The AIG Women’s Open is committed to playing its part in a more sustainable future.
With Greenlinks, The R&A’s programme for sustainable championships, the AIG Women’s Open is on a journey to embrace low carbon technology, innovate for a circular economy, protect and promote nature and enhance social value across championship operations.
Highlights for the AIG Women’s Open in 2024 include:
- The championship is powered by biofuel in generators, temporary solar panels and battery storage solutions,
- TV production and broadcast is, for the first time, powered by Green Hydrogen this year, a highly efficient emerging energy source producing zero emissions.
- Electric vehicles within the player fleet are key to reducing the carbon impact of the championship
- St Andrews Links Trust (SALT)use electric and hybrid mowers, reducing carbon footprint and noise distribution to local wildlife
- Banners on grandstands are collected after the championship and will be upcycled into various items, including golf shoe bags, tote bags and pencil cases
- From grandstands and tents to signs and fencing. The majority of infrastructure is used again at other championships and next year, but some staging items, such as wood, nails, banners, are donated to the AIGWO’s Community Reuse Project. In previous years this has seen benches and planters made in a community garden after The 150th Open in St Andrews, a shed made from wood donated after The 151s Open in Royal Liverpool. The local charity, St Andrews Environmental Network, will support the distribution of valuable items to the local community after the 2024 AIG Women’s Open.
- Local and responsible sourcing of food is prioritised, with fairtrade coffee, sustainably certified fish, farm to fork traceability, red tractor assured meat, as well as vegan options across menus. Plans are also in place for the redistribution of excess food after the Championship to those with need in the local community.
- Free, mains fed filtered water refill stations are available at the Championship as part of the AIG Women’s Open Water Initiative in partnership with Mastercard and the Priceless Planet coalition, these are found around the Festival Village and course as well as on tees (1st, 3rd, 7th and near 9th) for Players. Players, caddies, media and volunteers are gifted their own refillable bottles and reusable bottles are available to buy on site. Since it began at The Open in 2019, over 500,000 plastic bottles have been removed at The Open and AIG Women’s Open by the use of refills, and 83,000 trees restored via donations to Conservation International from the sale of reusable bottles.
- Earlier this year St Andrews Links Trust also installed new permanent drinking water dispensers for golfers, visitors and staff aiming to eliminate single use bottles at The Home of Golf every day of the year.
In addition, Dr Marie Athorn, RSPB Business Conservation Advisor (Golf – R&A) representing The R&A and RSPB’s partnership to support golf that is good for nature, and Ranald Strachan, Lead West Sands Ranger at St Andrews Links Trust, are guiding on-site nature tours to engage with the public, demonstrating that golf tournaments and courses can be managed with nature in mind.
The tours begin each day from the village by the 10th tee, marked with the RSPB logo on all maps, starting at 10am, 12noon, 2pm and 4pm each day. .
“On our guided tours, we show lots of different habitats and how it is interlinked with the course design and management. We talk about why all these different habitats are important to the golf playing experience and to nature as well. It’s a great opportunity to engage spectators, golfers and non-golfers, on the potential for golf to support wildlife like here at St Andrews Links”, said Dr Athorn.
Strachan added: “The links here at St Andrews is a living landscape where our golf courses and natural habitat exist to support the long-term sustainability of the site for wildlife, fauna, the local community and visitors. These tours showcase not only the work that goes on this week to deliver a sustainable championship but what happens here on a day-to-day basis to allow golf and nature to thrive together.”
Libi Newell, Head of Corporate Sustainability at The R&A: “We are proud to have our Greenlinks programme for sustainable championships active at The AIG Women’s Open this week. From our hydrogen powered broadcast to working with local community groups to reuse materials, sustainability is an important consideration across the championship as we continue to play our part for a more sustainable future.
“We’re also delighted to have The RSPB and St Andrews Links Trust with us this week engaging fans on the incredible wildlife and how golf and nature can thrive together.”
The LET is committed to recognising and promoting great sustainable work being done by the LET community as part of the Tour’s initiative LET Celebrating the Green presented by Dow.
Discover more about The R&A’s commitment to sustainable golf here.
