As the Seattle Seahawks prepare to take on the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, Seahawks fans are battling in the Go the Extra Yard campaign to prove their sustainability credentials.
The Seahawks launched Go the Extra Yard on October 13th in partnership with Coca-Cola and Rolling Green. Similar to previous fan-focused campaigns run by the L.A. Rams and Arsenal FC, Go the Extra Yard is a gamified, multi-week project designed to raise the fanbase’s awareness about environmental sustainability and find the greenest Seahawks fan.
The four-week campaign will run through early November. Fans are being encouraged to sign up at GoTheExtraYard.com and score points by completing simple, everyday actions that can reduce their environmental footprint. Such actions include recycling bottles, going car-free, using reusable bags, unplugging appliances when not in use and eating meat-free and dairy-free meals. Each action is recorded on the website with picture verification.
At the end of the four weeks, the fan who has taken the most green actions, and therefore scored the most points, will win tickets and pre-game field passes to the Seahawks home game against the Rams on December 18th. Prizes for other green fans include a Kenneth Walker autographed jersey, gift cards, a replica helmet, and gear autographed by Jarran Reed, Ucherna Nwoso and Boye Maffe.
The Seahawks are well-known within the sports industry as strong advocates for sustainable solutions. Lumen Field, which is one of the eleven U.S. venues for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, was awarded the 2024 Green Sports Alliance Energy Player Award. The stadium was also the 2025 Green Sports Alliance Waste Champion and is the second NFL venue to receive pre-certification for TRUE Zero — a certification recognizing the venue’s efforts to reuse or divert the majority of its waste from landfills.
At the time of writing, Lumen Field diverts between 90 and 95% of its waste through recycling, composting and donations. The Seahawks have also partnered with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund to seed kelp forests and do regular beach clean-ups in partnership with the Ocean Conservancy. Both activities are used to stress the vital connection between land and water in the Pacific Northwest.
According to Seahawks’ Sustainability Manager Christy Briggs, the organization’s focus this season has been on fan engagement. After improving Lumen Field’s sustainability credentials year-on-year, Briggs says “we really wanted to take that next step.” Increasing awareness about environmental issues among the fanbase and demonstrating that there are simple and fun solutions to the problems, allows the collective fanbase to have a much larger impact than they would as individuals.
Speaking to me ahead of the Monday Night Football game, Briggs said she hoped the campaign would “broaden the knowledge of our fanbase to what it is we do and encourage them to take action.” But most importantly, Briggs said that Go the Extra Yard “allows us to use the platform of sports and the Seahawks to help make our planet cleaner, better, and healthier.”
Coca-Cola meanwhile has a stated ambition to reduce plastic packaging waste and increase the collection of cans and bottles. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours.”
Coca-Cola’s Director of Sustainable Operations, Alex Nicolaou, was instrumental in getting Go the Extra Yard off of the ground according to Briggs. The two have been collaborating on World Cup preparation in Seattle and have been working to get the message out about the importance of recycling.
When the campaign was launched, Nicolaou stated, “Working with the Seahawks allows us to engage football fans directly and highlight how they can play their part in the recycling process.”
Coca-Cola’s efforts to help in this campaign are admirable, and driving plastic recycling among an entire fanbase is a positive change, but the drinks manufacturer continues to play a significant role in plastic production. A study from the nonprofit Oceana earlier this year noted that “The Coca-Cola Company’s plastic use will exceed 9.1 billion pounds (4.1 million metric tons) per year by 2030 if the company does not change its practices.”
Regardless, the campaign has already galvanized large parts of the fanbase. Over 1000 actions have already been taken with twenty days left in the campaign. When the campaign was announced, former Seahawks offensive linemen and EcoAthlete Gary Gilliam said, “I’ve always loved supporting the Hawks, and now I get to support the planet too. The Go The Extra Yard Challenge is a fun way to get involved, and I can’t wait to see fans stepping up to show they’re the greenest in Seattle.”
The city of Seattle and the Seahawks have worked hard to strengthen their recycling, transportation, and energy systems in the face of increasing climate hazards. Still, the Pacific Northwest remains prone to wildfires, air quality concerns, and unpredictable precipitation patterns that make daily life and sports participation more difficult.
With twenty days left, there is plenty of time for fans to get involved and win prizes by making their own environment cleaner. These actions may not seem like they move the needle in the face of the daunting climate crisis, but as Briggs says “each small step from each one of our fans, it makes a big impact.”
