Being committed to a more sustainable future is one of the key pillars of the 2023 AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath.
Highlighting the sustainable and environmental work that tournaments and venues do is part of the LET’s initiative Celebrating the Green, Presented by Dow and in partnership with the GEO Foundation.
The initiative aims to recognise and celebrate the sustainability activity – environmental, human, social and economic – stemming from players, partners, tournaments and venues.
Through the R&A’s Greenlinks Programme for Sustainable Championships, the AIG Women’s Open is embracing innovation and meaningful action across the tournament week.
Some of the actions that have been happening across the week include:
- Fully powered by renewable electricity through battery storage and sustainable sourced biofuel.
- Sustainably sourced catering with local produce championed and lower carbon options available.
- Mercedes’s EQ electric cars within the courtesy fleet emitting zero local emissions and promoting public transport with free shuttle services for spectators.
- Enabling reuse of materials and upcycling banners into backpacks for next year’s volunteers.
- The Women’s Open Water Initiative with Mastercard and The Priceless Planet Coalition, avoiding the use of 400,000 plastic bottles at The Open and AIGWO since 2019.
- Protecting nature and wildlife by working with expert ecologists on site design and the R&A’s Sustainable Championship Agronomy team on course set up.
- At the Championship people have been using your refillable water bottles, the recycling bins provided and respect the wildlife around the course.
While there were also two activations running throughout the week at the AIG Women’s Open, the first being Daily Nature Trails with the RSPB.
From Wednesday to Sunday, there were nature walks running with The RSPB to explore how golf and nature work together and discover the incredible wildlife that call Walton Heath home.
On Saturday in the Festival Village, there was a Golf & Nature: Thriving Together talk on the Sessions Stage which was hosted David Garrido from Sky Sports News and discussed global biodiversity decline and how golf courses could play a key role in conservation efforts.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #AIGWO.
