Start with why you should care – not the usual reasons we’re going to talk about today. These ones instead… I’ll come back to this later – now that I’ve hopefully got your attention.

sustainability in golf - or, put in other words, the environmental and social impact of golf - is without question a vital opportunity. - an opportunity for every kind of golf club and golf business. Largely untapped. Leading to real business value. And today’s presentation is to show you a way to better understand, achieve and be rewarded. Or, for partners/supporters: We believe sustainability is important. We’ve heard from many of you that you are interested in sustainability. And to support you in your efforts, we’ve partnered with Golf Environment Organization - or GEO (speakers note: pronounced as the word “geo”, not the abbreviation G.E.O.) as they provide a streamlined, practical way forward. Connected to a global sustainability effort throughout golf.

To  protect  and  strengthen  your  business,  you  think  about  how  to  provide  the  best  possible  golfing  experience  -­‐  while  making  more  money,  and  spending  less  money.          Sustainability  can  help  achieve  both.          Especially  important  when  expecta?ons  are  rising  –  be  they  golfer  or  government,  and  budgets  are  going  down.      Sustainability  can  help  you  do  more  with  less!        -­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐    cost  savings  -­‐  through  resource  efficiency;  working  with  the  environment  vs.  forcing  it  to  be  something  outside  it’s  comfort  zone;    lots  of  ways  to  do  this,  water  management,  less  maintained  areas,  na?ve  plants  ...  all  the  way  to  spending  less  on  waste  disposal  from  the  clubhouse  because  you’re  recycling.      and...    when  done  well,  sustainability  can  also  help  make  money    first,  it’s  a  way  to  dis$nguish  your  product  -­‐  considera?ons  for  sustainability  do  not  compromise  the  quality  of  your  course  -­‐  instead,  they  play  to  your  natural  assets,  giving  a  more  unique  character  and  experience.        second,  gives  you  a  compelling  new  story  to  tell,  reaching  outside  the  walls  of  your  club  where  the  poten?al  golfers  are  -­‐  with  a  message  that’s  very  on  trend,  interes?ng  to  people  and  media.        

Sustainability is a particularly good fit for golf. Golf is tied to the land and people focused. Golf connects people and the land in a way that very few other industries or businesses do. So you’re in the right place at the right time. Sustainability is becoming an integral part of our society, shaping customer and business-to-business expectations. Embracing sustainability right thing to do - but also makes good business sense - great return on what is usually little investment. And golf is perfectly placed to capitalise on the opportunity.

Golf is almost there, you are almost there… There has been years of research, profiling, benchmarking, comparisons – and it all points to the fact that golf isn’t bad. As you know, the vast majority of greenkeepers are already Great stewards of the land in their care Efficient with resources – water, energy, and time Careful with chemicals and pesiticides Part of effectively run business And golf is innately intertwined with people and communities Most industries are sitting in rooms having to think hard about how to reinvent their way of doing business in the years ahead to meet the growing expectations for sustainability. Golf doesn’t have to! We’re already nearly there – so it’s not a threat. And, it’s not expensive either, as many people think. It actually saves money. And, not as difficult as most think either – when we just get down to practical actions – not planning, deliberation, comparisons, etc.

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In the past, you have been asked largely to take all the knowledge that was out there on websites and figure out what to do next. Not really reasonable, given how busy people are – being asked to do more with less already! GEO was formed about five years ago – as an industry supported non-profit organisation – to help fix this gap. To take the years of valuable research and education and practical experience in golf, combined with today’s sustainability standards and develop the straightforward action plan that would make getting started easier and continuing onward more consistent and more rewarding. With a lot of industry collaboration the OnCourse programme has been developed as an online programme that is your policy and plan and step-by-step guide to getting more out of sustainability.

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Making rest of your life easier, more productive Can be really effective – do well once and last for a long time Empower your staff to do more and think more about these things And these additional considerations are important

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And it’s part of your business as usual – just asking yourself, in about 20 or so different spots around the facility, am I doing anything wrong here according to the guidance in the programme? What ideas in the programme could I do to improve a bit? And down the road, what steps could I take that would bring even more benefit?

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And it’s part of your business as usual – just asking yourself, in about 20 or so different spots around the facility, am I doing anything wrong here according to the guidance in the programme? What ideas in the programme could I do to improve a bit? And down the road, what steps could I take that would bring even more benefit?

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Making rest of your life easier, more producitve Can be really effective – do well once and last for a long time Empower your staff to do more and think more about these things And these additional considerations are important

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Programme looks at this – just six web pages with a handful of questions each, requiring only fairly short answers, some multiple choice and a few data tables, like energy that can be easy attained through your energy company invoices. Helps you have a look around clubhouse, maintenance facility and course You answer some questions about what you’re doing already. There is help and hints for each questions giving you the ideas to improve where you need to. No cost. No scratching your head about where to start. No time spent drafting policies or action plans or status reports. Saying you are following this programme is your policy. And the programme is the action plan. Not any harder that that. Just start doing. Sharing what you’re already doing. Improving where needed. Some clubs have taken as little as a few weeks from starting the programme to completing – with only a day or so actually spent on entering the answers. Others spend longer – 6 months or a year – just answering a few questions here and there, one section at a time. Either way, at the end…. This all builds a public-facing report that positively tells the story of all the great sustainability work at your course.

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And then if you want you can get golf ’s international GEO Certified – which is a symbol for great golf environments around the world Highly credible way you can confidently tell your story And Represent real stories coming out of clubs in villages, towns and cities around the world. Not case-studies – real people, real world.

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Like these other marks you will recognise, GEO Certified meets all the criteria required for a credible ecolabel in today’s world - and is the only one, specifically for golf, that does. And this is something golf is very proud of – first sport to do this, and others are looking to follow suit as it’s a proven way to communicate to people – at a glance – part of what you stand far and are performing to. Even with still little recognition of the actual brand GEO Certified – people do know what a mark like this signifies. Tourists, members, visitors, people in the community- can be a real point of distinction too.

If you want the ecolabel, then once you’ve completed the all the questions, you ask a local sustainablity expert accredited by GEO to visit with you for a half day, to verify your application for the ecolabel, and give you ideas for what to work on in the future. As I mentioned, the OnCourse programme is free to use as long as you want. There is a cost at the time of certification – about 1100 euros, most of which goes to the independent local verifier – and this is once every three years. So only about 350 per year! Even in tough economic times, that’s feasible – and lets also remember it’s not a sunk cost – it’s an investment that has been showing cost-savings at every club that has used the programme. And some clubs have even been able to get additional money to cover – local govenerment – or at Belas Club de Campo Jacobsen paid for the verification.

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You join a growing movement in golf to positively represent golf’s positive contribution environmentally and socially and…

When you apply for the ecolabel, the verifier may find something that needs work to meet the standard – in which case you will be given guidance and time to address. Sometimes people think they’ll be faced with an inspector and clipboard trying to find fault – the opposite is true.

pick some projects

dive deeper. For exmaple, If you want to do more around irrigation – there is a lot of guidance out on that. Or turfgrasses. More and more ideas on our website. And also a lot of good resources and examples on R&A website.

And if you want to track and report the financial aspects - the new tool from the R&A – CourseTracker can helps you better understand how your financial performance has improved as a result of decisions relating to consumption and use of resources.

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Get valuable business benefits along the way! Said we would come back to this… There are many reasons to get started. The obvious – helps the enviroment, and safe to guess that’s something we all care about. But there are other reasons as well, and we shouldn’t feel badly that many of them are business benefits. We are all looking at ways to be financially stronger. More efficient. And so forth. It is widely agreed that sustainability can help. Without fail clubs report they are saving money by running more efficiently. Lets look at some examples.

Some things are simple and free, others have some upfront costs – nothing required that costs! But over time, you can do more. For example, in waste management, Linghusen – by smashing cardboard, reduced pick-up from weekly to four times a year! Easy, free. Broken Sound, invested in a composter - so up front costs, but will pay off in a short time. Broken Sound, Florida, USA. Action: Broken Sound Club has set up a ‘batch composting’ operation that utilizes a yard digester/composter to recycle all golf course, club house and maintenance facility biodegradable waste and food products. This creates a sterilized organic mulch that is used in landscape beds and spread on the golf course fairways. In the process of maintaining the grounds the staff collect a tremendous amount of grass, leaf, pond, and branch waste. Through a system of chipping, sorting, shredding, digesting and ageing, these wastes become USDA Class A compost in a matter of weeks BENEFITS: Not only does this eliminate streams of waste that were formerly contracted for landfilling but it also adds valuable nutrients and water-holding capacity to the soil, which is anticipated to reduce fertilization needs by one-third. $12,000 USD was the reduction in expenditure on mineral-based (non-renewable) fertilizers. Hillside G.C, Finland. ACTION: The greenkeepers considered the amount and areas of rough being maintained around the course, and decided to implement a more efficient management plan. 392 less hours were spent on mowing rough when compared to the previous year (2011). BENEFITS: The club achieved significant cost savings of around €3,000. Money was saved as less fuel was used and Hillside could cut back on staffing needs. Belas Club de Campo, Portugal. ACTIONS: Creation of goals regarding water savings, with the intention to cut back on usage. BENEFITS: Achieved cost saving benefits. Less water was pumped from the boreholes and less water was pumped into the irrigation system, this meant savings in electricity. Too much water sometimes means we have to apply more pesticides or fertilizers. Minimizing these applications, means better pollution prevention and more benefits for our workers in health and safety. Less irrigation means a better look in the golf course. “We have a lot of press coverage, thanks to our water savings.“

Auchterarder  G.C  –    ACTIONS:  A  large  oak  tree  which  succumbed  to  the  heavy  snow  in  winter  2009/10  was  milled  into  slabs,  Other  waste  wood  is  chopped  up  for  firewood  and  sold  to  members.    Crea$on  of  a  pond  on  the  12th  hole…  With  input  from  the  ScoKsh  Golf  Course  Environment  Group  plus  part-­‐funding  through  Landfill  Tax  Credits  and  ScoKsh  Natural  Heritage,  we  have  converted  a  biodiversity-­‐poor  drainage  problem  between  the  10th  fairway  and  12th  green  into  a  biodiversity-­‐rich  wetland  feature.    BENEFITS:  Wooden  slabs  are  going  to  be  used  to  make  seats  around  the  pond  on  the  12th  hole.  Firewood  raises  money.  The  pond  also  improves  the  course  and  the  experience  for  the  golfer,  in  addi?on  to  the  benefits  for  wildlife.  The  pond  became  the  subject  of  an  ar$cle  published  in  the  Tayside  Biodiversity  Spring  2008  NewslePer  (“From  Summit  to  Sand”)  hUp://www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk/PDF_NewsleUers/NewsleUer_Spring_2008.pdf    Ljunghusen  G.C  ACTIONS:    integrate  the  course  into  the  surroundings  as  much  as  possible  and  careful  plans  have  also  been  made  for  the  changes  or  altera$ons  of  the  buildings.  Specific  aPen$on  is  paid  to  protec$ng  and  restoring  historic  features  such  as  the  dunes  and  natural  contours  of  the  land.  Wooden  frames  are  used  for  tee  signs  and  other  signage.  The  machinery  shed  was  built  to  fit  in  with  the  old  clubhouse  nearby.    BENEFITS:  Careful  aPen$on  and  plans  mean  the  historical  features  and  the  landscape  are  not  disturbed.  The  maintenance  centre  is  surrounded  by  a  fence  protec$ng  trespassing  and  viewing  and  efforts  are  made  to  hide  man-­‐made  features.  Wooden  signage  fits  with  the  nature  element  of  the  course,  it  is  discreet  design  that  enhances  the  golf  experience.  

Golf Du Rhin ACTIONS: Great sustainability actions led to them being recognized on various wide reaching media platforms. BENEFITS: Publicity included golf industry press features, a Swiss TV piece and a feature in the Swiss Airlines Magazine. Golf Du Rhin has estimated this free marketing stimulated by sustainability work, to be worth up to €100,000. Auchterarder G.C ACTION: The GEO programme is helping clubs improve reputation, telling a story that sets a club above the norm and has the potential to reach out to new people. A small members club in Scotland is a good example of this… BENEFITS: They received features in regional press, national press, and even in National Geographic magazine.

Other examples : Forsgarden – inviting local businesses to the club once a year for a luncheon to talk about what they’re doing for sustainability – setting an example. Providing solutions other people were happy to learn from – and positive exposure to people who weren’t already members or visitors of the golf club! Broken Sound, Florida USA ACTION: Broken sound displays their pride in and commitment to their sustainability work by: - Training all the staff on sustainability actions so they can communicate these activities to others. - Communicating sustainability actions to members through newsletters and on noticeboards. – Holding members evenings and course walks, and putting signage on the course notifying people about the habitats and ecosystems. BENEFITS: Broken Sound has developed a strong sustainability bond and culture within the club and the surrounding community. Features on sustainability actions appear regularly in the local press and in local/national magazines. The club will give presentations in schools to talk about their operation. Costa Rica Country Club. ACTIONS: The club take pride in their sustainability work and show a responsibility in leading and helping the local community. The club aim to employ as many local people as possible. A clear example is that over 80% of the staff are from the area and they are providing local development and welfare to the communities. The Club supports Casa Siembra, a NPO assisting children with family problems. The club tries to ecologically educate people through a waste management plan that is operating at the club. BENEFITS: Improves relations at the club and the standing/reputation of the club and its activities. The staff at the club become their own bonded and connected community.

This can mean protection against legislation, and protecting employees safety, etc.

Fly the flag for sustainable golf Promote your clubs leadership - locally, nationally, and internationally and looking at the bigger picture, what you do in your club [in your management group, in your owners association,etc.] collectively - can make a big difference. Question I’ll put to you – why not? Given all we have discussed. Why not? and if you don’t have any good reasons, then what’s stopping you from using this Free programme that can help you save money, be efficient, build up reputation and distinction, etc.

And  it’s  worth  men?oning  that  as  a  not-­‐for-­‐profit  organiza?on,  everything  GEO  develops  and  provide  for  golf  is  funded  by  a  growing  number  of  golf  organisa?ons  and  sponsors  -­‐  who  see  their  contribu?on  as  one  way  to  invest  in  golf’s  con?nued  success  and  growth.        Only  a  sample  of  them  shown  on  this  screen.    

Some of the key partnerships across europe - governing bodies and tours… all the practitioner groups … these are groups that recommend the oncourse programme and GEO Certified ecolabel, and have been supporting the work financially too – so that it’s free for you to use. and a new partnership that will have lot of value in terms of promotion for you – IAGTO.