STAPLES Center Awarded Environmental Management System Certification

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- STAPLES Center, the downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment arena, has been awarded ISO 14001 Certification for the third-party review of its Environmental Management System (EMS), making it the first U.S. arena to receive the respected accreditation.

This Environmental Management System is the framework for the facility best practices featured in the AEG 1EARTH sustainability report. AEG, owners and operators of STAPLES Center, recently unveiled this report alongside its 2020 environmental goals that include commitments to reducing solid waste, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions at all of its owned facilities including its flagship venue, STAPLES Center.

"In California, we like being number one, and we are now home to America's first ISO 14001-certified sports arena," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I am proud to see another California-based company taking the lead in the fight to be green, and I congratulate AEG for working to make the sports and entertainment industry more environmentally conscious, starting with the STAPLES Center."

The recent unveiling of the AEG 1EARTH initiative and 2020 goals detailed the organization's commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste and water usage at all of its owned and managed facilities worldwide. In order to reach this commitment, AEG employed the Environmental Management Systems framework to provide consistency in addressing and assess the progress of the environmental programs, ensuring continual operational improvement.

The certification of STAPLES Center's Environmental Management System to the ISO 14001 standard not only underscores the AEG 1EARTH commitment to ensure facilities owned and operated by the organization are operating in the most sustainable way, but reinforces the responsibility of the sports and entertainment industry to adhere to the same environmental standards and best practices that other industries use. Over the next five years, AEG plans to implement EMS programs at as many as 15 of its arenas, stadiums and clubs.

"Transparency is essential for the success of any corporate environmental program," said Lee Zeidman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of STAPLES Center. "By making our environmental management systems available for third-party review, AEG and STAPLES Center are backing up our 1EARTH commitments with aggressive actions to limit our environmental footprint."

STAPLES Center has long been at the forefront of integrating innovative environmental strategies into its operations including the installation of over 3,000 solar photovoltaic panels and 496 waterless urinals, saving the equivalent of 2 million gallons of water a year.

For more information about the STAPLES Center and a complete look at the 2010 AEG 1EARTH sustainability report:http://www.aegworldwide.com/08_corporate/aeg1earth-report.html

For more information about Environmental Management Systems and ISO certification: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_14000_essentials

About AEG:

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 120 facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York),Sprint Center, (Kansas City), Rose Garden Arena (Portland, OR), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN), Mercedes Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Wukesong Arena (Beijing, China), O2 World Hamburg, Acer Arena (Sydney, Australia), The Globe arena (Stockholm, Sweden), O2 World arena(Berlin, Germany)and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England); sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and two MLS franchises in addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers(NBA). AEG has created L.A. LIVE, a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" destination (featuring The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE hotels and 224 luxury condominiums – The Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. LIVE – all in a single tower), the Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14, "broadcast" facilities for ESPN, along with entertainment, restaurant and office space and developed The Home Depot Center in Carson, California designated as an "Official U.S. Olympic Training Site" by the United States Olympic Committee that includes major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling and other sports. AEG Sports owns and operates a variety of events and tours and AEG Live is the world's second largest live entertainment, concert promotion and touring companies. The organization is also developing additional arenas in China and arenas in Stockholm and Las Vegas. For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com

SOURCE AEG