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| TPC Scottsdale’s Sustainability Efforts Shine as Earth Week Model | The description, however, has nothing to do with emerald colored fairways, but the fact that the large weeklong event that draws more than 500,000 spectators has achieved zero waste for three consecutive years. It’s a fitting subject for Earth Week, which runs from April 19-25. Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22. With innovative techniques and a commitment to sustainability, Waste Management, the event’s title sponsor, has diverted millions of tons of tournament waste to energy through recycling. “Waste Management is a great partner and title sponsor,” says Jeff Plotts, director of golf course operations at TPC Scottsdale, the host course for the PGA Tour event won by Brooks Koepka at 15 under par earlier this year. “It’s pretty remarkable what they have been able to accomplish.” It’s notable too, that Plotts has been able to bring his area of responsibility at TPC Scottsdale closer and closer to zero waste for the other 51 weeks of the year when the PGA Tour isn’t in town. As a six-time winner of an Environmental Leaders in Golf Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and Golf Digest, the 49-year-old Plotts is keenly aware of his responsibility within golf course management and the wider golf industry. “It is our responsibility to do everything we can to help protect the environment and make sure it is better for generations to come,” he says with conviction. “As an industry, we have to find ways to reduce our inputs and use water qualities that are less than ideal. It’s our job to figure that out.” Plotts, who is in his 10th year at TPC Scottsdale, has implemented a conscientious recycling program that includes much more than just separating bottles and cans from paper waste. He deals with machines that use oil, cutting blades and chemicals. “I’d love to say we are 100 percent, but we are not there yet,” he says. “But anything we recycle is a step in the right direction. You don’t have to be at zero waste to get started. It’s about continual improvements.” He works closely with the city of Scottsdale, which has a well thought-out plan for squeezing every drop out of its reclaimed and recycled water sources in an area that gets an average of just 6 inches of rain annually. “We are constantly talking about water quality and water quantity out here in the desert,” he says. “We are fortunate the city of Scottsdale has a plan for reclaimed water for recreational uses. It’s what we survive on.” But Plotts is also trying to educate his community and his state legislators about why the golf industry should not be such an easy target when it comes time to drastically reduce water consumption. He is doing all that as one of more than 160 GCSAA Grassroots Ambassadors, who regularly communicate with lawmakers on behalf of the golf industry. Figures show that golf is more than a pretty green landscape. It accounts for two million jobs annually and has a $46 billion economic impact. “There are a lot of businesses out there that damage the environment on a daily basis that people don’t even think about, but they look at golf because they see us green,” says Plotts. “We don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Hey, we have this thing solved.’ But it’s okay to tell others what we are doing well as an industry, and where we can still do better,” he adds. “That’s part of the healthy dialogue. And that’s when I think people will listen to us a little bit more.” About
GCSAA and the EIFG
The Environmental Institute for Golf is the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA. Its mission is to foster sustainability through research, awareness, education, programs and scholarships for the benefit of golf course management professionals, golf facilities and the game. Visit EIFG at www.eifg.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter. Contact:
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