The group has been developed in response to the Cricket for Climate program, which endeavours to protect Australian cricket for future generations.
The initiative was launched on Business Clean Up Australia Day on Tuesday, February 28 and SACA staff went along the River Torrens picking up rubbish as part of the launch.
At this stage, there are three key priorities and actions which SACA will be focusing on in the immediate future:
- Recycling of Apparel: With sporting clubs required to order apparel yearly due to changing of logos, excess clothing is replaced annually. SACA staff and players will bring in old apparel which will be donated to the Inclusive League and the Aboriginal Cricket Carnival Teams. It will also be recycled where appropriate by being re-embellished with updated sponsors and logos.
- Recycling Presence at Karen Rolton Oval: At the moment, the SACA-managed cricket facility has a lack of rubbish collection points and limited opportunity to separate waste. Prior to the 2023/24 cricket season, there will be a presence of recycling stations (cardboard/paper and bottles/cans), while alternatives for more waste collection (e.g. green waste) will be explored.
- Reducing Coffee Cups Usage: With 10 per cent of rubbish that landfill volunteers uncover being single-use coffee cups, which are often plastic lined, over 60,000kg of plastic from coffee cups ends up in landfill each year. All SACA staff have now been gifted a KeepCup to ensure coffee cup usage is reduced at Adelaide Oval.
SACA’s Chief Business Officer Andrew Sweet said the SACA Sustainability Group is a collection of SACA staff passionate about making lasting and impactful change.
“SACA has recognised the need for sustainable practices,” Sweet said.
“Action is needed now to reduce cricket’s carbon footprint, conserve resources and promote environmentally friendly behaviours.
“I’m really proud of all the work our Sustainability Group has put in to get to this launch and am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve as an organisation to help create lasting and impactful change.”
Read more about Cricket for Climate here.