Title Sponsor Waste Management Rebrands To WM

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is now officially the WM Phoenix Open after title sponsor Waste Management rebrands to WM to reflect the company’s focus on continuous innovation and sustainable solutions for the company and its customers. WM’s slogan is also changing from Think Green to For Tomorrow to convey the brand promise of “always working for a sustainable tomorrow.”

“With the WM Phoenix Open playing an important role in our company’s evolution, it is both timely and appropriate that we are utilizing this zero-waste tournament to announce the name change and our broader purpose,” said WM President and CEO Jim Fish. “Our business offerings go beyond just managing waste. We are North America’s largest environmental solutions provider and a sustainability leader, helping customers achieve their sustainability goals. Our core service isn’t changing but expanding, while the company continues to invest in sustainability capabilities to meet the emerging needs of our customers.”

WM is now in its 13^th year as title sponsor of the Phoenix Open. Over the first 12 years, WM and the tournament-host Thunderbirds have turned the largest-attended PGA TOUR stop into the most sustainability-minded sporting event in the world. The event tracks and offsets greenhouse gas emissions, uses renewable energy to power the tournament, has a food waste reduction program, and participates in water conservation and restoration initiatives. This is in addition to the more than 10.4 million pounds of tournament materials that have gone on to their next best use over the last decade through recycling, composting, reuse, donation, or energy creation.

WM’s zero-waste approach continues at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. There are no trash bins at the tournament, instead attendees place items in either a recycle or compost bin. Since 2013, WM has diverted 100 percent of tournament waste through recycling, composting, donation, reuse or creating energy.  The cornerstone of WM’s zero-waste operational achievements begins with Recycling Right. Recycling Right means bottles, cans, paper and cardboard only, while keeping food, liquid and plastic bags out of recycle bins – and no bagged recyclables. The recycled materials generated from the WM Phoenix Open will go on to create new packaging and new products, such as shirts, hats, carpet and shoes.

Since 2010 when WM became title sponsor, the tournament has raised nearly $100 million for local charities, including $3.8 million from the 2021 tournament.

The 2022 WM Phoenix Open will take place Feb. 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale as a field of 132 players will vie for the $8.2 million purse, the $1,476,000 first-place check, and 500 FedExCup points.  “The People’s Open” has been named the Tournament of the Year by the PGA TOUR four times in the past seven years (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) to acknowledge the tournament’s legendary status as one the most unique events in golf. The 2022 edition will mark the 87th playing of the event (one of the five oldest events on the PGA TOUR).

The Thunderbirds were founded in 1937 with the mission of promoting the Valley of the Sun through sports. The Thunderbirds consist of 55 “active” members and more than 280 “life” members who have helped the tournament eclipse $165 million in charitable giving since its inception in 1932 (through the 2021 tournament).  For more information on The Thunderbirds, visit thunderbirdscharities.org.  For more information on WM, visit www.wm.com.