October is the inaugural Green Sports Month which is being by supported by EcoAthletes and is rallying sports fans to take positive climate action.
Germany’s Celina Sattelkau is one of the four Ladies European Tour (LET) players, who is an EcoAthlete and championing sustainability in sports.
Ahead of Green Sports Month, the LET spoke to Mackova about all about her goals with sustainability.
Why is sustainability important to you?
As a professional golfer, I get to spend so much of my life outdoors, and our sport is incredibly connected to nature. That makes sustainability feel very tangible to me. At the same time, being a professional athlete means travelling around the world, so there is an obvious tension there. For me, sustainability isn’t about being perfect. It’s about taking responsibility for my impact, making better choices where I can and using my platform to encourage positive change within sport.
What will you be doing during Green Sports Month?
I’ll be travelling through Asia for tournaments throughout October, so I want to bring Green Sports Month with me on Tour. I’ll be wearing green on Thursdays to raise awareness and encouraging friends and fellow players to join me. I also want to spark conversations around sustainability on Tour and use my platform to share the message with fans and followers. Whenever travelling and my tournament schedule allow, I’ll also take part in Plogtober by getting outside, staying active and picking up trash along the way.
How can athletes/fans get involved?
There are so many ways to get involved, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Join Plogtober, rethink your travel options when possible, or be more conscious about food choices and plastic consumption. For my fellow players on Tour, come and speak to me or any of the other Sustainable Champions about ideas and ways to get involved. Most importantly, start somewhere. Small individual actions matter, and when more of us get involved, they can become part of something much bigger.
What is your goal with sustainability?
Ultimately, I want my impact to become net positive. Professional golf gives me incredible opportunities, but it also comes with an environmental footprint, particularly through travel. My goal is to keep reducing that footprint while using my voice and platform to create positive change. There is a lot I can do individually, but it’s just as important to be part of a bigger wave of change and collective action.
How do you champion sustainability while playing on the LET?
I try to combine my own actions with using my voice on Tour. I offset my carbon emissions through a renewable energy project, rethink how I travel when possible and make conscious choices around food and consumption. As an LET Sustainable Champion, I also try to start conversations with fellow players, share ideas and act as a bridge between players and the wider sustainability initiatives within golf. For me, it’s about leading through my own actions while encouraging others to get involved too.
