SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability Leads the way at the TOUR Championship

The TOUR Championship is on a path to deliver a more sustainable event at East Lake Golf Club each year. Through the support of the tournament’s Proud Partners – Accenture, Coca-Cola and Southern Company – multiple sustainability initiatives are being brought to life on the tournament grounds to reduce environmental impacts and secure a better tomorrow for our community and climate.

From tracking and managing our environmental impact to utilizing renewable energy solutions and properly managing waste, the TOUR Championship and its Proud Partners are committed to doing their part to ensure there is a more sustainable solution to every facet of the tournament’s operation through the final putt on Sunday evening and beyond.

2023 Achievements

  • GEO Certification: Achieved the tournament’s first third party sustainability certification by adhering to GEO’s sustainability criteria for tournaments.
  • 100% Renewable Energy Credits: Avoid emissions from electricity usage by allocating Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to cover 100% of tournament week electricity usage.
  • Renewable Natural Gas and Diesel: Used renewable natural gas to power East Lake Golf Club’s appliances and R99 renewable diesel to replace a portion of traditional diesel usage across golf course operations.
  • Electrification and Alternative Energy Pilots: Transitioned to electric golf carts for 90% of the total fleet, piloted two battery-powered generators, and supplied solar-powered cell phone charging stations for fan use.
  • Recycling Sorting and Promotion: Increased waste diversion from 18% in 2022 to 32% in 2023 through increased vendor training, recycling signage and bin placement around the course, and increased staff to sort at two on-site locations.
  • Composting: Diverted 25,559 pounds of food waste through back-of-house collection, tripling the effort from 2022.
  • Food Donations: Donated 8,100 pounds of food to Atlanta non-profits, contributing to the total waste diverted from landfill.
  • Water Refill Stations: Provided eight temporary water refill stations on course in addition to the existing permanent stations to reduce the reliance on single use water bottles. Fans were also encouraged to bring reusable bottles.
  • Scrim Repurposing: Collected 8,800 pounds of scrim during tear down and sent it to a local advanced plastics repurposing center, reducing the volume of hard-to-recycle construction waste.
  • Paper Minimization: Produced all tickets and pairing guides digitally to reduce paper usage and printing.
  • Partner Connect Sustainability Summit: Hosted a sustainability summit with PGA TOUR corporate partners and key industry personnel to launch the PGA TOUR’s sustainability mission statement and pillars.

2024 Priorities

  • Enhance communication around sustainability. Use the successes from 2022 and 2023 to identify the TOUR Championship as a leading example of a sustainable golf tournament through authentic messaging and education.
  • Commit to a public sustainability framework. Re-certify with GEO and consider committing to broader sustainability frameworks and certifications.
  • Reduce emissions from strategic areas. Review the emissions inventory and create goals for percentage reductions across categories with high emissions and real reduction opportunities, such as business travel and purchased goods and services.
  • Prioritize waste diversion. Set a 45% waste diversion rate for tournament week and a 20% diversion rate for total TOUR Championship operation through a robust waste management program.
  • Continue to increase Proud Partner’s sustainability contributions and expand to involve more partners. Leverage the TOUR Championship 2023’s sustainability successes to influence investment and support for additional innovative actions.
  • Fund local environmental and restoration projects. Identify local opportunities to promote nature, biodiversity, and ecosystems through non-profits and projects.
  • Initiate a baseline review of East Lake Golf Club’s nature and biodiversity inventory. Use the course renovation as a springboard to promote nature and showcase the protection and habitat creation opportunities year-over-year.