Sustainability and the CAVS with Danielle Doza

Hello friends , happy New Year . Did you make some resolutions this year ? Are you sticking to them ?

Well , I gave up on dry January weeks ago , but I'm still resolved to staying positive this year by trying some new things , meeting new people and making time for friends and fun , and , of course , that means continuing to bring you this podcast , which is full of positivity , friends and fun . So here we are with our first episode of 2025 .

And we're here with my friend , danielle Doza , who is joining us . Danielle is a number one fan of the pod , that's right , which she says all the time when she can , and she is living her dream job as the Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Services for the Cleveland Cavaliers .

Please stay with us as Danielle shares all about her position , how she got it , the green initiative she's implementing , how sports teams are embracing sustainability and the broader impact this is having . Welcome , danielle , thanks for having me . I'm excited to chat today . Yeah , would you like to share any New Year resolutions .

We're going to take a walk outside every single day . We did that one in January a few years ago , so that was definitely a challenge , but it's a little more manageable to do these monthly challenges .

I understand that you are the first executive level sustainability professional in the NBA ? Yes , that sounds really cool .

There was an internal sustainability committee , which we call the sustainability squad , and they wanted to bring someone in who had a professional background and expertise to develop and lead strategy throughout the organization and do something a bit bigger .

So they made the decision to make a full-time position , intentionally made it at that senior level , which is really a testament to the investment of the organization into sustainability . That says yes , we want to invest in this , we want to lead on this , which is really exciting , and so it's .

It's been a ton of fun for a little over a year , but that's how it came about and I was lucky enough to just get connected to the organization , apply , go through that process and get this , this amazing job .

You have a law degree , but you were a corporate sustainability consultant . You worked in a nonprofit with Victoria Avery at Venture Forward Strategies . That wasn't , that's not nonprofit .

Yeah , worked mostly with manufacturing consumer product companies on sustainability strategy and reporting , and it was a really valuable experience to have that and be able to bring that into this organization just to understand , okay , this is how other companies work and approach sustainability and bring some of those skills into this role in this organization , even though

it's very different type of company , but a lot of it's the basics . You know , you've talked to a lot of sustainability professionals . Of course , when you think about you got a big building , you're going to create a lot of waste . You got to focus on that . You got to think about your materials , your energy , all that good stuff .

So it was , yeah , very valuable . And I have a bit of a sports background , just one being a fan , played sports growing up , played rugby in college , I coached high school for five years . Sports growing up , played rugby in college , I coached high school for five years .

So I've long been following the sports and sustainability space and it was just really lucky that this position was local my hometown , my hometown team .

what has been your focus at the CAVS organization since you started and what is your day-to-day like Day-to-day ?

So how do we better understand what all of that is and how do we better manage all of those materials ? By diverting more from landfill , you know , recycling , composting , just even reducing the amount of packaging coming in . But it is quite a bit , you know . When you think of a sports organization like ours , it's all kinds of food and beverage products .

We have , of course , office products . We have over 500 full-time team members who work at the arena . Our offices are there . So that procurement , supply chain side of things , we have a whole retail team . All of our retail is in-house , which is , I guess , not the norm within a lot of other sports organizations . So everything we do is in-house .

Our retail team is incredible . That's also a lot of packaging coming in . So we think about that . So we are in the process of just trying to evaluate all that . And , okay , how might we talk with suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging coming in . Yeah , and you see that with a lot of other companies .

Yeah , you know how do you just reduce that material . So that's a big part of it . I work closely with the housekeeping team on the waste management side of things , you know , trying to reduce waste to landfill . We will be building out more of an education program , especially around waste internally . And then energy is , of course , a big one .

Right , we have a large building . We use a lot of energy , so how do we think about our energy usage more ? Invest in some conservation and efficiency ? We did do an energy audit over last summer and that gave us an idea of how we can invest in some more efficiency measures . But it's tough in the sports industry when you think of energy .

Yeah , the Cavs game and all the flashing lights , Exactly yeah yeah , right , you know we're there to put on a show the fire shooting , the fire shooting . Yeah , yeah , right , you know we're there to put on a show the fire shooting , the fire shooting . Yeah . And every time that goes off I'm like oh , it's our . You know , propane scope one emissions .

Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse celebrates 30 years this season . Years old Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse celebrates 30 years this season . So we have to work with an older building that maybe wasn't designed with efficiency in mind . There were absolutely efficiency upgrades with the transformation in 2019 , with HVAC systems and all that stuff .

Our ice plant was upgraded , so we do have the Cleveland Monsters hockey team that plays there . That ice lives there all season long . It is just underneath the basketball court . Before , the ice plant was just essentially one giant unit . It was either on or off , so you had to keep it on for the ice . Now it's six smaller units and it uses CO2 .

So it's a much safer unit as well . So we can have as many as six on if we need them , or as few as one unit on to maintain the ice , so it's much more efficient that way . So , yeah , energy is just a big one . Any plans for renewables ? Not quite yet . I'm not quite there .

So we , what you know , what we are going to do is look at energy more holistically over time . But we are working on those plans and I hope to share more in the near future . But you know we're going to consider every option . Yeah , we're going to consider every option that's going to be best for us and you know I'll jump ahead , I guess .

And a lot of people ask why don't you put solar panels on the roof ? Well , the roof is curved . So it is not a it's , not it's just not a great roof to put a bunch of solar panels on top of . So that's one tough part . It would be prohibitively expensive to do something like that .

It's all our organization , but our , you know , rock Entertainment Group is the overall entertainment side of things . We host a lot of concerts , corporate events , any other type of event there . Of course , we've got basketball and hockey , and then our like I mentioned , our offices are there as well .

So all of that happens within the arena and that's all under our purview as one organization .

I understand you've gotten eight GOAL medals for your efforts in waste reduction , health and wellness , diversity and inclusion , esg strategy and commitment and sustainable partnerships .

You know , our social impact and equity team , I think , has 12 team members on it , which is one of the biggest social impact teams within the league , and we've been doing social impact community work for years and have developed really deep relationships with organizations throughout the community . So sustainability was a natural extension of all of that work .

You know , like I think I mentioned , composting was started a few years ago , before I even got there right , so we were able to speak to that work .

So just a big shout out to our whole team for all of the work they do every day , and we're certainly going to apply for more medals , so hopefully I can come back next year we talk about more recognition .

However , our sustainability squad is about 20 team members from across the company squad is about 20 team members from across the company and anywhere from you know , housekeeping , procurement , social impact , communications , our partnerships team , so it's people can come together and they provide some input on whether it's our strategy ideas or volunteer ideas , or they're

also those champions that you know take sustainability back to their team and work on integrating sustainability throughout them . But our co-chair of the sustainability squad is our senior director of procurement services .

So I work closely with our procurement team as well , which is really exciting , because that's a huge part of sustainability , you know , is your vendors , your suppliers looking at that . So it's nice to see folks engaged , you know . And then every time we bring on new team members , they go through an orientation and they hear about sustainability .

So if someone's coming in new to the organization , they have the opportunity to hear about sustainability or get involved . But , as I mentioned , there's , you know , team members across our organization working on it in some way , because I have the you know , the fun job of getting to work with all these other teams within our organization .

So it's just , it's pretty cool just to see people really lean in and be engaged . And you know , I get messages all the time about , hey , I've got this idea , or you know this potential partner , or hey , is there a recycling outlet for this ? So people , you know more and more people are really starting to think about it , which is pretty cool .

let's talk a little bit about some of your partnerships that are new this year .

They are also a sustainability advisor , as you know , in addition to to some marketing and stuff . So we work closely with their sustainability advisory team . Wm has essentially a consulting arm for sustainability and they have a sports-specific section .

So we meet at least every other week with their sustainability advisory team to work on , you know , reducing waste to landfill , how do we develop better standard operating procedures ? How do we develop better education and training materials for our team members ? You know , eventually we'll build out more around fan education . So they work hand in hand with us .

They answer lots of questions , they're helping us better track our data around waste , so they're just a really awesome resource for that .

And , you know , we I don't think could ask for a better sustainability partner with that , as far as , hey , they really want to invest in us and help us , you know , reduce our waste into landfill and better manage all that , better understand our materials , like I mentioned .

So we know waste is going to be created . So , again , how do we do that more responsibly is something we're still working on and figuring out , but every day we're taking a step there . We work closely with our food and beverage partner , aramark , again , to think about all of those food and beverage materials , think about that sourcing . So it takes time .

That sourcing , so it takes time . And then you know when you , when you want help . We want people , of course , to help us sort the waste and recycle right . But how do we do that ? And it's hard to do because people are there to watch a basketball game or a hockey game . They're not there to think about recycling or sustainability .

You know , unless it's me and you or Greg at a game . We might be thinking about it , but most people aren't . And at the end of a game , people are rushing to get out of there , maybe , and they just want to , you know , throw their stuff away , which I totally understand , yeah Right . So it is hard to .

I know when you have your sustainability nights , you are talking about what efforts are going on there and how to properly recycle , and I think waste management is also trying to make it fun because they have the upcycled couch seat of the game .

Wm also came on site and did an activation on the concourse where they had two garbage cans with little basketball hoops on them and kids would come up . They had to answer recycling questions and if they got it right , they got to shoot the basket and if they won or if they made it , they got a prize .

So trying to think about how you engage people in fun ways , you know . So we're going to be testing out more of that . Or , or you know , try just trying to recognize people for doing the right thing . And we recently had a sustainability night for the monsters and we did some sustainability trivia Right , so it's a fun way .

So you know , as a mom and a daughter who got to stand there on the Humongotron and answer some fun trivia , that we a lot of it . We did about Lake Erie . I did a brief interview just to talk about our sustainability initiative , so trying to capture attention that way .

So you know a recycle shootout is just again another touch point for folks . Yeah , so hopefully they'll carry that off the court , exactly , yeah exactly yeah , and hopefully they'll carry that off the court and back home . Exactly , yeah , exactly .

We went to visit their site , their manufacturing site in Cleveland . So our retail team was really excited about this . So we launched a fully traceable sweatshirt and T-shirt as part of our city edition collection . So it's a collaboration with us .

Found surface in the cleveland museum of art and the organic cotton was grown in texas , it was milled in and died in pennsylvania and then manufactured right here in Cleveland Ohio . So it's sustainable . It supports the local economy . All of these scraps from that manufacturing process were composted with Rust Belt Riders , which is really cool .

And then I found out as well that Found Surface hires about 80% of their employees are from Kent State , which has its design school , so it's a lot of keeping talent local . So it was really exciting to do that . I have not found another team that has launched a traceable item , at least in the United States .

I'm not going to say we're the first , but I'm still looking to see if anyone else has done it , but I think it's really cool , or at least traceable with natural materials .

So , he's got quite a vision for bringing back clothing manufacturing in Cleveland in a really sustainable way , so excited to have him on the show .

Back in the day I used to work with the manager of Progressive Field with their sustainability efforts and Brown Stadium like the first grind to energy , where they were taking the food scraps and putting them into a large grinder and that food waste was then taken to Quasar and that was like a waste to energy biodigester in Collinwood .

So I know the other sports teams are involved . I won't ask you what the current status is or anything but overall I've read that there's various organizations that are kind of assembling around this . There's the Green Sports Alliance , there's this Play to Zero recognition platform , there is Green Sports Day . Are you guys involved with all of those ?

Can you talk a little bit about those ?

So you know , big shout out to Eileen . So great Cleveland connection there . She still has season tickets to the Guardians and comes back to Cleveland quite a bit , really . Yeah .

But Green Sports Alliance is a membership group of professional sports organizations , collegiate sports venues and service providers so they can connect their members with potential service providers . They do an annual summit that focuses all on sports and sustainability . They have webinars throughout the year that talks about specific areas of sustainability within sports .

They do a reuse symposium every year Well , I guess the past two years . They'll have another one this year about reusables and they also put out these playbooks .

So they have a handful on their website now and they're all free to download about implementing sustainability within sports , whether it is collegiate sports , even grassroots sports , or professional sports , whether it is collegiate sports , even grassroots sports , or professional sports , and they focus on waste , for example , or water , or food and beverage , and I know

they're working on a couple more . I think they came out with an energy one recently . They just put out a couple more , so it's a great resource if people are interested in sports and sustainability . If you're not already following the Green Sports Alliance , you should follow them on social media . Go check out that website . Attend a webinar if you can .

There's also an organization out of the UK called Sport Positive , which is great . They do an annual summit as well , but it's over in London so it's , you know , not as easy to get to .

However , they put out a lot of information and coverage around sports organizations , mostly a lot of professional but even down to grassroots information about sustainability and sports . They have a great newsletter you can sign up to . They also do a podcast and put out some episodes with interviews around sports and sustainability .

That's not membership-based , that's just more of an informational or information-gathering type of organization . There's an organization now called EcoSportsPro I believe yeah , eco Sports Pro and that organization also does some webinars . They have some educational opportunities for people trying to maybe break into sports and sustainability and they do a lot of job postings .

That one is based in Europe , but they post jobs for a lot of European and North American organizations . So if you're maybe looking for a job in this area , follow them on LinkedIn or go to that website , and so that's a great organization and you're starting to see more pop up .

So that's , you know that's a lot . Anytime we put out some sort of social media posts , you know however many people see that . So that's the power of sport , right ?

And when you think about sport , most people in the world are connected to sport in some way , whether that's a grassroots club they might play with or it's rooting on their favorite team part of cultures all over the world . So people listen to their favorite sports team . They trust that brand . Right , we are a trusted brand by a lot of people .

So if we say something , people know they can trust what we're doing or what we're saying , right ? So that's a really big benefit . And you know , as much as I love a good manufacturing company and they're doing great work . You know they probably don't have the reach .

So you're starting to see much more of a growth , of a focus on sustainability within sports . You know the NBA , for example , has the NBA Green Initiative . It's their sustainability initiative that's been around for about 15 years , and we also have a sustainability working group within the MBA .

So we meet regularly and we can chat with our counterparts at other teams . We can tap into the resources at the MBA , which is really awesome . So you're awesome . So at the league level , they are focused on that as well and we can really engage with them . So it's just a really cool ecosystem . And with sports , too , we're a competitive bunch .

Of course , there's a lot of competition in certain areas , but when it comes to sustainability , it is very collaborative , right ? We all know that we're only going to get better if we do things together . We share resources , we share these best practices , so it's just a really fun space to work in .

note , I think we should just wind up with our tip time maybe with some career advice , for I know you hosted a workshop or a meeting with college sustainability professionals a couple months ago . I think I read that on LinkedIn . Yes , what advice are you giving people who want to take your job or just work in general ?

For a lot of them it was their first time at the arena , their first time at a Cavs game and they came to hear about sustainability .

So we did a panel discussion with myself , emily Keller , who's the Director of Sustainability for Greater Cleveland Partnership , and then Sandy Reed , who is an Executive Vice President with Davie Tree Company , who is an executive vice president with Davie Tree Company , who is a incredible partner of ours . Davie sponsors our Trees for Threes program .

So for every three-point shot made during the season , we have a tree planted in northeast Ohio and that partnership is just incredible . So students got to hear about you know their , their jobs , you know what they do , what we're doing at the field house , so that's just a really cool event . People are already asking when we're going to do that again .

But if you are thinking about this , you know I mentioned the EcoSports organization to follow them . Try to connect with a local network . You know . Come to an EcoMeet CLE event . The network is super powerful , right ? Just think about the benefits of the network .

Attend some webinars A lot of webinars for Green Sports Alliance or other organizations are free to attend . Start reading about it and maybe you're a college athlete and you're listening to this . You can engage with your own organization or you know your own school .

I did a presentation to students from the MAC , the Mid-American Conference , earlier this season to talk about sustainability because the students wanted to hear about it , which is really cool . So just trying to engage , whether it's your team or your sports organization at college .

There's an organization called EcoAthletes that athletes can join , whether you're a collegiate athlete or up to a professional or an Olympic athlete , and you can essentially claim that you are committed to sustainability in some way and join that organization and then follow along . Just , you know , follow people on LinkedIn .

You know , read some coverage because it very much is a growing area . I think we're going to start to see more professional organizations around the world starting to hire more sustainability-focused positions .

You know , not just with the Cavs , but all these cool things we're doing in Cleveland , right ? You know we have a really incredible sustainability community within Cleveland , because people ask me well , you know , how do you get connected to resources ? How do you figure this out ? I'm like I know a lot of people in the city .

I came in with the benefit of having this incredible network that I can reach out to for resources to help make things happen , which is just the coolest thing . So Cleveland's got it going on .

If you would like to send us feedback and suggestions , or if you'd like to become a sponsor of EcoSpeak CLE , you can email us at hello at ecospeakclecom . Stay tuned for more important and inspiring stories to come .