Let us look at the above initiatives and some other aspects of games to understand if IPL is really going green.
I have been following the tip of the day since a few matches and this is what some of the tips are like:
1. Save electricity by switching off electrical appliances
2. Save water by closing your taps
3. Reduce, reuse and recycle
Now, even if we have someone who is totally against the idea of working for environment and we ask him/her to tell us three ways to protect the environment, he/she with a very high degree of probability might give out the above three points . If we ask students in school about three ways to save environment, they might as well tell us the above mentioned ways. The point is that these tips are so basic and regular that they neither enhance the knowledge of the spectators nor add any value to them. If at all IPL had to include the section of “Tip of the day”, they could have been more specific in guiding people on how they can adopt green lifestyle habits and make a contribution to the environment.
Similarly loose is the initiative of asking captains, players and sponsors to take a pledge to reduce their carbon emissions. A pledge turning into an action is a very rare possibility. Rather it would have been better to provide green options to our players and make them choose the same. This is so because in a number of cases it has been observed that people want to contribute to environment but they don’t know how. This is a similar situtation as well, wherein players might be willing to help the environment but if we will not provide them options or solutions to choose from, they will be unable to do so on their own.
The initiative to calculate the carbon footprints is certainly a step in the right direction. But I do hope that this is just not another exercise to showcase to the world that IPL is going green when the reality may be far from it. If we look at the existing scenario there are a number of situations/actions which might be resulting in excessive carbon emissions. Some of the actions are mentioned hereunder:
1. Travelling of players across cities though air planes
2. Travelling of players from their hotels to the stadium and back
3. Travelling of spectators from their homes/offices to the stadium and back
4. Loud music being played in the stadium
5. Firecracker show at the end of every match (sometimes even in between)
6. Unhealthy food being provided at the venues in the form of burgers, patties, cold drinks, alcohol etc
7. Waste leftover by spectators and players after the match
8. After match parties which extend to early hours of the next morning
9. Players residing in 5 start hotels
Now, I am not someone who is against the games neither am I saying that above activities should not happen. I am thoroughly enjoying watching all the matches and also fully supporting Delhi Darevevills (who unlike last time are not doing so well in this edition). All that I am trying to say that if we take a close look especially with the intention of making the games green, some of these activities could be totally avoided (like the firecracker show), some could be toned down (like the number of times the loud music is played can be reduced, post match parties can end a little early) and in some cases people can be provided several green options to choose from. Some of the green options can be:
1. Using electric vehicles to move the players from hotels to stadiums and back
2. Improve public transport facility and stop parking of private vehicles near the stadium. This can be achieved asking the local goverment for support and also hiring a few buses to enable people to travel together
3. Provide healthy/organic food inside the stadiums
4. Set up a proper mechanism of waste collection and recycling post the match
5. Ask the 5 star hotels to comply to some basic environment standards so that minimum usage and wastage of energy happens (Players staying in 5 start hotels is infact resulting in highest carbon emissions)
Because environment has become such a hot topic of discussion these days, it is being used by individuals and corporates to project a certain image of themselves which is inclined towards a critical social cause. IPL seems like no exception as is clear from the above analysis.
Making a difference to the environment is all about making the right choices. And if you would make the right choices, the results would show automatically and you wouldn’t have to indulge in showoff.
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