As we all increasingly witness the dangers of accelerating climate change, golf has a role and responsibility to do all it can to minimize direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions; to help sequester as much carbon as possible; and to inspire awareness and action amongst hundreds of millions of people in hundreds of countries. This action is vital to society as a whole, and directly related to the future viability and playability of the sport itself.
There are a number of specific actions golf can take to reduce climate impacts, which also cut across all of the other aspects of golf’s sustainability agenda as outlined below.
Emissions reduction
Minimize resource consumption – energy; water and materials; use clean, renewable energy; use naturally treated and recycled sources of water; use products and materials with recycled content; avoid single-use materials and waste to landfill; shorten your supply chains and amount of transportation; change menus to include more local, seasonal, plant-based ingredients.
Carbon storage
Maximize the ecosystem function of golf courses through naturalisation – allowing more natural vegetation to grow; plant more native trees and shrubs; carefully manage turfgrass to maximize biological activity.
Credible mitigation
It is also important to engage in wider action to take responsibility for our as yet unavoidable carbon emissions. Supporting the most credible climate protection programmes helps accelerate global progress to Net Zero emissions and builds resilience for communities and ecosystems around the world.
