ENVIRONMENTAL
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
FOR GOLF COURSES
A
means of measuring performance is vital for an environmental measurement programme
to succeed. To achieve this the concept of Environmental Performance Evaluation
was applied to existing European golf clubs. The steps involved in the development
of Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) were: -
Identification of common activities
within golf clubs - this was based on site visits and questionnaires
- Identification
of activities potentially interacting with the environment
- Definition
of potential environmental impact categories
- Development
of EPIs within the environmental impact categories
In
order to compare performance, reference parameters were defined:
| Environmental
Impact Category | Proposed
EPIs | Reference
Parameter | Unit |
| Water
resource consumption | Total
water consumer / year | - Area
of greens, tees and fairways
- Member
|
|
| Water
pollution / eutrophication | - Fertiliser
applied / year
- Pesticides
applied / year
| Area
of green, tees and fairways | kg/ha |
| Soil
Contamination | Lubricants
and hydraulic oils consumed / year | Area
of greens, tees and fairways | l/ha |
| Solid
and hazardous waster | - Solid
waste generated / year
- Hazardous
waste generated / year
| Member | kg/member |
| Energy
resource consumption | Energy
consumed / year | Member | kWh/member |
| Noise
pollution | Mowed
area / week | 18
holes | ha/18-holes |
| Air
pollution | Fossil
fuel consumed / year | Greens,
tees and fairways | l/ha |
| Ecosystem
disturbance / biodiversity | Out-of-play
areas managed with the aim of conservation | Total
area of club | ha/ha |
The next step was
to link the EPIs to their potential utilisation at different levels - local clubs,
national bodies and European "Committed to Green"
programme. It was found that different types of expression - absolute, relative
and indexed - are useful to evaluate and compare performance at each level. Possible
utilisation of proposed EPIs within each level:
| Level |
EPI
Expression Form | Possible
Utilisation | | Golf
Club | Absolute (total
water consumption) | - Environmental
review
- Prioritising
environmental aspects
- Setting
goals and targets
- Internal
audit
- Environmental
statement and reporting
| National
Level
(Golf Federations) | Relative (water
consumption / member) | - National
comparison of environmental performance
- Competitions
and awards
- Environmental
database
| European
Level
("Committed to Green") | Indexed (water
consumption in current year expressed as percentage of the average annual water
consumption) | - European
comparison of environmental performance
- Fair
certification criteria for the "Committed to Green" programme
- Environmental
reporting regarding European achievements.
| In
developing the framework, no prioritisation was given to different environmental
aspects as it was felt that each level would adapt the framework to their specific
environment, legal and cultural context. | 
