The Foundation’s growing portfolio of corporate sports partnerships includes the NBA, Boulevard Brewing Co., FedEx and FIFA
LINCOLN, Neb., October 6, 2026 /3BL/ - The Arbor Day Foundation is marking Green Sports Day by celebrating the professional sports leagues, teams and brands advancing environmental sustainability goals by planting trees.
Green Sports Day, organized by the Green Sports Alliance, is an international awareness day observed each Oct. 6 that celebrates the positive impact sports can have on people and the planet. The Foundation has a growing roster of sports-related initiatives prioritizing tree planting tied to leagues, teams, tournaments and brands across the sports and outdoors space.
“These collaborations exist because sports have a unique ability to rally fans and communities around a shared cause and trees are one of the simplest tools to make our world healthier that everyone can agree on,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Green Sports Day is a good moment to celebrate that work, but our partners in this space are funding trees year-round, and it’s one of the fastest-growing parts of what we do.”
Examples of that ongoing work include:
NBA: Since 2014, the National Basketball Association has teamed up with the Foundation each April to activate its “Threes for Trees” program, planting three trees for every three-pointer made during games surrounding Arbor Day. This effort is part of NBA Green, the league’s environmental sustainability platform dedicated to reducing the NBA’s environmental impacts and inspiring fans, teams and partners to take meaningful climate action.
FedEx: FedEx and the Arbor Day Foundation have worked together on community tree-planting and habitat projects through charitable grants and employee volunteering since 2014. This fall, FedEx has committed to funding the planting of 500 trees on farmland near Versailles, France, through FedEx Cares, and 10 additional trees for every birdie scored on the par-3 16th hole during the FedEx Open de France championship week, to be allocated to support wildfire reforestation efforts in France. A similar scoring incentive in 2025 resulted in FedEx funding 1,400 trees based on 36 eagles recorded during tournament play.
Boulevard Brewing Co.: Boulevard funds 420 trees for every home run hit 420 feet at Kaufman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals, or farther throughout the Major League Baseball season, part of a commitment to plant 30,000 trees over two years in U.S. forestlands.
FIFA: The Foundation teamed up with FIFA to support reforestation and community tree planting projects in all 16 FIFA World Cup 2026™ host cities, delivering long-term environmental benefits across the tournament's three host nations — Canada, Mexico and the United States. Through the partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, FIFA supported work totaling the planting of approximately 1 million trees at reforestation sites across North American forests, while adding more than 12,000 trees in parks, school campuses, trail systems and other public gathering spaces across the 16 host city community plantings.
Organizations interested in exploring a sports-related tree planting work with the Arbor Day Foundation can learn more at arborday.org/corporate-partnerships.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners. And this is only the beginning.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.
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