02 Oct 2026
North Berwick, Scotland
This month marks the release of the golf industry’s 3rd Edition of the International Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) for Golf Development. It is the 3rd release in 15 years, and this latest edition signifies the most significant update to the expectations the industry has today around the sustainability outcomes that projects can seek to achieve. There is a renewed focus on good stewardship of our water environment and the social good that can be generated through golf developments.
The revision was led by an international expert working group - Dr Sara Beavis, Robert Donkers, Richard Holland, Tom Mackenzie (EIGCA), Ross Perrett (SAGCA), Martin Moore and Jason Straka (ASGCA) – and the consultation process facilitated by GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation (GEO) in alignment with the International Social and Environmental Accreditation Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance’s Code of Good Practice.
As an international voluntary standard, the criteria are intentionally framed at a level that provides clear direction while importantly allowing the opportunity for individual projects to respond best to their own site-specific conditions. The criteria set a consistent global standard for sustainable golf development rather than a prescriptive set of fixed outputs
The document also forms a key component of the Sustainable Golf Framework, which has driven sustainability across golf developments, facilities and tournaments for the past two decades. There are three thematic areas — Nature, Resources, and Community - together these address the range of environmental and social issues relevant to the golf development process.
Sam Thomas, Director of Golf Developments at GEO said: “It has been enjoyable to facilitate these conversations with the public, stakeholders and the international working group over the past 6-months to help publish these updated standards. We are excited to use these in the field over the coming years - and to keep helping golf developments round the world be at the front of sustainable led approaches and outcomes.”
Over 10 weeks of public consultation, GEO reached out to more than 120 architect firms, national federations, tours, course construction specialists, agronomists, architect associations, manufacturers and industry experts. That breadth of input is what makes the process genuinely collaborative — and what makes these standards the industry's own.
Tyler Annan, Project Manager for Golf Development and Major Renovations at GEO, said: “There's been a real focus from across the industry to bring this edition together. It's clear that thinking has shifted — sustainability is now built into how decisions are made, and people want to push that further. Day to day, we see the drive and creativity that individual projects have to meet these standards. That is what really drives sustainability to the next level.”
About ISEAL Alliance
ISEAL is the global membership association for credible sustainability standards. It sets out good practice for how standards are designed, run and assessed, so that systems like GEO Foundation, Fairtrade, FSC and Rainforest Alliance can show their claims stand up. Its Codes of Good Practice cover standard-setting, assurance and impact monitoring, and members have to demonstrate they meet them.
About GEO
The GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf supports sustainability through its programmes and certifications across 60 countries, from its base in North Berwick, Scotland. Founded over 20 years ago, GEO has pioneered the sport's sustainability movement ever since, offering strategies, solutions, and certification to help golf reduce its environmental footprint.
