creative economy : Innovation + Job News

Boston's Fenway Park is already known for the Green Monster, its towering, forest-colored outfield wall.

Now, a growing Minneapolis agency has been hired to make fans associate the ballpark with environmental "green."

GreenMark is the world's first environmental sports sponsorship agency. President Mark Andrew plays matchmaker between sports teams and facilities and companies that have environmental causes or products to promote.

"We create opportunities for companies to showcase their green products and services from a sports platform," Andrew said. "It's very experiential. We don't do signs on walls."

The concept first came to life at Target Field when Pentair signed on as "The Official Sustainable Water Provider" for the Minnesota Twins. The sponsorship centers around the high-tech rainwater recycling system Pentair installed under the field.

GreenMark's clients include the Twins and Wild, as well as Target Center and TCF Stadium. It also represents the San Francisco 49ers.

"The reason we want to be in sports is that sports buildings are enormous platforms to tell sustainability stories," said Andrew, a former Hennepin County commissioner and state DFL chairman who started the company in 2006.

The Boston Red Sox last week announced the hiring of GreenMark as the team's green sponsorship agency for Fenway Park. Andrew and his team are now scouting for green technologies that might be incorporated into the century-old ballpark. The brainstorming includes the obvious question of how to best incorporate the iconic Green Monster in left field.

The company has about half a dozen full-time employees. Andrew expects it to grow to about a dozen by the end of 2011.

Source: Mark Andrew, President & Founder, GreenMark
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