News article
PGA Tour’s season-ending event continues sustainable strides
US energy provider Southern Company powered the PGA Tour's season-ending event with 100% renewable energy for the third consecutive year.
Taking place at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia from August 29-September 1, the Tour Championship and the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs saw the 30 top-performing professional golfers compete for the season-long title. American player Scottie Scheffler was eventually crowned the winner of both.
Southern Company subsidiaries Georgia Power and Southern Company Gas collaborated with the tournament and the PGA Tour to drive sustainability measures on and off the golf course. The 2023 edition of the Tour Championship became a GEO Certified Tournament for the first time in the event’s history.
The PGA Tour’s season-ending event last year received the international award for sustainability in golf, overseen by Scotland-based GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, after meeting specific criteria around planning, delivery and continual improvement.
"They really believe in sustainability and in reducing their energy footprint.”
“We really couldn’t have been GEO Certified without Southern Company,” said Brazos Barber, Director of Sustainability at the PGA Tour.
“They are honestly the kind of a partner that you dream of, especially on the sustainability front. They really believe in sustainability and in reducing their energy footprint.”
For this year’s event, 500,000-kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits were used to avoid emissions from fossil fuel-based electricity used on the course. Renewable natural gas was utilised to avoid emissions from the clubhouse’s natural gas appliances, by integrating environmental credits from carbon-neutral renewable natural gas captured from landfills.
Some 90% of the golf carts used were electric, and 11,000 gallons of renewable diesel replaced traditional diesel for support vehicles. Battery-powered and solar-powered cell phone charging stations were available for fans to use on the course, and electric vehicle chargers in the East Lake Golf Club parking lot were open for player and patron use.
Image: Matt Aylward on Unsplash