Inaugural event designed to help reflect, celebrate & inspire industry efforts

The first ever Sustainable Golf Week is taking place next month, hosted by GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf with its partners and collaborators globally to reflect, celebrate and accelerate industry efforts to build a greener future for the game.

Between Monday 3 October and Sunday 9 October inclusive, Sustainable Golf Week will spotlight golf’s achievements in sustainability; celebrate the eco-friendly actions of many golf courses, developers, designers, tournaments, players and companies; and promote what still needs to be done in this UN Decade of Action to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Under its #DrivingTheGreen theme across several mainstream and social media initiatives, Sustainable Golf Week will champion the work of leaders across the golf industry with inspirational examples and ideas on the practical steps that everyone involved in the sport can make to move the green agenda forward.

The week will focus on a number of key topics and parts of golf including – grassroots clubs and courses, tournaments, developments and innovations – with a range of daily highlights, features and social media posts. It will also help further engage golfers, raising awareness about how they and their clubs can make a difference in fostering nature, conserving resources, strengthening communities and taking climate action.

“Sustainable Golf Week provides an opportunity for people across the sport to connect around a common purpose – to make sure that golf becomes established as a credible global leader in sustainability and climate action,” said Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of the international non-profit GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf. “It is about helping to bring some stronger collective focus to the issues, as well as building ever greater energy and momentum to golf’s contribution. We are excited about the ways in which this week can go on to be an ever-stronger catalyst for more action and visibility for golf and sustainability around the world,” he added.

Sustainable Golf Champion and 2023 Solheim Cup Captain Suzann Pettersen is among those supporting the week’s activities: “Many environmental issues are fundamentally important to our quality of life. So whilst taking action is vital for the future of golf, we also have to play our part amongst communities, in business and also with governments. We have to be at the forefront of the global movement in sustainable sport and equally we should take time to proudly celebrate our positive contributions,” she said.

Leading partners and collaborators with GEO Foundation in the acceleration of sustainability in and through golf include The R&A, European Tour group, Ryder Cup Europe, Ladies European Tour, LPGA, The Toro Company, Dow, Vidauban Foundation, Visit Scotland, Galvin Green, Motocaddy, Provision Events, Sky Sports, IAGTO and some 50 industry federations and associations across 25 countries. The effort is closely aligned beyond golf, including UN Sport for Climate Action, The Gold Standard and ISEAL Alliance.

Demonstrating the reach and impact of the sustainable golf community, people and organizations in more than 75 countries are already part of a growing movement. Some of the pioneering courses, certified for many years, include: Ljunghusen GC in Sweden; Golfparc Zurichsee in Switzerland; Hirsala Golf in Finland; Koninklijke Haagsche G&CC in the Netherlands; Costa Rica Country Club; Canuelas GC in Argentina; Golf Della Montecchia in Italy; Golf du Rhin in France; Oslo GC in Norway; Royal Wellington GC in New Zealand; Berkhamsted GC and Burhill GC in England and St Andrews Links, Carnoustie and Royal Dornoch in Scotland.

To find out more about Sustainable Golf Week and GEO Foundation and how to get involved visit: sustainable.golf/sustainablegolfweek or follow @sustainablegolf on social media.

Note to editors: Founded 16 years ago, GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf is an international non-profit organization set up to help reward, support and inspire credible sustainable action taken within golf. The only organization in the world entirely dedicated to this mission, GEO Foundation continues to work with hundreds of golf courses and tournaments around the world, as well as the United Nations, international and national governing bodies, professional Tours, leading players and commercial partners.

Sustainable Golf Week comes almost 12 months after Driving for Net Zero, a special event hosted by GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf, coinciding with the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, highlighting the roles golf can play in climate action and exploring the pathways to net zero emissions.

Images:
1. The Club at Nine Bridges, courtesy of Sarah Ryu
2. Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, courtesy of Dow
3. Development of West Cliffs, Portugal, courtesy of West Cliffs
4. Schoolchildren at Foshan Golf Club, courtesy of Jojo Xie.