Sustainability and environmental legacy are a core part of the Open, and organisers have urged the public to play its part.
With environmental issues high on the public agenda, tournament backers have sought to address the impact large scale events have on the environment.
Philip Russell, Assistant Director for Sustainability at the R&A explained: “Sustainability is a key component of our overall strategy.
“We look at our role in staging the Open as golf’s oldest major, and looking at this very fast growing global movement across all sports and major events of their impact legacy and how they can innovate and collaborate around sustainability.
“It’s worth noting that Carnoustie recently won the environmental golf course of the year, and above and beyond the venue’s own commitment to sustainable management, we are looking at the delivery of the Open – how we manage materials, procurement and waste, as well as the legacy we leave behind.”
Mr Russell highlighted the use of local and Fair Trade produce and the move towards compostable packaging.
“Scotland is a place of fantastic food and drink, and we have done what we can to use and showcase Scottish suppliers, and we have found that people are increasingly interested in where their food and drink comes from.
“All of our tea, coffee, hot chocolate and bananas are Fair Trade certified, and we are using Marine Stewardship Council certified haddock for our fish and chips.
“We have also been looking at our packaging materials and while, previously, we were using recyclable packaging, we now largely use material that is compostable, and around the venue we use a three-bin recycling system and we encourage people to put the right things in the right bin.
“When it comes to transport and reducing emissions, this year we are using a hybrid fleet of buses.
“We have also installed electric vehicle chargers at the car park here, through collaboration with Dundee and Angus Councils and Transport Scotland, and those chargers will stay here permanently after the event, helping to build that bigger national network of electric car charging points.
“Locally, we also really wanted to deliver something back as a ‘thank you’ to the host community, so we have a legacy fund of a £100,000, and we will be selecting and funding sustainable development projects in the community, and we are in discussion with Angus Council to determine which projects to support.”
Mr Russell was keen to stress the projects do not have to be connected to golf, but must have a sustainable development focus, such as health and well-being, or development and education, or greenspace and the local community, and once agreement has been reached, the R&A will fund the projects directly.
