Denver Nuggets center DeAndre Jordan, who became plant-based in 2018, says he wants to “make our world a better place.”
The three-time All NBA and two-time NBA All-Defensive Team member hosts his own plant-based cooking show and supports trees being planted throughout his foundation.
“I care so much about the environment,” he told BBC Sport.
Jordan, who helped the Nuggets win their first NBA championship in 2023, said he has experimented with vegetarian and pescatarian diets in the past.
“I went plant-based one summer and I was like, ‘hey, you know what, I feel really great’.”
The 36-year-old, who is studying for a degree in Contemplative Studies at Brown University, said the decision not to eat animal products also helped him feel better about the environment and animal cruelty.
“I learned a lot about food locally or how animals were treated, the amount of water that was used to house and feed and clean these animals and the impact it had on our planet,” he said.
“I entered this rabbit hole of myself, because one person can not only help, but also spread the knowledge that I learned.”
The United Nations says meat and milk (farmed cattle) are responsible about 11% of man-made greenhouse gases.
research published in Climate magazine suggests that if everyone in the world went vegan, global food-related CO2 emissions could drop by 68% within 15 years.
Jordan said he doesn’t beg his teammates to go vegan, but makes himself available to answer their questions.
“I feel like it’s my job to give them the bullet points and then they can make the decisions on their own,” he said.
Jordan said he doesn’t prescribe telling people to go vegan permanently.
“Whatever part of your journey you’re on, you should be able to accept that. If you go plant-based for a year, that’s a year of great service you’ve done for the environment.”
Jordan said he tries to pass on knowledge about food and the environment to his children.
“They have a 30-year head start on improving our environment,” he said.
Jordan is leading a new campaign called the Green Action League, which encourages fans of teams across various sports to move up the league table by taking green actions such as recycling, choosing plant-based meals or joining a community cleanup.
The teams participating – the Nuggets, Arsenal, Los Angeles Rams, and Colorado Avalanche – are owned by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE).
NBA teams travel great distances across the United States as part of their game schedule.
In recent years the organization has changed its schedule to reduce travel. For example, teams can play the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic – both based in Florida – on the same trip.
According to Earth Day, in the 2022-23 season the NBA decreased its annual total travel by 50,000 miles.
Fan travel can make up for it 65-80% of the event industry’s carbon footprint, according to Justin Zeulner of The Wave Foundation.
The NBA also hosts games overseas and the Nuggets began their 2024 preseason schedule with two games in Abu Dhabi.
“For our jobs, sometimes we can’t help that we have to travel,” Jordan said. “In my mind, I think if I have to do this, why not have some change in my daily life to be able to help reverse some things?”
As part of the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework, the NBA aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% until 2030.
Other initiatives it has undertaken include reducing plastic bottles in offices by 80% and launching an NBA Arena Sustainability Task Force.
“I remember when I first came into the league, we would have NBA Green Week and we would wear Green Week shirts with a recycling logo on it, but that was pretty much it,” Jordan said.
“As the years have gone on, we’ve done a better job of being able to implement these ideas into the arenas.”
Earlier this week, Arsenal’s plan to reach net zero by 2040 was endorsed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Their plan for net zero includes decarbonising energy consumption at Emirates Stadium and the training ground, reducing travel emissions, minimizing waste and working with partners and suppliers to reduce emissions from the goods the club buys.
