The $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is being played at Yas Links Abu Dhabi this week, and the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic next week at the Majlis course of Emirates Golf Club will both be carbon neutral.
This was announced by the DP World Tour, which added that all five of its Rolex Series tournaments (the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November being one of them) in 2023 will be carbon neutral and will adopt a consistent and highly credible approach to carbon reduction and climate mitigation.
Apart from the three UAE events, the other two Rolex Series tournaments are the Genesis Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship.
DP World Tour schedule to be carbon neutral
With the United Arab Emirates being a key partner for the DP World Tour, the commitment was made at the start of a historic year in the country, which will host COP28 from 30 November to 12 December.
Comprehensive emissions reduction plans are being implemented at each tournament, spanning venue operations and all key aspects of staging and resource consumption, including energy, transportation, materials, catering and infrastructure. Action plans are informed by the carbon emissions baselines produced for the events in 2022.
The DP World Tour will also take responsibility for all unavoidable core and advanced emissions from all Rolex Series tournaments by contributing to Gold Standard-certified projects that support global efforts to limit global warming and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This will be complemented with investments in local ecosystem restoration and other low-carbon, nature-based legacies with regional partners.
The carbon credits and investments are aligned and measured with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to ensure additional social and ecological benefits.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour Group, commented on the decision: “Last year we set out our stall with the launch of the European Tour Group’s updated sustainability strategy, while also becoming a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.
“Our focus now turns to credible, scaled and consistent implementation and it is fantastic to see the Rolex Series, the events that showcase the very best of the DP World Tour, leading the way. There is a lot more that we need to do to minimise direct impacts, but we are determined to build this out robustly and incrementally with our partners as we continue our pathway to net zero by 2040.”
Margaret Kim, CEO of Gold Standard, added: “I am pleased to see the sustainability efforts being implemented across the five Rolex Series tournaments. Golf has a strong bond with nature and the DP World Tour is aiding in the battle against the climate crisis and making sure that their support benefits communities most affected by climate change.”
The global projects being supported across the Rolex Series are based in Africa – ensuring they deliver on global climate justice principles, and direct financing to landscapes and communities most heavily impacted by climate change and ecosystem degradation.
These include the Hifadhi cookstoves in Kenya, which will save more than 1 million tons of CO2 over 10 years while improving the livelihoods of local communities; ADES solar stoves in Madagascar, which supplies cookers that save up to 50 percent in charcoal or firewood consumption, and Central Mozambique safe water programme, which provides safe drinking water sources to hundreds of households in rural areas of Mozambique, reducing the risk of water-borne illnesses and the need to boil water for purification, which prevents air pollution and saves thousands of tonnes of firewood per year and reduces CO2 emissions.
In the UAE, the DP World Tour will support the mangrove restoration project in the Al Dhafra Region.
This announcement builds on progress made in 2022 to reduce the carbon footprint of these events. Key initiatives included switching to biofuels for on-site power generation which reduced emissions by up to 94 percent compared to diesel alternatives, the roll-out of zero waste to landfill recycling processes, and the introduction of free water refill stations to reduce single use plastic consumption.
In 2023, the Tour make a greater use of electric vehicles on site; greater proportion of public transport; greater use of solar power; more vegan and vegetarian food stalls; enhanced recycling of infrastructure and spectator materials, and increased water efficiency.
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