European Tour group launches new Sustainability Awards in the Middle East

The European Tour group has launched a new Awards programme that will honour and showcase the various suppliers that have pioneered sustainable innovations and practices in their work supporting its golf tournaments.

Initially focusing on tournaments that have taken place in the Middle East region, the European Tour group Sustainability Awards have five individual categories: Venues; Event Staging; Event Operations; Innovations and Activations; and Catering.

The European Tour group is committed to being the most sustainable professional golf circuit in the world. As part of its Green Drive sustainability programme, the group has committed to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero carbon by 2040. That is no mean feat for an organisation that has over 100 tournaments in over 30 countries each season across the DP World Tour, Challenge Tour, Legends Tour and G4D Tour. The Tour’s suppliers are now required to meet sustainability focused procurement policies and codes, and are encouraged to deliver best in class sustainability solutions at events. These Awards will recognise best practice and the spirit of innovation that already exists.

To be eligible to enter, organisations must have been a supplier at one or more of the following tournaments in the 2023 – 2024 season:

•        Hero Dubai Desert Classic, DP World Tour

•        Dubai Invitational, DP World Tour

•        Ras Al Khaimah Championship, DP World Tour

•        Bahrain Championship, presented by Bapco Energies, DP World Tour

•        Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, DP World Tour

•        Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, DP World Tour

•        DP World Tour Championship, DP World Tour

•        Abu Dhabi Challenge, Challenge Tour

•        UAE Challenge, Challenge Tour

The inaugural European Tour group Sustainability Awards are live and open to entries. The deadline to submit an entry is midnight on 1st November, 2024. Further details can be found here.

The judging panel is comprised of a mix of experts from golf tournament operations and sustainability in golf, including independent experts from the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation.

The winners will be announced in Dubai at the DP World Tour’s season-ending event, the DP World Tour Championship, where the winner of the Race to Dubai in partnership with Rolex will be crowned.

Speaking about the new Awards Maria Grandinetti-Milton, Director of Sustainability at the European Tour group, said: “Delivering a golf tournament is a huge team effort, involving a wide network of trusted suppliers. We are fully committed to reducing our carbon footprint as we reach for net zero carbon by 2040, and to do this we need our full supply chain to play their part and join us on this journey. We are already seeing a growing number of examples of sustainability excellence across our events, and these Awards are a chance to celebrate this spirit of innovation and enable our suppliers to share best practice. We are starting with the Middle East region which hosts several of our biggest tournaments, with the scope to expand to other geographies in the future.” 

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, added: “We are delighted to support the introduction of the European Tour group Sustainability Awards, alongside our broader support of the Tour’s Green Drive strategy. The awards will not only celebrate leadership but also encourage continuous improvement by highlighting the outstanding efforts of suppliers who are driving sustainability across golf events, pushing innovation, and setting a new standard in sustainable and responsible event practices.”