NEW YORK – The National Hockey League (NHL®) today announced that it is ranked No. 17 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Top 100 list of the largest users of green power, making it the first professional sports league ever to achieve the distinction.

The NHL is being recognized for its priorities to reduce its environmental impact with efforts including: NHL Green, a comprehensive sustainability initiative created by the League in 2010, and the groundbreaking 2014 Sustainability Report, which documented and disclosed the League's carbon footprint. In keeping with these efforts, the League named Constellation – a leading competitive energy and services company – its preferred energy provider that will supply Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). These RECs represent the generation of more than 271 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, matching the League's total electricity consumption*.

"We are proud to be recognized for our efforts as we continue our mission to protect our environment and preserve the roots of our game," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

"The NHL's commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy is a hat trick for clean air, our health, and our climate," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Using sustainable business practices at sports stadiums and arenas, including utilizing green power, helps protect our communities and our environment by combating the impacts of climate change and protecting winter sports for our athletes."

"Constellation congratulates the NHL for this achievement and is committed to its partnership with the League to support America's clean energy future," said Joe Nigro, CEO of Constellation.

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact hydro. Using green power helps accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.

The green power commitment also qualifies the National Hockey League for EPA's Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction given to organizations that have significantly exceeded EPA's minimum requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members must use ten times the Partnership's minimum green power usage, organization-wide.

For the EPA's National Top 100 List, click here. For more information on NHL Green, visit NHL.com/Green