NHLPA, Suzuki team up for clean-air program

Last Updated: Saturday, December 8, 2007 | 9:35 AM ET

CBC Sports

The NHL Players' Association is going green, with a little help from Canada's most famous environmentalist.

The David Suzuki Foundation and the union announced plans Friday in Toronto for a partnership that asks players to become more eco-friendly, both at home through their personal choices and in their professional lives through the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge.

The latter initiative involves players purchasing clean-air credits to compensate for the extra carbon produced by their extensive travels — a concept known as carbon offsets.

All the money they raise will help fund three clean-air projects around the world through Montreal-based not-for-profit Planetair.

"It's unbelievable how guys pick up on it and know something is important," said Boston Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference. "Hockey is filled with a lot of great character and guys are showing it by stepping up and doing the right thing.

"It's all about taking initiative and we have a lot of guys who are really good at doing that."

More than 350 players — including everyone on the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars — have already signed up to contribute $290 annually and hundreds more are expected to join in the coming weeks.

The amount is based on a clean-air credit cost of $29 per ton and research that says each NHL player contributes 10 tons of carbon emissions per season.

While the dollar-amount may be small, the world-renowned Suzuki said the players' efforts will help raise public awareness about possible solutions to global warming, which is another goal of the program.

"Environmentalists would kill to get this type of attention," he joked as he pointed to a line of cameras. "Let's face it, an old crusty guy like me, an environmentalist, who the hell is going to listen to me? But these guys connect directly with our youth and it's all about the future."

Ference, who helped spearheaded the initiative, said he was inspired by a meeting last year with Suzuki.

"I remember David saying to me that, if Wayne Gretzky was just starting his minor hockey career today, his father wouldn't be able to build the outdoor rink like he once did because the climate has changed so much," said Ference, who drives a hybrid car and has switched his house to wind power. "That really stuck with me."