“Outside of the family, the most influential cultural role models in our society are athletes and entertainers,” says Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist for Natural Resources Defense Council.

To be sure, religion and government are major influences as well, but neither are “something that everybody can come together on,” he says.

Interest in sports cuts across geopolitical lines. Sports shows are the most watched TV programs worldwide, Hershkowitz points out. Pro sports, especially, and the athletes who play them have vast potential to engage and inspire their fans.

That’s the premise behind Green Sports Alliance, whose formation was announced this week at Safeco Field in Seattle, Wash. The alliance is focused on reducing the environmental impact of pro sports, its venues and operations -- and getting fans to join the effort.

The nonprofit's founding members are teams from six pro leagues -- Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks, the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers, the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, the Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.

Joining them are the five venues that are home to the six teams -- Safeco Field, Qwest Field, the Rose Garden, Rogers Arena and Key Arena -- and nine business partners that include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Portland State Institute for Sustainable Solutions and the NRDC, which has worked with teams and leagues to green pro sports since 2004.

The new organization also has the blessings of the commissioners for MLB, the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL and MLS -- all of whom provided endorsement statements for the alliance’s launch.

“I’ve been doing this work for 30 years and I’ve been hitting myself in the head,” says Hershkowitz. “Why didn’t we do this 30 years earlier?”

Next Page: Tapping common interests to push for change.