With its manicured greens, sandy bunkers and well-maintained flora, golf should ooze with eco-credentials. But it often faces criticism for its land use and for trying to keep courses literally green with pesticides and heavy water use.
These elements are then multiplied when added to the professional sports arena. The European Tour for golf, currently sponsored by logistics firm DP World – thereby commonly known as the DP World Tour – sees golfers, spectators, media and supporting departments travel to 42 tournaments in 25 countries throughout the season.
This presents a particular set of decarbonisation challenges. Unlike fixed-stadium sports, a nomadic tournament relies on pop-up temporary infrastructure, intensive power supply networks and complex international transport schedules.
Addressing these operational realities requires clean energy innovation alongside precise supply chain management.
Decarbonising elite broadcast operations
Energy demand at tournament venues represents a significant proportion of emissions for the European Tour Group. Powering worldwide television broadcasts, event villages and temporary staging has traditionally depended on heavy diesel generator networks.
To break this reliance on fossil fuels, the European Tour Group introduced clean power alternatives directly into its core operations.
“We were the first event ever in 2023 to power TV production 100% by green hydrogen globally,” says Maria Grandinetti-Milton, Director of Sustainability at the European Tour Group.
