Golf spectacle is to become the "Greenest Show on Earth".

The biggest show in golf, as the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale/Arizona is called, makes headlines year after year with the fun program for around 700,000 spectators. This year, however, only 5,000 fans are allowed per day. Main sponsor Waste Management, a waste disposal company, has also made sustainability a priority for nine years. The aim is to organize the “world’s largest event without residual waste and with a balanced water and CO2 footprint”. Anyone who observes the project will see that the American approach is impressive – even if Europeans would comment on some details, such as recycling, that this is standard in countries like Germany anyway.

In the meantime, however, Waste Management’s approach goes far beyond collecting recyclable materials as part of the tournament.

• Coinciding with the start of the tournament week, the “2021 World Cup Sustainability Forum”was held over two days with high-level speakers including Tim Juliani, Director for US Corporate Climate Engagement at the World Wildlife Fund.
• The topic of sustainability is widely discussed in the media. Among other things, several You Tube videos are available, also with top professionals, which address the topic of recycling and are above all entertaining.
• All electricity used during the tournament is green electricity . Biodiesel is also used.
• The carbon footprint of the entire tournament, including that of players, caddies and other staff, is offset in cooperation with the Crow Lake Wind Project, the largest wind farm owned by a US cooperative.
• Much of the water used in tents, buildings and spectator areas is used for toilets, for example, or is recycled and fed into the Rio Verde River. In the past five years alone, this was 1.2 trillion liters.
• Food that is not needed is donated to local charities. Last year it was 12.7 tons.
• The same applies to construction material that is no longer required. This is also donated to local projects.
• Waste Management works with UL Validation, the Council for Responsible Sport and the certifier GEO to report on the tournament and produces a digital sustainability report every year. A special website was created for this purpose, on which all individual measures can be viewed again.
• The TPC Scottsdale venue is also GEO certified.

In the end, according to the organizers, the “Greates Show on Earth” should also be the “Greenest Show on Earth”. And every year again.