Syngenta introduced a new tool designed to help reduce carbon footprints on golf courses. The Turf Carbon Calculator™ tool helps course managers benchmark environmental performance and validate improvements.
The new proprietary diagnostic Turf Carbon Calculator™ tool is central to a joint collaboration between Syngenta and Marriott Golf, one of the world’s premier golf course operators. The tool is being tested as a pilot project to measure the carbon footprint on golf courses and help promote sustainable operations at Marriott Golf’s worldwide portfolio of golf courses.
Factors such as climate change, dwindling natural resources, changing consumer expectations and increased oversight by regulatory bodies are driving the golf industry to develop more sustainable practices. To do this, golf courses must increase efficiency and productivity from inputs such as water, energy, plant protection products and fertilizer.
As a significant first step in helping bring sustainability into a tangible focus for the golf industry, Syngenta has worked closely with Marriott Golf to test the innovative tool at 12 of the company’s golf courses.
“Our technologies help superintendents, club owners and managers benchmark environmental performance, track and compare inputs of water, energy and chemicals from course to course, validate improvements and ultimately help them make the best sustainable agronomic decisions for their clubs,” said Scott Cole, golf market manager, Syngenta.
Cole added, “For Syngenta, sustainability in golf means preserving the long-term viability of the golf course industry through the efficient and proactive management of inputs that maximize environmental benefits and retain profitability of courses. The tool represents a significant step in the work Syngenta is doing to develop practical sustainability solutions that can be implemented by our customers.”
“Many Americans see human activity as a significant cause of climate change and would like to do something about it,” said Robert Waller, senior director of grounds, Marriott Golf. “With Syngenta’s source of quality research and knowledge in the turfgrass industry, this collaborative effort provides our superintendents with appropriate tools that enable us to better manage our operations and continue to promote environmental stewardship with Marriott guests and associates around the world.”
Anthony Williams, superintendent of Stone Mountain Golf Club by Marriott, has been using the Syngenta Turf Carbon Calculator™ tool since the pilot started. He said, “The tool is very user friendly and provides an ‘easy-to-follow/fill-in-the-raw-data’ approach to the process. Once we’ve entered the necessary water, electricity and other inputs, the tool produces a final carbon footprint number, and we’re able to view data and make comparisons from year to year that has been very useful. This device helps us see the course’s strengths and weaknesses and how our decisions influence the environment.”
Williams added, “To me, it’s the transparency of how our turf management choices impact environmental sustainability that makes this tool so powerful. It puts Stone Mountain’s environmental efforts in a simple format that offers a unique bird’s eye view of the operation.”
The joint effort between Syngenta and Marriott Golf has the potential to enable golf facilities to reduce their energy and carbon footprints and realize immediate cost savings from drops in fuel and energy expenditures.