GreenClub switched on to London Golf Club's energy ambition

GreenClub is ready to help London Golf Club make some capital gains on its energy strategy to achieve its ambition of becoming carbon neutral.

The stunning 36-hole Kent venue, which boasts two supreme Jack Nicklaus-designed courses – The Heritage and The International – will host the Cazoo Classic, formerly known as the English Open, as part of the UK Swing on the European Tour schedule this year (August 12-15).

As the club’s magnificent 700 acres of Kent countryside come under the spotlight, GreenClub’s appointment as environmental consultants ensures they will be on hand to develop environmental strategies to address current and future business needs, while also delivering major events in a sustainable and environmentally-responsible way.     

GreenClub chief executive, Liam Greasley, said: “It’s fantastic and underlines exactly how seriously London Golf Club is taking the issue.

“We will produce an initial detailed report with recommendations which will form the basis of an environmental roadmap for London Golf Club to achieve carbon neutrality.

“It will be a comprehensive audit to assess current levels of efficiency and to suggest appropriate improvements to reduce emissions and overheads.

“There are some very ambitious plans in the pipeline for London Golf Club – not least their efforts to move towards carbon neutrality. It’s exciting to be involved in the project and we look forward to playing a part in making it happen.”

London Golf Club chief executive, Stephen Follett, is prepared to make some major changes, which he believes will make a huge difference to the club’s future.

He said: “There could be some radical plans and we are looking to make a real difference. I believe we all have to take this seriously, both at London Golf Club and golf in general.

“It’s also about future-proofing the business. We were having some recent discussions about electric vehicle charging points – we plan to have six at the moment but do we need more? I think we will. I also discussed greenkeeping machinery with Toro and they think every piece of machinery will become electric in the next 10 years.

“So that got me thinking about everything and alternative power sources.

“As a business, it feels like we’ve done quite a lot with regards to sustainability but there must be more to it than planting trees and changing the types of lightbulb we use. We have to do more.

“We already have a lot of trees here, so what more can we do? We have to think bigger.”

With GreenClub set to make their recommendations after an extensive audit, Follett insists he will be paying careful attention to map out the future environmental strategy.

He said: “I have a strategy document for the golf course but there was a whole section missing on the environment and sustainability. So a lot of it is down to education and people understanding what can be done and what needs to be done.

“I’m looking to create a strategy for the future and also as a business, there are ways to reduce costs and potentially make more profit.

“Liam is very passionate about what GreenClub is trying to achieve. I attended the European Tour Destinations conference. I was very impressed and it made a lot of sense to me. We’re looking forward to putting these ideas into action.”

GreenClub – a principal partner of the PGA – is committed to improving sustainability in the golf industry and beyond and their objective continues to gather pace on several fronts. As well as their consultation services to assess current and future needs of any business as they seek to reduce their carbon emissions, venues can also become generators of their own green renewable energy with solar installations. In some cases, any surplus energy can then be sold to the local market, rather than back to the grid.

For further information, visit www.greenclub.energy

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