The acciona Open de España presented by Madrid is this week reinforcing itself as one of the leading sustainable tournaments on the DP World Tour.
Coinciding with Sustainable Golf Week, Spain's national open is implementing a wide range of commitments and actions as it plays its part in driving efforts to build a greener future for the game.
The Open de España boasts strong sustainability credentials, deploying an array of sustainable solutions during the tournament to neutralise any harmful effects on the environment, ensuring a net positive environmental, social and economic impact that will remain as a legacy to Madrid.
In the past three years, a comprehensive carbon footprint has been calculated and reduced by 25.6%, while over 6,400 trees have been planted, an outcome presented by Acciona as the first carbon positive event on the DP World Tour.
Among a host of measures being taken in 2023, there will be a complete reuse of structures built while spectators and media alike are being encouraged to use sustainable transport.
As part of the tournament organisers' goal to reduce emissions by attendee, solar panels are being installed to cover part of the energy consumption.
In collaboration with title sponsor Acciona, which develops and manages sustainable infrastructure solutions, the ACCIONA Under Par Emissions Award will offset 10 times the winner’s CO2 emissions for an entire season.
What have the players been saying about the initiatives?
Justin Rose: If I take my mind back a couple of years to most tournaments that I've played, you realise how much water we drink out of plastic. We’re drinking 10 bottles a round. At times, trash cans are overflowing with waste and you do think to yourself, ‘wow’. In isolation, it’s just a bottle of water. But overtime you realise how much that all adds up. I know this tournament has done a great job with its sustainability efforts. Seeing the solar panels out there is obviously something I haven't really seen much before at tournaments. I played with the sponsors today who have a huge renewable side of their business. So, they're obviously doing it commercially and obviously doing it in and around their tournament.
Rafa Cabrera Bello: Everything we can do to help the environment is good. I think in the modern world that we live in we have the opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world. Every initiative that truly helps the environment is one I I'm always going to be a supporter of.
