Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference has led the environmental movement within sports for years. Ference launched the Carbon Neutral Challenge in 2007, has showcased his personal devotion to living a sustainable lifestyle through a web-series with National Geographic, and delivered a powerful speech as keynote speaker this July, at the 2012 Green Sports Alliance Summit in Seattle. He’s spoken at elementary schools about the benefits of composting, met with MIT grad students to discuss the future of renewable energy and can be found riding his bike to TD Garden on game days.

On Monday, the Boston blueliner (and self-proclaimed tree-hugger) received a message via Twitter from the folks over at the blog “Stanley Cup of Chowder” (@cupofchowdah) offering an environmental incentive for his on-ice performance:

The Plant a Billion Trees campaign is a major restoration initiative launched by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 2008 to restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest. According to TNC, much of what does remain of the forest is found in small, isolated fragments and is on the brink of extinction due to pressures of urban expansion, agriculture, ranching and illegal logging. The Plant a Billion Trees campaign aims to reforest 2.5 million acres and connect more than 12 million acres in new forest corridors.

Ference responded later in the day, willing to match the pledge of fifty trees per goal, but with a twist. The rugged defenseman, not known for his goal-scoring prowess, has decided to match the goal total of someone with the scoring touch: teammate Tyler Seguin.

This season, the on-ice success of Ference and Seguin will not only help the Bruins compete for their second championship in three years, but will assist in the effort to save Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.

To find out more or to contribute to the campaign, go to plantabillion.org.

The New York Islanders, through a long-standing partnership with the American Red Cross, remain committed to assisting Long Islanders affected by Superstorm Sandy. After the storm devastated much of the tri-state area, the Islanders put all their resources into fundraising efforts for the American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund to help victims and their local environment.

Superstorm Sandy plowed through the United States at the end of October, forcing families to live without basic necessities and leaving many unsure of what their lives would be like in the near future. In addition, lands throughout New York, New Jersey and the surrounding areas experienced significant damage.

According to environmental advocacy group Riverkeeper, the damage caused by Sandy was "unprecedented." Toxic chemicals spilled into New York's Harbor due to the storm surge, as did contaminants from subways and commercial structures. Because the pollution came from multiple sources, the clean-up has been challenging.

Many residents continue to struggle with restoration efforts of their homes, businesses and communities, especially due to environmental health and safety concerns.

In November, the Islanders held an open-skate fundraiser called “Hockey with a Heart” to support their community in rebuilding. The Islanders and SMG (the arena management company) opened Nassau Coliseum’s doors and invited all area residents to join them for a day on the ice, free of charge. Over 2,000 people attended and many brought monetary donations, in addition to non-perishable food donations. All concession proceeds went directly to those in need.

Through the efforts of fans and members of the community, along with employees of the New York Islanders, SMG and the Coliseum’s concessionaire SAVOR, the Club collected over 5,200 pounds of food, $5,754 dollars and an overwhelming amount of clothing, weighing over 13,000 pounds, filling two 24-foot box trucks.

After the open skate fundraiser, the Islanders organized a unique online auction, where people from around the world came together to bid on special sports memorabilia and entertainment experiences. The “Hockey with a Heart” auction featured items donated by metropolitan area sports teams, organizations and individuals and raised $22,317 in total for storm victims.

Combined, these two major fundraisers collected $28,071 that went directly to the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund to assist those affected by the storm.

To donate to the American Red Cross, visit Redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Click here to watch the Red Cross PSA.

In April 2009, Saint Paul RiverCentre officials launched a long-term, multifaceted sustainability initiative with a mission to become a green leader among convention centers in the region. The neighboring Xcel Energy Center, home to the Minnesota Wild, joined the effort soon after when a number of shared resources were realized.

Green practices weren’t new to these facilities; recycling, energy efficiency and water conservation had been priorities for some time. However, officials implemented an ambitious, strategic plan that has encompassed multiple campus-wide initiatives over several years.

The first initiative, titled “50-50 in 2,” was focused on waste reduction across the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center campus. The goal of the two-year initiative was to reduce the amount of trash generated at the facilities by 50% while increasing the recycling rate to 50%. To accomplish this goal, 630 recycling receptacles were purchased so that every trash container on every level of each facility would have an accompanying recycling bin. In addition, the facilities made an extensive transition to compostable products and all processes and behind-the-scenes infrastructure were redesigned to make recycling and composting as efficient as possible.

The two-year timeline of this goal concluded in July of 2011. These facilities not only reached their goals, they far exceeded them. As of March 2012, these facilities reduced trash by 60% (over 1.4 million pounds per year) and increased their annual recycling rate to 54.5%.

Since that time, without setting a new goal, the annual recycling rate has increased to 56% and the total waste stream has fell to just over 50,000 pounds annually. In the first quarter of 2012, the campus recycled a record 45.3 tons of commingle items (cans, bottles, cups & tubs).

Retired NHL All-Star Owen Nolan has announced the transition of his 1,157 acres in Mt. Hamilton Range (California) to organizations devoted to the environmental protection and preservation of lands. This unique partnership protects prime Alameda Creek Watershed habitat from future development through a conservation easement and paves the way for future plans to open up the property to public recreation.

"I'm proud to be part of the effort to expand Joseph D. Grant County Park and help protect clean drinking water and recreational opportunities for future generations," said Owen Nolan, property owner and former San Jose Sharks captain.

"I love the outdoors,” Nolan told the San Jose Mercury News. “It's not just hunting and fishing. It's getting outside," he said. "There's a lot of pressure that comes with being an athlete. Getting outside has always helped me get peace of mind."

“This property acquisition creates the only county park that is more than 10,000 acres in size,” said President George Shirakawa, County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. “The addition of this landscape to the county’s park system will not only increase opportunities for future trail development but also support 70 miles of wild lands from Pleasanton to the Pacheco Pass and connect it to several thousand acres of Lick Observatory lands on top of Mt. Hamilton by the University of California.”

Located within the southern Alameda Creek Watershed, the property includes approximately five miles of Sulphur and Smith Creeks that drain to Isabel Creek and the Arroyo Hondo, which flows directly into the SFPUC’s Calaveras Reservoir.

“Calaveras Reservoir is our system’s largest Bay Area reservoir and is a crucial source of drinking water to our 2.6 million customers,” said SFPUC General Manager Harlan Kelly, Jr. “By protecting the land and the animals and plants that depend upon it, we also protect the quality of a major Bay Area water supply.”

The Nature Conservancy, through an endowment funded by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), will monitor the conservation easement in perpetuity. Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department will own and manage the property as part of Joseph D. Grant County Park.

Read the entire article on The Nature Conservancy’s website, here.

It’s hard to imagine 14,000 pounds of food. To put it into perspective, it’s about the same weight as five cars. That’s how much food has been donated to the Edmonton Food Bank’s Second Helping program since October 2010, when the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, Oilers, Oil Kings, Dominion Sports Service and Northlands partnered to save and freeze any left over, prepared and unused food from concerts and hockey games as part of the NHL Rock & Wrap It Up Food Recovery Program.

In 2010, the National Hockey League launched the food recovery program to combat waste and fight hunger across North America. All 30 of the League's Member Clubs have committed to pack up all prepared but untouched concession food on game nights for redistribution to local shelters and places of need.

The League was celebrated by both Beyond Sport and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the initiative, which has diverted over 210 tons of waste from landfill and provided local shelters with more than 320,000 meals since its inception in 2010.

This October, the Oilers continued their program with a gift of over 1,000 pounds of food.

“As fast as it comes in, it goes out,” said Tamisan Bencz-Knight, Manager, Strategic Relations & Partnerships, Edmonton Food Bank. “What’s so nice about (the food) is it’s prepared. You just need to thaw it, warm it and serve it. The quality of the product is amazing and it’s simple and easy program to run.”

The most recent donation from Rexall Place benefited Our House addiction recovery agency which focus their efforts on supporting men working to rebuild their lives.

“When you think that all this food could go to waste rather than being used to benefit other people, it’s clear the program is a win-win for everybody," said Natalie Minckler, Executive Director, Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. “This program just makes so much sense and the benefits are seen at agencies around Oil Country.”

To read the entire article, visit the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation page.

NEW YORK -- On Tuesday, November 13, the National Hockey League will join MLB, MLS, NASCAR, NBA, NFL and WNBA as an official Founding Supporter of Beyond Sport United, a one-day global gathering, exploring opportunities for leagues, teams and their partners to make a positive impact in their community and the local environment. The conference will take place at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

NHL Green has teamed up with Sterling Planet and Bonneville Environmental Foundation to help mitigate the environmental impact of Beyond Sport United 2012.

Sterling Planet, the nation's leading retail provider of environmental assets for corporate, utility and government clients, will donate all environmental assets needed to counterbalance the estimated carbon emissions resulting from electricity consumption during the conference, based on conservative projections of the expected carbon footprint. Accordingly, Sterling Planet will provide the event with 111,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) in the form of Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) from U.S. wind projects. The RECs will create a benefit of more than 143,529 pounds of avoided emissions of carbon dioxide.

The League worked with Sterling Planet to balance the carbon emissions associated with arena electricity usage and team air travel throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well as the League's estimated 2012 electricity usage at its New York City headquarters. To that end, Sterling Planet supplied 9.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) and 97 metric tons of verified emission reductions in total.

Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a nonprofit provider of energy, carbon and water solutions, will balance the water footprint of the conference. Based on projections of the expected water usage for both Yankee Stadium and attendee hotel rooms, BEF will restore 45,000 gallons of water to critically dewatered ecosystems in Colorado, Montana, Arizona, Utah and/or Oregon through BEF's Water Restoration Certificate® program.

Additionally, the League's 2012 and 2013 water consumption at its New York City headquarters, estimated at six million gallons over two years, will be counterbalanced as part of the NHL Water Restoration Project.

The League launched the NHL Water Restoration Project with BEF in June 2011, focusing sustainability efforts on the issue of freshwater scarcity and its effect on fans, communities and the game of hockey. BEF, on behalf of the NHL, has replenished North American watercourses with over 18 million gallons of water since the project's inception.

Beyond Sport is a global organization that promotes, develops and supports the use of sport to drive positive social change around the world. Beyond Sport United will bring together professionals in the sports industry to discuss the business advantages of working to address difficult community, social and environmental concerns. The event will be a sharing of best practices tackling issues of education, health, sustainability, social inclusion, natural disaster response and more.

In 2011, Beyond Sport celebrated the League as the Sport for Environment winner for a League-wide food recovery program, in cooperation with Rock and Wrap it Up!, which has diverted over 210 tons of waste from landfill and provided local shelters with more than 320,000 meals since the initiative began in 2010. Also in 2011, the NHL was nominated for Beyond Sport's Federation of the Year award. In 2012, the League was again nominated as Sport for Environment, this time for the NHL Water Restoration Project.

Beyond Sport United will bring together professionals in the sports industry Tuesday night in New York to discuss the business advantages of working to address specific community, social and environmental concerns through panels, speeches, workshops, interviews and other activities.

The NHL will be represented by 30 delegates who will participate in discussions addressing social inclusion, gender equality, health, education and more. The League is particularly concerned and involved in Beyond Sport's sustainability workshops and panels.

The Sustainability and the Environment Panel, facilitated by Martin Tull, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance, will discuss the current sustainability trends, technologies and initiatives which lessen the environmental impact of sports by reusing and recycling assets and reducing energy, water and waste consumption. The League has been a member of the Green Sports Alliance since July 2011.

Sharks Sports & Entertainment (SSE) announced this month the activation of Bloom Energy Servers™ at HP Pavilion in San Jose, home of the Sharks. Installation of these energy servers will provide a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy source to power the venue.

With the implementation of the Bloom Energy Servers, HP Pavilion at San Jose becomes the first multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility to utilize fuel cell technology as a supplemental electricity source. Sharks Sports & Entertainment also utilizes Bloom Energy Servers™ at Sharks Ice at San Jose, a public recreational ice facility owned by the City of San Jose and managed by SSE.

“Congratulations to HP Pavilion for being the first arena in the nation to implement Bloom Energy’s cutting-edge fuel cell technology,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “As the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose is a hub of clean tech innovation, and it is fitting that our arena would showcase how investing in renewable energy can reduce long-term operating costs and save energy.”

The Bloom boxes (two 200kw servers) will replace approximately 90% of the electrical utility power at HP Pavilion used during non-event hours and approximately 25% used on a Sharks game day. Due to the efficiency of the Bloom box, HP Pavilion at San Jose will reduce its carbon footprint by 4.8 million pounds of CO2 over a ten-year period. That equates to taking 427 passenger vehicles off the road.

“We are pleased to be utilizing the technology pioneered by Bloom Energy to reduce the carbon footprint of HP Pavilion at San Jose,” said Jim Goddard, General Manager at HP Pavilion at San Jose.

To read the full article, view the San Jose Shark’s press release.

During the last few years, the Phoenix Coyotes have adopted a diverse set of initiatives, practices and building management policies to become a more sustainable organization.

Perhaps the most innovative and effective environmental effort at Jobing.com Arena, home of the Coyotes, is the facility's energy-saving demand response program.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, demand response is the voluntary reduction in electricity demand in response to an electric grid emergency.

Practically speaking, electricity cannot be easily stored on a large scale. As a result, supply and demand must remain in balance in real time. Traditionally, utilities have leveraged carbon-emitting peaking power plants to increase power generation to meet demand. In some circumstances, utilities have built new power plants to meet that end.

Five years ago, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) launched Team Up Green, an environmental effort that would significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at the Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The venue's sustainability plan set goals to reduce energy usage by 30 percent, reduce the carbon footprint by 30 percent and divert 95 percent of waste to landfill by 2013.

Through a range of practical, cost-effective and community-focused solutions, combined with several capital projects aimed at improving the venue's efficiency, records taken earlier this year show that the Air Canada Centre has achieved impressive results; including a 74 percent reduction in waste and a carbon footprint reduction of 34 percent within the first three years, two years ahead of the scheduled target. In September, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a full case study detailing the ACC's challenges and achievements.