Best Sustainability Initiative: Rescue A Reef, Kaseya Center (Excellence In Concessions Awards 2026) 

Kaseya Center in Miami has turned up the Heat with sustainability initiatives.

Driven by a commitment to environmental responsibility and community impact, Kaseya Center – home of the NBA’s Miami Heat – prioritizes sustainability initiatives that create meaningful change locally and within the industry.

In 2025, the venue launched its inaugural partnership with Rescue a Reef, a University of Miami coral restoration program focused on strengthening coastal resilience through scientific research, public education and citizen science.

The partnership was a way to connect the Heat in a positive way with the coastal environment.

“When you hear ‘sustainability’ and ‘the environment,’ there’re endless opportunities,” says Zach Ruiz, Sustainability Manager at Kaseya Center. “We really want to be hyper-focused on community based and community driven organizations that did work in our own backyard in Miami-Dade. So, it was really a great natural fit working with Rescue a Reef.”

The organization is housed at UM’s Ocean and Human Health Center on nearby Key Biscayne. The Kaseya team was able to visit the lab and learn how the group was using research to grow more heat-resistant corals that could better adapt to changing water conditions.

“That’s part of our framework as an organization – to help Miami be resilient,” adds Ruiz. “So how they were working with the coral really spoke to us, it gave us that local twist that made it easier to engage with our fans. … Being local. Being on the water. It’s something that we can point to from a storytelling perspective.”

The homegrown collaboration connected live entertainment with environmental action by turning post-event recycling into tangible conservation results.

The venue transitioned away from single-use plastic water bottles at concession stands by switching to aluminum. Sorting is conducted in-house and for every pound of aluminum and plastic recycled by fans, $1 was donated to support reef line restoration.

More than 8,000 pounds of sorted aluminum and glass were recycled from specific concerts resulting in the planting of roughly 320 heat resilient coral along the Miami reef line. Year over year, the venue increased aluminum recycling 30% and decreased plastics by 64%.

The initiative debuted during J Balvin and Tyler, the Creator concerts in March 2025 and continued throughout the year at major events including UFC, Kylie Minogue and Billie Eilish.

Led by Ruiz and Gaby Pino, the arena’s Vice President of Programming, Kaseya Center is exploring ways to implement the recycling program during Heat games and has a new partnership with Miami-Dade County Parks’ Sea Turtle Conservation Program, which monitors and protects nests and conducts public outreach along 19 miles of county beaches.

“It’s really how one action can really make a big difference,” adds Ruiz.