St Andrews Links has become the first Open Championship venue to achieve the prestigious Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) Certified™ ecolabel which recognises its commitment to sustainability.
St Andrews Links Trust, which manages the seven courses at the Home of Golf including the Old Course and The Castle Course, has operated a sustainability programme for many years and this approach was described by Mike Wood, the accredited verifier, as being “close to defining an ideal model for sustainable management.”
A special plaque was presented to Euan Loudon, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, by Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive of the Golf Environment Organisation, with George O’Grady, the Chief Executive of The European Tour, and Peter Dawson, the Chief Executive of The R&A, in attendance.
The Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) is an international non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation working to enhance the economic, social and environmental benefits of golf. The certification process aims to become the hallmark for sustainable golf course management around the world.
In the verification report the assessor praised the Trust’s commitment to social responsibility and community engagement as well as the eco-friendly manner in which the clubhouses, retail outlets and other facilities are operated. The report said that not only was the Trust nurturing a 600 year heritage as the birthplace of the game, it was a “standard bearer for 21st Century good practice in golf management.”
A number of sustainability measures at the Links were highlighted by the assessors including:
• The high quality of the golf courses’ playing surfaces which are maintained with minimal fertiliser, chemical and irrigation inputs.
• The restoration of the distinctive dune landscape between the New and Jubilee courses, recreating a natural habitat area.
• Managing the courses in such a way as to contribute to the management of the neighbouring SSSI at the Eden Estuary.
• The comprehensive range of energy efficiency measures in operation in the clubhouses and facilities.
• The re-use of organic materials and other recycling activities.
• Working in close partnership and co-operation with the local community.
• The transformation of intensively managed mixed farmland, into a new golf course (The Castle Course) with an extensive matrix of grassland habitats.
Euan Loudon said, “We take our duty to manage St Andrews Links sustainably as a golfing resource for future generations extremely seriously. Over the years we have won awards for the sustainability measures we have implemented and developed but this is certainly the most rigorous certification process we have gone through. We are delighted to achieve the GEO Certified™ ecolabel and we are focused on continuing to introduce new sustainable methods and practices across the breadth of operations at the Links in the years ahead.”
George O’Grady said, “We congratulate St Andrews Links Trust on their achievement. This is the kind of leadership that The European Tour are advocating to all our venues as part of our own commitment to sustainability in golf, which was further demonstrated by last year’s pioneering Ryder Cup Green Drive. As founding partners of GEO, we are delighted to see their customised industry ecolabel gaining this kind of momentum. We strongly encourage other organisations and venues to play a part in driving the green in and through golf, to which The Links Trust are making such a significant contribution.”
A stakeholder-funded, not-for-profit organisation, GEO has been dedicated to helping the golf community establish leadership in social and environmental responsibility since 2006. In the space of two years, golf clubs in 34 countries have signed up and are working to achieve the GEO Certified™ ecolabel. St Andrews Links becomes the 50th golf facility to achieve the award.
Jonathan Smith said, “For centuries the Home of Golf has been synonymous with low input, community integrated and ecologically rich golf. This stewardship of the historic Links of St Andrews, and more recently The Castle Course, has occurred through good decision-making that blends financial, golfing and common good interests relating to local people and the environment. We are delighted that our OnCourse™ programme has helped the staff of such an iconic golfing destination to broaden and deepen their actions enabling them to combine traditional values with a clear appreciation of modern day corporate and environmental responsibility.”
Dr Christian Deuringer, Head of Global Brand Management, Allianz SE, said, “We congratulate St Andrews Links Trust on having achieved the GEO Certified™ ecolabel. As a leading global Insurance and Asset Management company, sustainability is part of the Allianz DNA and we have therefore decided together with the Trust, that a significant part of our partnership contribution goes to maintaining the courses and preserving the historic coastline. We are therefore especially pleased that St Andrews Links Trust’s superior efforts are rewarded and highlighted as examples for other venues around the world.”
Working closely with local advisors, consultants and the Scottish Golf Environment Group, the Links Trust has received widespread recognition for its environmental work in recent years. In 2003, it won the Scottish final of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association’s environmental competition. The following year it received the Scottish Golf Environment Group’s Environmental Excellence Award. In 2009, the Trust received the Golf Course Environment Award from the Sports Turf Research Institute for protecting the ecology of the Links landscape. The Castle Course Clubhouse was also recognised by St Andrews Preservation Trust for its outstanding design which complements the clifftop landscape.
Notes to editors
The full details of the Links Trust certifications can be found here:
http://www.golfenvironment.org/clubs/standrewslinks
http://www.golfenvironment.org/clubs/thecastlecourse
St Andrews Links
St Andrews Links Trust is a charitable organisation (Scottish charity number SC 006161) responsible for the management and maintenance of the Links courses at St Andrews, including the famous Old Course, host of the 2010 Open Championship. The Trust was established in 1974. It employs more than 300 permanent staff and seasonal workers during the high season.
Around 200,000 rounds are played over six public courses, which feature two additional championship courses (the New and the Jubilee), two 18-hole courses (the Eden and the Strathtyrum) and a nine-hole course (the Balgove).
A seventh course, The Castle Course, opened for play in 2008 on a site to the south-east of St Andrews and has already won several international awards including being named by Travel & Leisure Golf magazine in America as the New Course of the Year and International Development of the Year by Golf Inc magazine in America. The course was also included in the prestigious Golf Digest Top 100 Courses in its first year.
The Trust manages a number of additional facilities including three clubhouses, a golf academy and five shops. It recently reopened The Tom Morris Shop, the oldest golf shop in the world. Artefacts belonging to the four-time Open champion such as his locker, fireplace and workbench are on display in the shop which sits opposite the 18th green of the Old Course.
For more information visit www.standrews.org.uk.
About GEO
GEO is a stakeholder-funded, not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to helping the global golf community establish leadership in environmental enhancement and corporate responsibility. GEO Certified™ is the world’s most constructive and comprehensive ecolabel for golf course and club management.
GEO works with golf, government and environmental organizations worldwide, including The European Tour, UNEP, The R&A, EGA, EGCOA, BIGGA, FEGGA, PGA of Europe, EIGCA, the Club Managers Association of America, Europe and China and numerous golf Federations. For more info see www.golfenvironment.org
Contact:
Mike Woodcock
Public Relations Manager
St Andrews Links Trust
+44 (0)1334 466610
+44 (0)7919 946064
E-mail mike.woodcock@standrews.org.uk
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