Golf’s governing bodies to help clubs be more environmentally friendly

A number of organisations including The R&A and England Golf are to work closely with the GEO Foundation to help golf clubs be more environmentally friendly.

The GEO Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting sustainability in and through golf, and it has just released a chart to help golf clubs reduce the amount of plastic they use.

In addition, England Golf has announced a new partnership with GEO that will promote the business benefits of good environmental management to England Golf’s 1,900-plus affiliated clubs. This includes a 25 per cent discount on the subscription to OnCourse®, a custom made, web based programme for sustainable club and course management.

OnCourse® is part of a package of support and recognition being offered to help clubs meet their environmental and social responsibilities, and create strong, sustainable businesses.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A added: “It is important that issues of sustainability are being widely considered throughout the golf industry and that they are addressed in order to safeguard the environments and communities in which the sport is played. We are strong advocates of technology which enables golf facilities to adopt and track the use of sustainable management practices and we are pleased that a number of our affiliates are encouraging member clubs to integrate the OnCourse sustainability platform as part of their daily operations.”

Nick Pink, England Golf chief executive, said: “Our goal is to help clubs unlock a range of new business opportunities by providing high quality guidance and tools and sharing best practice across the sport. We believe that OnCourse® will help clubs to embed sustainability into their operations, to discover new efficiencies and ways to enhance their courses.

“At the same time it will enable us to better measure and promote the real social and environmental value of golf in England.”

The partnership has developed from the GB&I Sustainability Group, made up of England Golf, Wales Golf, Scottish Golf, The R&A, the greenkeepers’ organisation BIGGA, GEO and Environmental Solutions International (ESi).

Steve Isaac, director of Sustainability at The R&A, supported the new partnership: “This is exactly the kind of proactive leadership that The R&A is encouraging and supporting around the world of golf. It’s vital that we all embrace sustainability now, and that golf associations and clubs participate in practical, custom built programmes like this. It will help strengthen clubs themselves and the sport as a whole.”

Jonathan Smith, executive director of the GEO Foundation, added: “Finding ways to live, work and play sustainability is society’s greatest challenge, and it requires a combination of teamwork and individual leadership. We are extremely proud to partner with England Golf in the support of grass roots clubs and the sharing and promotion of results. The programme is also about helping golf champion its leadership role in the community.

Andrew McKinlay, chief executive of Scottish Golf, stated: “We see the OnCourse Scotland online platform as a valuable part of our environment and sustainability support for clubs. It will provide an ideal tool for club and course managersto record and track their sustainability data and activities and promote their achievements across Scotland and internationally.The gathering of important national data and metrics will also help positively represent our industry performance, enhancing our reputation and value to our strategic partners.”