Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday announced that they will play the “Green Game” of this year’s IPL at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

The Green Game was conceived in 2011 and since then RCB have dedicated one of their home matches to the ‘Go Green’ initiatives to spread awareness and the need for a cleaner and greener environment.

RCB players will also be sporting recycled green jerseys for the blockbuster match on Sunday. These jerseys are made utilising the recycled waste collected at the stadium.

RCB’s season opener match alone generated 9047.6 kg waste in the stadium as much as 19488 water bottles were used. As per estimates, an average of 8 tons of dry waste, food waste, and other recyclable wastes are generated from the stadium after every match.

The implementation of waste segregation practices have helped to gather and segregate dry, food and non-recyclable wastes and process them completely to further recycle and make recycled products like shirts and other sustainable goods.

Working closely with Good Era, Implementation Partner for Go Green Initiative, RCB have uniquely developed a Green Army, a one-of-its- kind sustainability help group that they take copious help to keep the stadium premises clean.

“RCB is the world’s first carbon neutral cricket team and the foremost cricket franchise in the world rallying behind a people’s driven movement for a greener planet.

“Go Green” is not just an initiative for us but an aspiring movement to seek behavioural changes, contributing to solving various challenges related to climate change. It transcends beyond cricket and connects fans at a much deeper level, an engagement with a purpose,” said Rajesh Menon, VP and Head of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

This year’s mission will also see RCB restore two lakes in South Bengaluru covering 44 acres and close to 200 schools will see the Green School certification roll out.

“As part of our year-long commitment, we will enable and encourage sustainability for the people, of the people, and by the people through a unique fan-driven model of carbon neutrality and rejuvenating and restoring the city lakes which were once the pride of Bangalore city. We also feel we need to begin early in life to start living consciously and therefore Green School is an initiative to involve future generations to be a part of the movement,” Menon added.

RCB has created a digital green pledge forum on their official website for the fans to come together, synergize commitment around chosen initiatives on pressing issues of sustainability to complete with contributions/on ground implementation programs or measuring impact and sustenance.

Keeping up with the commitments of sustainability, cricket matches are conducted utilising solar and wind power at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as well, which is now transformed into a green stadium.