DP World Tour: 'We have a long way to go - I don’t think that sustainability is ever done'

Europe's lead golf circuit has become increasing committed to a "sustainability first" approach to events, with last month's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai an appreciable example of that strategy

The Earth Lounge at the Earth Course and all temporary structures’ wooden walls were constructed with sustainably produced palm strand board and fully insulated to reduce the amount of energy used for air conditioning cooling. Photo: DP World Tour Championship

The recently concluded DP World Tour Championship, the 15th anniversary of the DP World Tour’s season-ending event, was considered the “greenest edition to date”. The tournament at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai continued the European Tour group’s commitment to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, as it focuses on implementing sustainable innovations at its events.

Maria Grandinetti-Milton, head of sustainability at the DP World Tour Championships, spoke to The National about the organisation’s sustainability efforts, the challenges that come with that, and how it plans to be a key driver of sustainability in sport going forward.

What made this year’s DP World Tour Championship the most sustainable yet?

This year’s DP World Tour Championship featured a range of sustainable initiatives; the main addition this year being the Earth Lounge on the 16th hole, which was fully powered by solar panels and hydrogen generators for the first time developed by our supplier Flow, producing zero carbon emissions. In addition, the Earth Lounge and all temporary structures’ wooden walls were constructed with sustainably produced palm strand board and fully insulated to reduce the amount of energy used for air-conditioning cooling.

Our volunteers trialled recyclable t-shirts this year for the first time; these will be used going forwards at other events in the region in an effort to cut down on uniform and clothing created for the event.

We also had free water walls installed again – these have dispensed more than 60,000 litres of water to date, resulting in a saving of over 120,000 500ml plastic bottles. These walls have also been extended to other tournaments we have in the UAE, an example of how our bigger events can lead the way to drive sustainability across other tournaments.

Averda, the official waste management company, also helped us to recycle 75 per cent of all event waste, a significant amount given historical challenges in this space in the region.

Finally, we also had electric buggies and introduced a smart-buggy management tool, with electric vehicles playing a pivotal role in this year’s BMW shuttle fleet.

We appreciate that there will always be some unavoidable emissions, and we continued to introduce a policy of offsetting these by supporting global restoration projects. At this year’s event, we supported Hifadhi cookstoves in Kenya, along with ADES solar stoves and a safe-water programme in Mozambique.

Can you tell us a bit about the DP World Tour’s sustainability work – initiatives, results thus far, targets, overall goal?

The DP World Tour, as part of the European Tour group, signed up to the United Nations Sport for Climate Action framework in 2022 as part of a renewed and updated sustainability strategy. Alongside other signatories, we aim to reduce our carbon emissions by 50 per cent for 2030 and to reach Net Zero for 2040.

As a Tour, operating in 20+ countries globally each year, our environmental efforts and results are extremely varied tournament by tournament. There are considerable variables that need to be factored into putting on an event in different markets, and we are continually learning and trying to stay on the front foot of innovations and policies that will help us on our journey.

We are now in the second year of calculating emissions across 10 of our bigger events across our tours, and we are looking forward to getting the results in over the coming weeks from the last year to see what initiatives have moved the needle this year.

For example, it has been an exciting year for energy as we trialled the use of hydrogen generators at two of our major events: our broadcast at the BMW PGA at Wentworth was entirely powered by hydrogen - a first for a sporting event – and, as said, at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai where one of our lounges was powered by a mix of hydrogen and solar.

How important is sustainability to the DP World Tour?

We have been operating with a “sustainability first” mentality at the tour, ensuring it is embedded into our thinking and planning and that an environmentally friendly angle is considered where possible.

The most sustainable approach is not always operationally achievable or financially viable, but where possible we have made inroads into changing the way we deliver our events to be more sustainable.

We also have Green Drive ambassadors at the tour across different departments who help drive changes within their departments. It really is a collective a team effort for us.

Can you provide some insight into working within the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, and specific work around Cop28.

The United Nations Sports for Climate Action framework is designed to align the sports industry to working towards becoming more environmentally sustainable and reaching net zero for 2040. It recognises the challenges faced by sports, and acknowledges the power of sport and the platform we have to be able to affect change and communicate with sports fans.

The collaboration between sports industries to discuss challenges and share solutions is one of its unique strengths – and something I think all signatories value. There are regular meetings to share examples of best practice; this sharing and collaboration really unites us and helps us all move in the right direction.

What are some of the challenges involved with DP World Tour’s sustainability work, and how do you overcome those?

Our tours not only move to different venues each year in some markets, but also to different countries. This movement can lead to operational and resource complexities as the schedule moves and adapts to meet broader requirements and may lead to challenges from a sustainability front; solutions that are viable in one country may not be available in another.

The positive angle to this is that new opportunities arise, and we can help influence suppliers in different markets to meet new criteria and innovate, based on learnings in other markets. The golf industry is also fortunate to have the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf – a not-for-profit who are focused on supporting golf become more sustainable across all facets – who we work with closely on developing best practices and understanding new developments so that we can stay informed and consider more sustainable options.

What work still needs to be done in achieving your objectives?

We have a long way to go - I don’t think that sustainability is ever done. Our model is quite unique, and we have taken time to understand the challenges we face as a business and to get our house in order.

We are now in a position where we are actively discussing sustainability with our stakeholders - partners, fans, suppliers, promotors - and moving to the next phase where we bring them all on our journey more actively.

To make a difference at any level, there needs to be buy-in. We will be that much stronger together.