Past event

Sustainability and the Legacy of Major Sporting Events

The Open Golf Championship is one of the world's foremost sporting events, being golf's oldest and most international Major championship. The Open attracts the best players from around the world to compete for the famous Claret Jug trophy on the finest links golf courses around the United Kingdom.

The Championship becomes the focus of the sporting world, with an on-site attendance that can reach over 200,000 spectators, and a global broadcast programme providing coverage to a potential 600 million households. Staged by The R&A – golf's governing body outside of the US and Mexico – The Open delivers an annual economic benefit of up to £100 million to its host region, while the Championship's commercial success supports the development of the sport worldwide.

The GreenLinks programme was established by The R&A in 2016 as The Open's sustainable development strategy, working to enhance the environmental and social benefits of staging the Championship. Initiatives conducted under the GreenLinks banner focus on a number of key sustainability issues, including site protection and restoration, procurement, energy, water, catering, materials, community engagement and legacy.

In his presentation, Philip will provide an overview of The Open Water Initiative, a pioneering project delivered at The 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019, which made the Championship one of the first major global sporting events to completely remove single-use plastic water bottles.

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