Scottish Awards for Environmental Excellence in Golf

The 'Scottish Awards for Environmental Excellence in Golf' is a voluntary Environmental Management Programme open to all golf facilities and offers participants the chance to achieve recognition within the club and the wider local, golfing and environmental communities.

These awards run by SGEG also reach the standard required to be accredited to the Golf Environment Europe ECOManagement Programme (formerly Committed to Green).

Going for recognition
To achieve full award recognition means that you have sufficiently demonstrated an understanding of the environmental aspects of your site, committed to environmental good practice and initiated practical measures across a range of management categories. Importantly, this programme does not consider environmental criteria at the expense of golfing quality. It is about being a well-managed golf course, in which environmental considerations are fully integrated into the operational management of the course and related facilities.

Recognition is not synonymous with perfection. All Award clubs will be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure a continual improvement in performance and compliance with basic requirements. Achieving the SGEG award and GEE recognition is a long-term process and it is important to sustain the effort as an integral part of the operational management of your club.

To attain full recognition, applicant clubs must submit an Environmental Statement. This summarises your Environmental Management Programme in a standardised format, based on three principal levels:

i. Basic requirements: These provide both a qualitative and quantitative checklist of essential environmental management data across each category. They also establish a baseline of environmental performance against which future progress can be assessed.

ii. Description of achievements: A statement of actions undertaken. This provides scope for describing many different and innovative measures, which will draw out your understanding, commitment and enthusiasm. The aim is to reinforce the basic requirements to gain a sense that you are really making a difference in key areas and thinking about environmental stewardship beyond mere compliance with minimum specifications.

iii. Future targets: Specific goals for the next review period - i.e. over 3 years. Wherever possible these should comprise distinct, measurable aims, backed with specific actions with which to achieve the targets.

A good Environmental Statement will be much more than a simple checklist of actions and measurements. It should convey a clear sense that you have achieved the following:

• An understanding of how golf course management activities relate to the environment
• Identification of priority environmental protection and/or management issues
• Undertaken a range of relevant practical measures across each category
• Evaluated results and benefits - to the environment, the club and the local community

Identified appropriate future actions within a given timeframe
SGEG and GEE aim to reward those who demonstrate a considered approach to management appropriate to their circumstances. It is not based on rigid and costly standards that only the larger facilities could achieve. The programme is open to all golf clubs, whatever their size and wherever they are located.

Management categories
The GEE ECOManagement Programme covers eight main environmental management categories. It is important to see each category as part of an integral whole, and not as separate, unconnected issues. To secure full recognition, each management category must be addressed, but not necessarily to the same degree of detail - that will depend on priorities.
Every golf course has its own individual characteristics and this must be reflected in the management programme. In this way, clubs will have scope to make significant achievements in priority areas, without ignoring other aspects. Some may spend relatively more effort on water and energy management, while others highlight waste management, nature conservation and education. Each submission will be judged on its own merits and in an appropriate context.

Verification
SGEG awards and GEE recognition is subject to external verification, as it is important to provide a high level of public confidence that the achievements claimed really have been made. This is a crucial part of ensuring the credibility of the programme, so that the effort you have made is genuinely recognised and worthwhile. This applies to all clubs seeking full recognition.

The verification of your Environmental Statement will be carried out by one or more independent specialists in environmental and/or golf course management, co-ordinated by SGEG. In this way your environmental achievements will be assessed fairly within the context of an operational golf course.

The terms and conditions of Golf Environment Europe recognition are as follows:

Recognition is valid for three years from the date of the award as specified on the certificate.

Recognised clubs are entitled to use the Golf Environment Europe logo on materials and promotions related specifically to the site that has been recognised. The logo cannot be used on commercial merchandise.

Notification of each award will be announced on www.golfenvironmenteurope.org together with summary information and links to national project web sites and the individual club web sites as applicable.

The Environmental Statement must be made publicly available.

Publication of the Environmental Statement can be in a variety of forms. It does not have to be an expensive, glossy report - some clubs may choose to do this but it is not a requirement. In its most basic form, the Environmental Statement should nevertheless be available at the club for anyone who wishes to see a copy. Likewise, the Golf Environment Europe will retain a copy of each submitted Environmental Statement and these can be requested. In the latter case, clubs will be informed if their report has been sent to a third party.

Renewal
After three years all fully recognised clubs need to reapply to renew their recognition. This will require an updated Environmental Statement, highlighting changes and progress over the intervening three years. Again it will be verified as in the original application.

Emphasis will be placed on how successfully you have reached the targets specified in your initial Environmental Statement. This will mean providing environmental performance data related to the original baseline situation. It will also be important to demonstrate how priority issues have been addressed and to highlight remaining areas of weakness for future action.