2015 IAGTO Sustainability Awards laud environmental excellence and social responsibility in the golf tourism industry
Golf courses in Scotland, Dubai, Puerto Rico and Portugal have been honoured in the second IAGTO Sustainability Awards, which reward excellence in the fields of environmental and social responsibility in the global golf tourism industry.
The awards were presented at a gala dinner marking the 15th annual IAGTO Awards in front of 1,500 industry professionals at Villa Erba, on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, on the final night of the International Golf Travel Market.
Launched as a result of a strategic partnership between the world’s golf tourism trade organisation, IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators), and GEO (Golf Environment Organization), the Sustainability Awards have proved to be a huge catalyst in encouraging golf courses to register their environmental projects and the work that they are doing with local communities. This year’s awards have seen a huge leap in entries, with more than twice as many courses entering and embracing GEO’s sustainability programmes compared with the inaugural honours, presented last year in Costa Daurada, Spain.
As last year, the 2015 Sustainability Awards recognise four golf courses for their achievements in sustainability. There are three category winners and one overall winner:
Overall Winner of the Environmental Sustainability Award – Dundonald Links, Scotland
GEO Certified Dundonald Links has won the overall award due to exceptional management standards within golf’s sustainability issues – nature, water, energy, supply chain, pollution control and community. The club has demonstrated a deep, integrated commitment throughout all aspects of sustainability since opening in 2003 and is now recognised among the most progressive clubs in the world with its dedication to environmental and community initiatives.
Zero Waste, numerous and specific biodiversity projects, habitat improvements, “outdoor classrooms” for local schools, campaigns and partnerships with a large variety of local and national organisations, public nature trails with education boards, are among the many activities embedded in the culture of Dundonald Links.
Runners up for overall winner award were Machrihanish Dunes (Scotland), La Galiana (Spain) and Golf della Montecchia (Italy).
Nature Conservation – Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club, Puerto Rico
Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club has won the Nature award for outstanding management of landscape, habitats and biodiversity. The course, sharing coastal ecosystems, mangrove wetlands and native forests, provides a vital connection for wildlife and helps to increase the areas natural value.
With national nature reserves surrounding the golf course, Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club works alongside many organisations and stakeholders to manage its 483 acres in the most environmentally sensitive way possible. The resort undertakes dozens of ecological activities and projects for individual local species with admirable dedication and evolving knowledge.
Runners up in the Nature Conservation category were Turnberry (Scotland), Lumine (Spain) and PGA Catalunya (Spain).
Efficient Use of Resources – Emirates Golf Club, United Arab Emirates
Emirates Golf Club wins the Efficient Use of Resources award for a highly significant approach to irrigation water technology in a region where pressure on the vital resource is enormous.
The host of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic reduced its irrigation consumption by 34% after changing their water supply to treated sewage effluent – 100% recycled water that would otherwise maintain a high environmental cost to dispose of. To help this succeed the turf grass was also transitioned to a variety far better adapted to lower quality water. Further investment in state-of-the-art irrigation equipment and a reduction in grassed areas allows the most accurate irrigation possible, resulting in significant savings.
Runners up in category for Efficient Use of Resources were Turnberry (Scotland), Gleneagles (Scotland) and Mission Hills Haikou (China).
Community Engagement – Vidago Palace Golf Course, Portugal
GEO Certified Vidago Palace in Portugal wins the Community Engagement award thanks to an underlying philosophy of providing opportunities and building relationships to benefit local people and businesses in their shared community.
The resort strongly recognises that its success has a dependency on quality environments, cultural uniqueness, social interaction, security and well-being, to maintain its status as a valuable community asset. This is clear in the number of educational, community relations, outreach and environmental advocacy activities happening throughout.
Runners up for Community Engagement were Nirwana Bali Golf Club at Pan Pacific (Indonesia), Machrihanish Dunes (Scotland) and Costa Navarino (Greece).
IAGTO & GEO Comments
IAGTO’s Chief Executive, Peter Walton, said: “As a Zoology graduate and one time professional ecologist, I have a strong personal interest in seeing the great achievements that are member golf courses have made and are striving for in terms of environmental sustainability. It is particularly notable, in only the second year, that the short-listed courses are from a wide spread of 19 countries including Indonesia, China, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia in Asia as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in the Caribbean/Latin America, South Africa, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Egypt in the Middle East/Africa as well as from Europe and North American countries.”
Walton continued: “While sustainability most frequently centres around water and ecological conservation, the social responsibility aspect is incredibly important, where the business of golf travel can provide employment, training, skills, education as well as leisure and sporting opportunities within the local community. The value of this can be exponential when courses are located in rural areas, unaffected perhaps by mainstream tourism.”
Jonathan Smith, GEO Chief Executive, said: “All of the entrants should be congratulated for their voluntary commitments and actions towards enhancing nature, using resources efficiently and supporting local communities. Throughout the applications we have seen many fantastic, practical projects that demonstrate how golf facilities, as socially responsible businesses, can proactively embrace sustainability - to do well and do good.
“Alongside IAGTO, we are delighted to help recognize the contributions of the all entrants - winners, runner-up and short-listed. We hope their leadership will inspire even greater action across even more IAGTO members, and the wider golf industry, to deliver even more tangible outcomes on the ground around the world.”
Richard Allison, GEO Certified® Project Manager added: “The number and calibre of entries this year meant that competition was even greater. However, with evaluation from the GEO team, and with input from our expert independent auditors we were able to identify this year’s winners, runners-up and shortlists. We look forward to welcoming many more IAGTO clubs and resorts into OnCourse® and helping them promote their continual actions and achievements with pride, using golf’s international mark of sustainability, GEO Certified®.”
Winners’ Comments
Overall category – Sustainable Golf Course of the Year: Dundonald Links
Guy Redford, Director of Golf, Dundonald Links
“Dundonald Links is honoured to be recognised as an ambassador for sustainable golf at the prestigious IAGTO Awards ceremony. Sustainable practice is woven into the very fabric of our club and has been embraced not only by our team but by golfers and suppliers alike. These sound environmental practices have also resulted in a more efficient and commercially viable operation. As good custodians of land, we believe that our Links offers a beautiful setting where golf and nature coexist in harmony providing a true test of golf that can be enjoyed by all.”
Community Integration category: Vidago Palace Golf Course
Alexandre Barroso, Golf Director, Vidago Palace Hotel
“It is a truly an honour to receive this award. Vidago Palace is part of UNICER, a beverage company, which decided to refurbish this icon of Portugal to preserve its magnificent heritage. At the same time, Vidago Palace has helped drive the development of tourism to the north east of Portugal. I want to thank all my team who have been involved during the GEO certification process for the great job they have done. I would also like to thank IAGTO for work it has done in getting all the golf industry together and to GEO for helping all of us to have the best guidelines for maintaining our golf courses using the best practices for the environment.”
Efficient Use of Resources category: Emirates Golf Club
Christopher May, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Golf
“We are delighted to receive this important award from IAGTO, recognising the commitment that we have made to preserve our environment and natural resources. At Emirates Golf Club we have invested in a state-of-the-art irrigation system, which alongside other key initiatives has resulted in significant benefits to the environment, including a reduction in irrigation consumption by 34%. This investment has been made in accordance with our wider environmental strategy focused on providing measurable benefits to the environment, our members and our visitors and ensures that Emirates Golf Club maintains its status as the premier golf club in the region.”
Nature category: Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club
Martin Smith, Managing Director, Bahía Beach Resort & Golf Club
“We are very proud to receive this award as it validates the efforts of conservation that for years have characterized Bahia Beach. This award would not have been possible without the commitment of the property’s owners BBP Partners LLC, the Natural Resources team, the Golf Course team, Audubon International and the Members of the club. ‘Masterfully Planned and Naturally Perfect’ is not just a tag line, it is a way of life for all of us at Bahia Beach. We are committed to the environmental sustainability of Puerto Rico, while providing the highest standards of service to our residents, members and guests. That such a renowned international organization recognizes our efforts motivates us to continue along the path of conservation and education that defines Alma De Bahia (the Soul of Bahia).”
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INFORMATION FOR THE EDITOR
Established in 1997, IAGTO is the global trade organisation of the golf tourism industry, and has over 2200 members in 98 countries including more than 550 golf tour operator members in 62 countries, which control more than 85% of golf holiday packages sold worldwide and which collectively have annual sales of over €1.5 billion. IAGTO runs annual Asia and North America Golf Tourism Conventions, along with regular Destination Conventions. IAGTO established the International Golf Travel Market, now owned and operated by Reed Travel Exhibitions, in 1997 and the International Golf Travel Writers Association in 2000. IAGTO also runs the prestigious annual IAGTO Awards and the IAGTO Excellence Awards.
ABOUT GEO
GEO (Golf Environment Organization) is an international non-profit organization, entirely dedicated to the advancement of sustainability in and through golf. For more information, go to www.golfenvironment.org and contact info@golfenvironment.org
PHOTOS & LOGOS: Photos and logos can be downloaded from: www.iagto.com/awards
For Further Information, contact:
IAGTO General Manager, Carlton Carugati: ccarugati@iagto.com, www.iagto.com
