Golf Business News – Exploring the next generation of sustainable golf tournaments

To mark the end of the Scottish Summer of Golf, the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation has published a new vision paper exploring the future of sustainable golf tournaments, particularly the collaborative efforts and leadership that support them.

The GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation is an international non-profit organization based here in North Berwick, Scotland, but active in over 75 countries. The Foundation is dedicated to helping accelerate global sustainability and climate action in and through golf.

Incidentally, all five of this year’s ‘Summer of Golf’ destinations are recognized as GEO Certified for their leadership in sustainable golf practices:

• The Old Course at St Andrews, hosting the AIG Women’s Open
• Dundonald Links, site of the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open
• The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, site of the Genesis Scottish Open, held July 11-14;
• Royal Troon Golf Club, site of the Open Championship
• Carnoustie Golf Links, to host the Senior Open Championship

Scotland’s sixth event, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, will be held in Scotland from October 3-6. Although technically held in the fall. the tournament will be played entirely on GEO Certified courses – Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and The Old Course at St Andrews.

“It’s been another very busy summer for golf tournaments and sustainability in Scotland,” said Jonathan Smith, founder and Chief Executive of the Foundation. “This new perspective paper examines some of the key issues shaping those and other future events – the next generation of responsible and sustainable events.”

GEO has worked closely in recent years with the tournament owners behind all six events: the DP World Tour, the R&A, the LPGA Tour, the Ladies European Tour and the PGA TOUR. The Foundation has also partnered with the government and a number of stakeholders to support the sustainability strategy and the delivery of these tournament goods, these public goods.

How to work together

“Collaboration is key along the way,” Smith continued. “Of course, this perspective paper relies on practical experience and a variety of opinions from a variety of key stakeholders. The aim is to share findings – in exploring challenges and opportunities for the future – to help raise awareness and aspirations for golf with wider event planners in Scotland and around the golfing world. Although golf is the lens, we hope that what we learn can help accelerate collaboration, innovation and positive impact across the events industry.”

Founded more than 18 years ago as a pioneer in what has become a sports and sustainability movement, the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation is dedicated to helping golf, across the board for beginners and professionals, providing strategies, industry-wide solutions, and a trusted certification label. The Foundation is dedicated to a comprehensive, innovative approach to sustainability, through bespoke platforms available to golf centers and associations, new developments and repairs, tours and competitions, and even professional players as individuals.

The commitment to organizing and delivering responsible tournament events, while an important change, also brings important opportunities for the environment, investment and reputation. From a pure cost point of view, however, the challenges are obvious: rising fuel and energy prices, large scale water resources, and transportation of all kinds.

“Simply put, it’s a broad exercise of maximizing good and minimizing evil – involving many issues and many stakeholders,” explains Alan Grant, GEO Foundation Director of Partnerships & Engagement. “I strongly encourage anyone who has attended a golf tournament, as a spectator, to read the outlook paper. It’s eye-opening to see what underpins a meaningful sustainability commitment.

Stakeholder commitment to sustainability

“What strikes me as important – be it a national debut or an event of international standing like the Genesis Scottish Open – is the commitment of the organizers to take further steps towards sustainability. That is the first step. Yet stakeholders today understand the associated, long-term benefits: all forms of employment, personal and small business income, investment in tourism and infrastructure, education and philanthropy. Increasingly, corporate sponsors and government agencies are bringing these sustainability goals to the table.

“VisitScotland and the national government have become leaders in the way they guide tourism and events in these activities. We are happy to play our part to support them – in the context of the golf event. “

In and around Scotland, the home of golf, the Scottish Government has proven to be very influential in the area of ​​sustainability. The renewed National Events Strategy, Scotland The Perfect Stage 2024-2035, is built on the premise that a successful events sector can and should support the delivery of a fairer, greener, richer Scotland.

The building is at the heart of GEO’s mission, Grant confirmed. In everything it does, wherever it operates in the world, the Foundation aims to promote, guide and celebrate sustainable practices that have a positive impact on three main areas: the environment, the climate and the local community. Likewise, GEO has worked with DP World Tour, as a partner, for several years. Case in point: The Genesis Scottish Open, in recent years has met many of its goals in terms of resource use: the event diverts 100% of its waste from landfill and, by 2023, removed all single-use plastics from the restaurant. .

Positive social impact

Ongoing events are also encouraged to provide positive social impact and value. For example, the Foundation organized a July beach walk and clean-up effort in North Berwick, where Tour professionals from neighboring The Renaissance Club participated – and helped raise awareness of local dune conservation efforts. The Genesis Scottish Open is jointly sponsored by the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, which counts GEO as a non-profit sustainability partner.

“One of the biggest challenges to the sustainability of any event is carbon emissions, mainly from spectators, organizers and players traveling to and from the venue,” explains Smith. “Next to other areas of resource use and construction materials, these are undoubtedly the biggest negative impacts caused by temporary events. They are challenges that require a long-term, multi-stakeholder approach to address them – challenges that we must all face. Sustainability and good practices never really end. We never dust ourselves off and say, ‘Well, that’s over with.’

“At the same time, there are many positive effects that can help the events to grow. Such as raising awareness, influencing behavior change at the community level, fundraising for important social and environmental causes, identifying incentives for green infrastructure investment.

“That’s why GEO, working with such a large community of partners, is building detailed structures for leadership and collaboration going forward. A look paper is an example of this approach. After all, golf is played in the natural environment, in communities. And this has been true for centuries. These are the living benefits that golf can use to become a leader in sustainable events and sports.”

To download the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation Outlook Paper, click here.