NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA), in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), announced today that NBA Green Week 2011 will tip off April 3.

During the third annual NBA Green Week, which runs through April 10, the entire NBA family will team up to generate awareness and funding to protect the environment. Players will wear special oncourt apparel, teams will hold auctions to benefit environmental preservation organizations, and teams and players will participate in hands-on community service projects. In addition, the NBA.com microsite, www.nba.com/green, will feature everyday greening tips for fans.

“The environmental work championed by the NBA has influenced all sports leagues in the United States in a meaningful and public way,” said NRDC Senior Scientist Allen Hershkowitz.   “We all recognize the cultural significance of the NBA, and I applaud the league’s use of its influence to promote clean air, clean water and a healthy climate.”

As part of NBA Green Week 2011, adidas, the league’s official outfitter, will outfit all players with 100-percent organic cotton shooting shirts featuring the NBA Green logo.  Players will also wear NBA Green headbands and wristbands made from 45-percent organic cotton during nationally broadcast games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness.

Each of the league’s 30 teams will encourage fans to participate in greening efforts by hosting community service events, including tree plantings, recycling drives, park clean-up days, and the refurbishment of Reading & Learning Centers using environmentally friendly materials.  In addition, teams will hold in-arena Go Green Awareness Nights featuring auctions to support environmental protection programs and promotions to encourage fans to adopt green habits.

“Thanks to great guidance from the NRDC, the NBA and our teams continue to implement new measures to reduce energy consumption and waste throughout all of our business areas,” said NBA Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs Kathleen Behrens.  “NBA Green Week highlights the importance of environmental protection while encouraging fans to do their part by incorporating green habits into their daily lives.”

NBAStore.com and select team retailers will feature adidas 100-percent organic cotton NBA Green T-shirts, giving fans the opportunity to “buy green.”  NBA employees will also support Green Week through a cell phone recycling program in league offices located in New York and New Jersey.  All donated phones will be refurbished, recycled, or exchanged.

This season, the NBA is continuing to take steps to become a more environmentally responsible organization and will continue to explore ways of improving in this area.  To learn more about what the NBA and its teams are doing to “go green,” please visit www.nba.com/green. 

About the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org

About NBA Cares
NBA Cares is the league’s social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA’s long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world.  Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $150 million to charity, provided more than 1.5 million hours of  hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 560 places where kids and families can live, learn or play.  NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Rebuilding Together, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.