Field of Greens: The Green Sports Alliance Foundation and the newly launched Game Changers Institute join forces

The Green Sports Alliance Foundation / Game Changers Institute

March 25, 2021

Together, the two institutions will establish a new plant-based recipe for linking climate action with performance nutrition in sports.

PORTLAND, Ore., March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The creators of the viral documentary The Game Changers and the Green Sports Alliance Foundation (the foundation arm of the Green Sports Alliance), have announced their partnership to help inspire a cultural shift towards plant-based eating for our planet, our communities, and the next generation of athletes around the world.

As the sports industry prepares for a return to full strength from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the partnership between the newly formed Game Changers Institute (GCI)—an initiative of the Game Changers Foundation—and the Green Sports Alliance Foundation will develop novel tools, resources, and experiences in an effort to inform and promote the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes and fans everywhere.

“The exponential growth of plant-based eating in elite athletics creates incredible potential for players, teams and sports communities across the world to lead the way in creating a fitter, healthier population and a more just and sustainable planet”, says James Wilks, executive director of GCI. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Green Sports Alliance Foundation in supporting this critical and historic shift.”

The organizations will unite a coalition of predominantly plant-based athletes, influential sports figures, and their fans to build awareness and influence the widespread behavior change needed to help reverse the destructive socio-environmental impacts stemming from the consumption of a traditional animal-based diet.

“Our industry has an opportunity to scale a critical environmental solution while addressing the performance and longevity of our athletes, fighting for social justice, and protecting public health. We are poised to use the power of our collective Green Sports Alliance Foundation network and GCI’s knowledge of healthy, sustainable eating to generate measurable change,” said Roger McClendon, Executive Director of Green Sports Alliance Foundation. McClendon brings his expertise in global food supply chains after serving as the first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer for Yum! Brands, helping to transform worldwide operational sustainability for holdings that include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.

The partnership will use its extensive platform to reach sports communities across the world with a strong focus on access to healthy and sustainable options for food insecure individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

GCI are pioneers of this rapidly shifting landscape and we are excited to work with their team of experts to create actionable, science-backed campaigns that will accelerate a food system transformation and activate global communities for a more resilient future,” added McClendon. In addition to the partnership, McClendon, a former All-American and Division 1 University of Cincinnati college basketball student-athlete, has joined the GCI Board of Advisors.

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