Tomorrow will kick off The 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The Organizers are expecting to have over half a million spectators. We could think for a while that this is going to be another Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open is conducting an official pilot of the new sustainability standard for golf tournaments. Waste Management will put the standard to test at golf’s highest attended professional tournament.
Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive of GEO (Golf Environment Organization) the non-profit coordinating development of the standard said“The pilot comes at the end of a lengthy process, which has brought together international collaboration across tournament directors, academics, sustainability and event experts.
We are delighted to now be close to completing a consistent and highly credible trio of sustainability standards for golf – spanning facility management, developments and now tournaments – each with a bespoke approach to third-party verification and certification.”
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the first PGA TOUR tournament and the largest sporting event in the world to achieve Inspire status.
I hope the success of The 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open will motivate other tournaments to recognize the dynamic relationship between golf/sport and the environment. So let’s say you could go to the tournament by public transportation instead of your own car or bring your own water bottle etc.
I heard that TPC Scottsdale is not just separating bottles and cans from paper wastes, but also deal with machines that use oil, cutting blades and chemicals.
Of course, nobody is expecting of any golf club and event to become eco-friendly and achieve sustainable business in a single step. However, it is important to set goals and dates for your improvement.
Here are some other interesting golf events where sustainability in golf was in focus: