2009 Australian PGA Championship Reduces Carbon footprint and goes Carbon Neutral

POSTED ON March 5, 2010 @ 10:00 am

Continuing its tradition of leading by example, the PGA of Australia announced that the 2009 Australian PGA Championship was for a second year running a totally CARBON NEUTRAL event and achieving a significant carbon footprint reduction the move underlines the PGA’s commitment to pursuing sustainable methods of operations.

The PGA already knows of the great environmental benefits golf courses have in their local communities in terms of reducing carbon emissions and now for a second year the event has achieved a carbon footprint reduction and offset its footprint in conjunction with it’s environmental partner – Shift2Neutral.

For a second year Australia’s oldest professional golf championship has taken a significant step to showcase its environmental standing.

“We already have our head office on a facility supported entirely by recycled water and we will be continuing this process of introducing standards of recycling, minimising carbon emissions and doing all we can to promote the adoption of environmental best practices to the wider golf community,” said Max Garske, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of Australia.

“Shift2Neutral has shown great foresight in the environmental area with golf courses in Asia and we look forward to working with them to continually improve our actions and encourage other events, golf facilities and the entire Australian golf industry to adopt best practice in this area.”

The PGA of Australia formed an arrangement which sees Shift2Netural as exclusive Environmental partner for the event. Shift2Neutral will provide independently verifiable analysis of the championship’s carbon footprint by undertaking the review of all aspects of the Australian PGA Championship to determine the exact environmental impact and providing direct sponsorship of Certified Carbon Credits to offset the championship’s emissions.

“For a second year running we are showcasing a major golf championship with environmental credentials and Shift2Neutral have shown great foresight in the environmental area and we look forward to working with them to continually improve our actions and encourage other events, golf facilities and the entire Australian golf industry to adopt best practice in this area,” continued Garske.

“This announcement is a significant step forward for environmental governance across the golfing world and we are very proud of partnering with the PGA of Australia to identify and manage the carbon footprint of such a major golfing event. It is an honour to be involved with the PGA and it’s supporters and we believe this is an important step in highlighting the true value of the work the PGA are providing environmentally and the importance they play both in the industry and globally,” advised Mr Brett Goldsworthy Chairman of Shift2Neutral.

The 2009 Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola was played at the Hyatt Regency Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast between 10th – 13th December 2009

For Further Details Contact

Brett Goldsworthy
Chairman, Shift2Neutral Pty Ltd
(M) + 61 (0) 402 306 776
(http://www.shift2neutral.com

This story appeared in the February issue of Golf Industry Central magazine. To read this and all other articles click GOLF INDUSTRY CENTRAL.