Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
Relevant Business Topics: |
Golf |
Golf facilities, whatever the size, are facing increasing operating costs and can impact on the environment. But you can take practical steps to manage and improve your environmental performance, ensure legislative compliance and save money.
Good practice
Businesses in many other industry sectors manage and reduce their environmental impact by using an environmental management system (EMS). An EMS helps you to identify your impacts and then manage your activities, for example the energy or water you use or the waste you produce. This can help you to improve your environmental performance.
Leading golf sector organisations (link here to golf association’s page) all promote sustainability in golf and would encourage clubs to implement an EMS such as the OnCourse® step-by step online programme run by Golf Environment Organization. This programme enables the recording of environmental data along with previous environmental achievements and current environmental practices. Information is recorded across the following categories:
Nature – Biodiversity, turf and pollution prevention data and activities
Resources – Water, Energy and Waste Management
Community – Education, Communication and wider community activities
To register go to http://getoncourse.golf/
Accurate records should be kept for all turf products used on the golf course, water consumption, energy use, office, kitchen and pro shop products and waste production. Surveys and audits can be obtained for nature and biodiversity records. Netregs checklists can be used to ensure legislation compliance.
Having a good understanding of your environmental performance across all these aspects can then act as a baseline from which reduction and improvement targets can be set.
Having a Club Environmental Policy and having an Environmental Action Plan at your golf facility will ensure that and future planned projects and improvement targets are properly understood, documented and coordinated to ensure positive progress is achieved. In the long term, it will assist in resource and financial planning for activities and aid communication and continuity with staff and committee members.
Your golf facility can benefit from reporting on its environmental performance. For example reporting will:
To find out how you can measure and report on your business' environmental performance see:
Defra: Guidance on environmental reporting Global Reporting Initiative: Small, Smart and Sustainable
Encourage all your staff to work together to improve your environmental performance. The day-to-day actions of your staff can significantly reduce your environmental impact. Ask someone to volunteer at your golf facility as the environmental champion.
Engage with your club committee to gain their support for environmental policies.
Raise awareness among staff and members about your policies and update them regularly on your progress and what you've achieved.
You can use the NetRegs e-learning tools to get a good overview of key issues. These tools are free to use and cover the essential points of each topic. They might be useful as a refresher course, or to make sure that staff have a good understanding of their environmental responsibilities: e.g.
All are available at: NetRegs: e-learning tools:
Completion of the OnCourse® programme and undertaking independent verification can lead to the GEO Certified® ecolabel, an international mark of trust certifying your commitment and achievements to sustainability. Being GEO Certified® will help your club promote your sustainability achievements, bringing valuable business benefits and showcasing leadership.
Scottish Golf - Environment for best practice advice, assistance with recording, monitoring, action plans and support with GEO OnCourse®.
Golf Environment Organization for the OnCourse® programme and GEO Certified®.
Resource Efficient Scotland for Government funded one to one support on water, energy, materials and waste management.
RES: Supply Chain Management and Sustainable Procurement
Environmental management systems and environmental reports
You can use the Environmental management toolkit to help manage your environmental impacts.
Northern Ireland environmental management toolkit
Scotland environmental management toolkit
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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