2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open Aims to Achieve Gold Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport

Waste Management Plans to Set a New Standard for Social and Environmental Responsibility at Major Sporting Event

Waste Management announced that it will set out to achieve Gold Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for its efforts at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO). In collaboration with the Council for Responsible Sport, which formally recognizes the successful completion of a socially and environmentally responsible sporting event, Waste Management will work to develop and evolve innovative programs to dramatically increase environmental and social responsibility at the tournament.

“This achievement marks the first certification for a golf tournament and Waste Management hopes to set the standard by which all tournaments are measured,” said Dave Aardsma, chief sales and marketing officer for Waste Management.

To achieve Gold Certification, Waste Management will adhere to principles set forth in eight sustainability categories of version 4.0 of the Council’s certification standards: Site Selection, Purchasing, Resource Management, Transportation, Food, Accessibility, Community Legacy and other Innovations. Among the several initiatives that Waste Management will implement to achieve Gold Certification are:

• Site Selection – The tournament utilizes environmentally friendly sanitation services including non-toxic, biodegradable deodorants, cleaners and solvents in the portable toilets; only chlorine-free paper products made with 100 percent recycled content are used.

 

• Purchasing – Waste Management and tournament host, The Thunderbirds, are working to ensure that all WMPO awards have at least one sustainable attribute (e.g., locally made, hand-crafted, made from recycled materials, reclaimed or repurposed items, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood, employing local artisans, made from local or organic materials). Waste Management is also soliciting 1,000 Recycling Ambassadors and as part of the volunteer uniforms, Waste Management is only purchasing shirts, vests and bibs made from organic cotton, some of which are also comprised of recycled materials as well.

 

• Resource Management – As part of Waste Management’s Zero Waste Challenge, and in an effort to reach its goal of diverting 100 percent of tournament waste away from landfills and into recycling and composting facilities, there will be no trash receptacles along the course. Instead, Waste Management will offer two alternatives to waste disposal – recycling bins and compost bins. In addition, 100 percent of the tournament’s purchased electricity is from renewable energy. Waste Management will also work closely with vendors to monitor their use of water throughout the week in order to decrease overall consumption. Additionally, the use of “greywater” or wastewater generated from the concessionaire’s kitchens will be recycled for use in portable toilets.

 

• Transportation – Waste Management will expand the tournament’s carbon footprint calculation to include participant travel, all event operators and spectator travel. Waste Management hopes to offset all intra-site travel and at least 50 percent of participant travel.

 

• Food – Waste Management will publish a list of sustainable restaurant option for attendees and strive to provide options at every meal that are locally sourced, Certified Organic, or recognized by another third party sustainable food certification.

 

• Accessibility – The event will feature booths that provide attendees with healthy skills training and golf education. The tournament also provides free admission to all local police and firemen, children under the age 18, and active and retired military personnel.

 

• Community Legacy – The WMPO continues to benefit the community in new ways including boosting the economy and providing significant charitable contributions. Additionally, The Thunderbirds provide free booth space for non-profit organizations.

 

• Innovation – Waste Management will engage participants and spectators for their perspective on the tournament’s sustainability initiatives. Fans will have the opportunity to scan QR codes for more information, maps, pairing sheets and local information to reduce the amount of printed paper materials along the course.

In addition to these efforts, Waste Management will continue the Zero Waste Challenge for the second year at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open. The initiative is aimed at controlling materials brought into the event and educating vendors and patrons about proper disposal of materials, so that eventually zero waste is sent to the landfill. In 2013, Waste Management’s goal is to divert 100 percent of tournament waste away from landfills and into recycling and composting facilities.

The 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open achieved the highest diversion rate of any major sporting event and was the first-ever major sporting event not to use trash receptacles. In the program’s inaugural year, more than 97 percent of tournament waste was diverted from the landfill.
 

About The Council For Responsible Sport

The Council’s vision is a world where responsibility produced sports events are the norm.

The Council’s mission is to provide objective, independent verification of the socially and environmentally responsible work even organizers are doing, and to actively support event organizers who strive to make a difference in their communities.

The Council’s Certification program provides a comprehensive method for event directors to incorporate environmental and socially responsible initiatives into their events, while informing stakeholders about events that adhere to a rigorous set of standards. Certified events range in size from ParalympicsGB Training Camps held at the University of Bath in the UK, which some 150 athletes participating, to the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia, with 55,077 timed finishers.

The current version of the of the Council’s certification standards was developed by an outside working group of 18 sustainability experts and reviewed by a wide range of stakeholders. Certification is modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System, which certifies buildings and materials according to resource conservation and energy efficiency criteria.

For more information about the Council’s programs and news from the world of sustainable sport, visit www.CouncilForResponsibleSport.org.

About Waste Management

Waste Management (WM) is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is one of the largest residential recyclers and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in North America. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.