Feeling a little intimidated by the latest onslaught of scientifically complex-sounding terms such as climate change, global warming, carbon footprint and greenhouse gases? Do you have time to consider giving time to topics other than playability and keeping owners and managers happy? Have you implemented your continual improvement-based environmental management system yet?
Obviously, today’s world is extremely complicated and rife with challenges. Just keeping up with the ever-changing world of compliant pesticide use can keep you and your staff inundated with research and training. Although you may think that the intricate task of preparing your course for play each day to the best of your ability is what you get paid for, even if you achieve the highest quality conditions ever, in the end it may not be enough. Making a profit seemingly has always been the priority, but is this profit sometimes earned at the cost of the environment or society?
Looking for clarity? Let’s try to make some sense of the situation.
Sustainability
As defined in 1987 by the United Nation’s Brundtland Commission, sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” A simple idea that focuses on today while not forgetting about tomorrow – kind of like a well-managed savings account.
Is there really such a thing as sustainable golf? If you ask the GCSAA’s director of environmental programs, Greg Lyman, the answer is a confident “yes.”
“We are working hard to create a consensus definition of sustainability for golf,” he says. “We believe it is time to focus on the environmental area of golf course management and show people that managing it properly can be good for the business of golf. We have a lot of sustainable examples already present in the golf market and what is right for sustainability is not foreign to the golf course industry.”
When asked what hurdles the game is facing in the application of sustainable principles, Lyman responded, “We need to assume that sustainability in golf does not eliminate the need for inputs like water, nutrients and pest control products. Rather, we will focus on encouraging our course managers to embrace a transparent triple-bottom-line approach to resource inputs using them in a responsible manner and manage their use with a continual improvement-based environmental management system. We believe it is healthy for the game to commit to sustainability and EMS and we will continue to recognize achievements in these areas by our superintendents in the field.”
The triple bottom line
The term “triple bottom line” (TBL) is attributed to sustainability consultant John Elkington in describing a business model where profit is only one of the metrics used to evaluate success. According to Elkington, a TBL business is one that is committed to not only making money, but doing it in such a way as to benefit people and the community, in an environmentally-friendly way. A simpler way to look at TBL is people, planet and profit.
Under the people aspect, meeting needs equally across the board is the main premise. Environmental justice, a higher standard of living, equal opportunity and public input are just a few examples of this portion of the TBL. A great example for a golf course manager is ensuring all employees are adequately trained in their native languages to ensure they are safe and informed about potential unhealthy or hazardous duties. Another might be consideration of downstream water users when applying pesticides and fertilizers to your property. A TBL-focused manager can seek out new employees to further sustainability goals and further encourage all employees by providing training, orientation and performance metrics to build a cohesive culture of sustainability for the future.
The business or profit bottom line is one we are all familiar with. In the end, making money at the expense of the community or the environment is contrary to sustainable precepts. Golf courses that are too expensive to maintain and to play do not meet the sustainable definition even if they are managed in an environmentally friendly manner.
The bottom line cannot be the only bottom line in a sustainable company. The number of real-life examples of saving money over the long haul utilizing lean and green products and practices is growing daily. Be sure to project costs of your operation using a “cradle-to-cradle” perspective. This will ensure that you examine the entire lifecycle costs of your proposed actions that could potentially reveal real savings.
The great game of golf
In my mind, the primary product of the golf course industry literally is the environment. One of the prime attractions of golf is the beauty and enjoyment of being outdoors coping with the elements playing the hardest game of all time. Some of the world’s greatest courses incorporate the natural landscape into their designs. This is not an accident. Courses like St. Andrews, Cypress Point and Pine Valley are regularly ranked among the greatest in the world. Each has achieved its relative reputation of greatness by preserving its natural setting and integrating the game of golf rather than the other way around. These phenomenal properties contribute greatly to their long-term financial successes. But it’s their managers’ respect of the land and designs that add to relative value of the property that has made them stand up to the test of time and continually adding increased value to their communities and residents.
With that in mind, a triple-bottom-line sustainable management approach just may be the answer. Give it a try and reap real rewards of doing what’s right for the people, the planet and your profits. Integrate sustainable principles into every activity by developing and implementing strategies that make sense to your community, your environment and your finances.
Bushman is the director of Ecodesigns International, a golf course management consulting firm. Contact him at ecodesigns@satx.rr.com.