Players for the Planet | Client Profile

players for the planet - client profile - rye strategy blog post

Client Background

Founded by Major League Baseball outfielder Chris Dickerson, Players for the Planet (PFTP) is a 501c3 dedicated to bringing professional athletes together in order to address one of the greatest issues of our time: climate change.

From diverting over 1,000,000 pounds of E-Waste from landfills to directly combating the plastic crisis in the Dominican Republic, PFTP’s impact has been far-reaching. Yet at its very core, PFTP strives to go beyond the direct impacts of its various programs; as a key player within the impact side of the professional sports industry, PFTP is working to support the industry as a whole in “becoming a leading example of ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible, and sustainable practices worldwide.”

With an estimated 500 million global baseball fans alone, transitioning the sports industry towards furthered sustainability will be highly impactful, to say the least. 

Pull-Up Neighbor Tour and Gear for Good Program

In a collaborative effort to address both social justice and equity, as well as environmental justice, PFTP teamed up with the Players Alliance, a charitable organization committed to creating an inclusive culture within baseball and the community by providing greater opportunities and resources for Black communities across the United States.

To date, the Players Alliance has donated over $41 million to Black communities through a range of programs, including the Pull-Up Neighbor Tour and the Gear for Good Program. Through the Pull-Up Neighbor Tour, the Players Alliance visited 25 cities across the United States, bringing together 150 MLB players to donate over $1 million worth of baseball gear to Black youth/teens and teams, as well fresh produce, and a variety of COVID resources, such as masks and cleaning supplies.

The Gear for Good Program furthers access to baseball equipment within Black communities by bringing together teams, fans, and corporate partners to collect and clean gently used baseball equipment for delivery across the United States. 

RyeStrategy’s Involvement

Reaching tens of thousands of individuals, the social impact of these programs has been profound, and in an effort to extend this impact to additionally become environmental in nature, PFTP brought RyeStrategy on to calculate the carbon footprint associated with all logistical ground transport for both programs. Working with distances driven, fuel-types and consumption, as well as a variety of EPA factors, the team calculated a total footprint of approximately 21 metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. PFTP and the Players Alliance are now exploring the direct offset of these emissions through local tree planting projects, creating environmental and social impact by simultaneously counteracting their transportation footprint, while also bringing Black communities together and providing greater tree cover in areas which have historically been severely underserved. Players for the Planet and the Players Alliance are driving environmental and social impact in an industry followed by billions -- we’re honored to have played a small part in their missions. 


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About RyeStrategy

Based in Seattle, RyeStrategy is a CDP-accredited, mission-oriented company specialized in carbon accounting, mitigation coaching, and climate disclosure solutions for organizations at any point in their sustainability journey. Learn how RyeStrategy helped Salesforce, Ideascale, and Wazoku achieve their sustainability goals.

From exhaustive carbon footprinting and mitigation coaching, to setting science-based targets and reporting climate data to CDP, SBTi or custom reporting platforms, RyeStrategy acts as a hands-on extension of the team, custom-tailoring services to fulfill climate disclosure requirements easily and accurately.

Meet with a sustainability specialist to learn more about RyeStrategy solutions.


Cooper Wechkin

Cooper is a sustainability-focused Seattle native and the founder and CEO of RyeStrategy. While a student at the University of Washington, Cooper found inspiration in businesses that operate at the intersection of positive impact and profit, leading to a personal commitment to pursue a career centered around social impact and mission-driven work. Cooper leads RyeStrategy with a simple goal in mind: to help small businesses do well by doing good. In addition to working directly with small businesses, Cooper partners with sustainability leaders at some of the world's largest organizations, in order to develop highly effective supply chain decarbonization programs. In his spare time, Cooper enjoys hiking, movies, and spending time with his family -- in 2019, he backpacked 270 miles from Manchester to Scotland.

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