stations. It uses this information coupled with the imputed site data to establish zone watering times
• The usage of an amended infield mix going from a 66% sand, 20% silt and 14% clay to a 50% sand, 25% silt and 25% clay infield mix. The increase of clay is intended to reduce the watering of the field by 33%
• The usage of a more efficient irrigation head resulting in increased nozzle distribution of water and a pervasion wetting agent that will allow the water to infiltrate the soil quicker

Water Conservation – The Ballpark: The Giants also practice a number of water conservation efforts to reduce the use of water around the ballpark

• The usage of attendance metrics to identify areas of the ballpark that were not fully occupied and therefore not in need of power washing
• Power washing areas of the ballpark on a rotation basis to account for only 70 percent of the ballpark on a daily basis
• The usage of scrubbers to clean the outside of the ballpark, fully discontinuing power washing on the exterior
• The installation of water efficient fixtures in the sinks and toilets.

The Garden: In 2014, the Garden at Oracle Park was created in partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company. It serves to inspire and educate fans of all ages about sustainability, urban farming, and healthy eating. The two bistros located inside the Garden, Hearth Table and Garden Table, offer vegan and vegetarian menus featuring fruits and vegetables picked fresh from the Garden. The Garden is open on game days to all ticket holders.

Public Transit: Oracle Park is the most transit - and bike - friendly ballpark in the country. The San Francisco Giants currently have the 5th best mode split in MLB, with nearly 50% of fans riding a mode other than their personal vehicle to games. Less than 50% of staff drive to work on any given day, and more than 60% of event staff take transit, bike, walk, or carpool to Oracle Park. Encouraging fans to take a mode of transportation other than their private vehicle to the ballpark was the Giants very first green initiative and one the organization has been committed to ever since fans started arriving at the park. Oracle Park is one of the only major venues in the country with an on-site dedicated bike valet service, and the Giants work closely with the public transit agencies to ensure convenient public transit schedules for fans, support public awareness initiatives with the transit agencies and continually remind fans that public transit is the best way to get to Oracle Park.

Programs and measures implemented in the daily operations of Oracle Park include:

• Providing all employees financial incentives to use public transit, walk, or bike through a combination of a transportation stipend and parking fees.
• Bike Valet service with capacity for nearly 200 bikes on gamedays, in addition to dozens of public bicycle racks around the ballpark.
• Investing or supporting investments in bike infrastructure in the area around Oracle Park, including a temporary bikeway around the Mission Rock development project during construction and permanent bikeways through the project that will open once construction is complete.
• Three transit agencies provide service direct to Oracle Park (Muni and two ferry agencies), and two others that provide service throughout the region are right nearby (Caltrain and BART). Muni and BART are both zero-emission services, and Caltrain is converting to electric power from diesel. One of the ferry agencies is also piloting hydrogen fuel cell power, and the Giants have been supportive of grant funding efforts to help accomplish this goal.