AEG proposal raises the question: What's 'carbon neutral,' anyway?

Given Los Angeles' traffic woes, it's no surprise that Anschutz Entertainment Group is pitching its football stadium as a transit-friendly project, a development that's accessible by numerous bus and rail lines. And most importantly, AEG officials add, it will be a "carbon neutral" project.

Carbon neutral? The term is a head-scratcher for even the most green Angelenos. It's also a phrase being scrutinized by environmentalists and sports experts as the developer looks to secure protective legislation for Farmers Field in Sacramento this week.

"Carbon neutrality, in general, is an elusive goal," said Ted Bardacke, senior associate at Global Green USA, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit that advises on green building and greenhouse emissions. "It can mean many things to many folks."

For instance, he said, AEG could plant trees around South Park to help offset emissions. But hypothetically it could also propose going abroad and capturing methane in a Mexican landfill or saving a Brazilian rain forest from development.

AEG is promising carbon neutrality and other mitigations in a proposal to the Legislature and Gov.Jerry Brown for a law that would expedite legal challenges to the developer's environmental studies.

The company has not publicly detailed specifics on how it plans to achieve carbon neutrality. The proposed legislation states offset credits will be sought only after methods to reduce emissions locally are implemented.

AEG argues its project will be carbon-neutral because it will encourage public transit options that will help reduce overall greenhouse emissions caused by private vehicles headed to the game.

"The legislation and many of the major environmental groups with whom we are working have identified carbon emissions from automobiles as the key priority," said Dale Goldsmith, attorney for AEG.

By focusing on transportation issues with Farmers Field, AEG will create a 21st century stadium, one that capitalizes on the nearby Blue Line, the forthcoming Exposition Line and buses, he said.

Additionally, AEG officials say they could bundle NFL tickets with mass transit tickets or encourage carpooling and van service.

"This is another initiative that the city wants us to be a leader in," Goldsmith said. "The (stadium venue business) also wants us to be a leader with this."

Hard to determine `carbon neutral'

Bardacke remains wary of how the term carbon neutral is being bandied about by both AEG and politicians.

He points to the fact that only the automobile portion is being mitigated, not all the emissions from a stadium that will use electricity and natural gas, as well as tons of concrete and steel in its construction.

"To call it carbon neutral is a parsing of the term that I don't think is appropriate," Bardacke said. "Call it trip neutral, call it offsetting of trip emissions."

For its part, AEG officials point to the solar panels on its Staples Center as an example of its commitment to green building.

Even if the entire project isn't carbon neutral, AEG is seeking LEED certification - a national standard for green buildings.

"It will be energy efficient, it will have natural gases for powering the building," said Jennifer Regan, global sustainability manager for AEG. "It will have the best available (resources) for lighting, and electrical."

EIR key in determining emissions

Promising mitigations - before the environmental impact report is finished next spring - worries some experts, who point out that the legislation being considered in Sacramento doesn't yet spell out who will oversee monitoring the emission reduction or how it will be achieved.

"I think carbon neutrality is critical," said Jan Chatten-Brown, an environmental attorney who represented Walnut in its battle over developer Majestic Realty Co.'s competing football stadium in the City of Industry.

But before carbon neutrality can be promised, an environmental impact report has to be done to look at how many cars are expected and how those greenhouse gases will be mitigated. "Any realistic plan to achieve carbon neutrality has to be looked at through the EIR," she said.

David Carter, a sports business professor at the University of Southern California, believes AEG's push to make Farmers Field transit friendly is a "marketing pitch, business development, public relations document, and a legal document" all rolled into one. Among his questions are whether the National Football League, and whoever owns the football team that would play in Farmers Field, will be willing to lose out on substantial parking revenue if AEG pushes itself as a transit-friendly stadium.

Still, he's not surprised by AEG's pitch.

"They will offer some balance of public transportation," he said. "Not because the fans are always going to take it, but because these team owners want to work with their respective city, so to as appear as though they are continuing to help the problem."

Correction: This article has been updated. USC professor David Carter's comments referenced AEG's transportation plan for Farmers Field, not the stadium's goal of carbon neutrality.