Veolia is expanding its sustainability initiatives with the Carvana PPA Tour, bringing water conservation, recycling and waste-reduction programs to two major pickleball tournaments in North Carolina and Arizona this September. The environmental services company is sponsoring the Veolia Pickleball National Championships in Cary, N.C., Aug. 31-Sept. 6, followed by the Veolia Arizona Open in Mesa, Sept. 14-20. The two events are expected to attract a combined 31,000 spectators.
At both tournaments, Veolia will provide water refill stations, benches made from recycled materials, pickleball recycling programs and upcycled trophies. The initiatives are part of a three-year partnership aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of professional pickleball as participation and attendance continue to grow. Since the partnership’s sustainability programs began in 2025, Veolia estimates its refill stations at PPA Tour events have eliminated the need for more than 166,000 single-use plastic bottles.
The partnership also tackles a less visible source of tournament waste: leftover paint used to mark pickleball courts. Veolia collects the material in 55-gallon drums and transports it to solvent recovery facilities, where it can be processed and repurposed. The company says it has recovered at least 48 drums — more than 2,000 gallons of material — across 12 PPA Tour tournaments, diverting the paint from disposal.
Sustainability efforts extend into the communities hosting the tournaments. In Cary, Veolia employees and PPA Tour professionals are scheduled to help restore a local community garden, with a similar community project being planned for Mesa. The programs are designed to leave a local impact beyond tournament operations while demonstrating how recycling and resource-conservation practices can be incorporated into large-scale sporting events.
Veolia is supporting six PPA Tour stops during 2026, including events in Dallas/McKinney, Atlanta, Cary, Mesa, Chicago and Los Angeles/Malibu. The partnership represents another example of pickleball’s expanding commercial ecosystem, with sponsors increasingly using professional tournaments not only for brand exposure but also to showcase corporate sustainability and community initiatives.
