Hawks and State Farm Arena Announce New Sustainability-Focused Partnership with Kimberly-Clark Professional™
Award-Winning Downtown Atlanta Venue to Use Smart Restroom Technology and
Product Recycling to Improve Environmental Footprint and Customer Experience
ATLANTA, Ga., April 24, 2024 – As Earth Month comes to a close, the Atlanta Hawks, State Farm Arena and Kimberly-Clark Professional™ today announced a new multi-year, sustainability-focused partnership.
Throughout the award-winning downtown Atlanta venue, Kimberly-Clark Professional branding and products, including Scott® paper towels and Kleenex® tissue, soap dispensers and hand sanitizers will be featured at select Hawks’ home games. Kimberly-Clark Professional branding will also appear on the uniform shirts worn by the Hawks’ Mop Crew, who are responsible for cleaning the hardwood floor during timeouts and halftime.
Kimberly-Clark recently earned the #2 spot on Barron’s list of most sustainable U.S. companies for its achievements in reducing its environmental footprint and announced its ambition to be 100% Natural Forest Free in all its products.
“We are excited to continue our sustainability efforts by partnering with Kimberly-Clark Professional,” said Hawks’ EVP and State Farm Arena General Manager Brett Stefansson. “Our two organizations have continued to focus on quality and innovation in the realm of workplace hygiene and safety, and we truly believe that this new relationship will help us prioritize the well-being of our Atlanta community.”
In April 2022, Green Business Certification Inc., the world’s leading sustainability and health certification and credentialing body, announced that State Farm Arena earned a TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum certification. With this achievement, State Farm Arena is now the world’s first and only sports and live entertainment venue to receive TRUE certification and has been recertified to maintain this standard of excellence. Since May 2021, the venue has consistently diverted a minimum of 90 percent of all waste from landfills.
“At Kimberly-Clark Professional, our purpose is to provide Better Care for a Better World,” said Susan Gambardella, President, Kimberly-Clark Professional North America. “We look forward to helping this important customer meet their sustainability goals with environmentally responsible products and programs.”
Onvation® is one of Kimberly-Clark Professional’s programs, a connected software solution that proactively controls and optimizes restroom servicing. It can decrease the time staff spend checking dispensers by more than 90 percent per year2, reduce consumable waste by up to 80 percent, directly impact hygiene levels and service rotations, and achieve up to 75 percent fewer visitor complaints3, all while positively impacting the guest experience.
As an additional part of this partnership, State Farm Arena will be integrated into a successful product recycling program created by Kimberly-Clark Professional to help further advance the venue’s sustainability goals. Since 2011, this program has helped Kimberly-Clark Professional customers divert over 5.5 million pounds of plastic waste streams from landfill3.
“We’re dedicated to the teamwork it takes to help create better customer experiences,” said Ignacio Suit, Chief Customer Officer, Kimberly-Clark Professional. “Many customers know our brands, and these brands serve as a promise to guests of safety and cleanliness from a responsible and ethical source.”
The Hawks and State Farm Arena continue to lead the way in sustainable practices for sports and live event venues. To learn more about the organization’s commitment to sustainability, visit StateFarmArena.com/sustainability.
ABOUT KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL™
Kimberly-Clark Professional™ partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces, helping to make them healthier, safer, and more productive. Key brands in this segment include Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, KleenGuard, and Kimtech. To see how Kimberly-Clark Professional is helping people around the world to work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com
ABOUT THE ATLANTA HAWKS
Committed to entertaining and uniting the city of Atlanta since 1968, the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena, under the leadership of Principal Owners Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz, continue to build bridges through basketball by following its True to Atlanta mantra. On the court, the Hawks’ exciting young core is led by All-Star point guard Trae Young as the organization received the NBA’s top ranking in overall in-game experience for the last two seasons. Off the court, the Hawks organization focuses on positively impacting the lives of Atlantans through providing access to youth basketball, fighting food insecurity, and the recent transformation of State Farm Arena into Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct for the 2020 elections. The Hawks family also includes the College Park Skyhawks (NBA G League) and Hawks Talon Gaming Club (NBA 2K League). Atlanta Hawks Membership, which includes your seat for every home game for the 2023-24 regular season, is on sale now at www.hawks.com/membership or by calling 866-715-1500. For more information on the Hawks, log on to www.hawks.com or follow us on social media @ATLHawks.
ABOUT STATE FARM ARENA
Home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, the award-winning State Farm Arena is a next-generation sports and live entertainment venue focused on experience, sustainability and service. Inspired by the city, the venue features premium restaurant options as well as experiential and celebrity-inspired spaces. In 2022, State Farm Arena became the world’s first venue to earn TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum certification for zero waste. State Farm Arena consistently ranks among the top 10 concert and event venues in the world from industry-leading publications Pollstar and Billboard. In 2021, Pollstar Magazine ranked State Farm Arena No. 5 on its year-end list of top arenas. Accessible to every fan, the downtown Atlanta arena hosts approximately 175 events and close to 2 million guests annually and stakes its claim as the city’s best sports and live entertainment venue. For more information on State Farm Arena, visit StateFarmArena.com or follow on Twitter @StateFarmArena and Instagram @StateFarmArena.
Media Contacts:
Ben Middleton, Kimberly-Clark Professional
[email protected]
Max Strauss, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena Communications
[email protected]
2 Based on analysis of current Onvation customers
3As demonstrated in alpha and beta testing
3Source: 2023 WasteBits* and 2023 Kimberly-Clark Corporation proprietary insights.
*WasteBits is a 3rd party company that provides software and services to the industry, including sustainability tracking.
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