Allianz Championship sets green goals for 2012 event

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The 12th annual Allianz Championship, set for Feb. 6-12, 2012 at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Fla., announced plans to become the one of the greenest golf tournaments in North America. To achieve this goal, the tournament will partner with The Smart Group, an organization of ecologists, scientists, educators, and academic researchers who help clients make sound decisions about environmental management.

Going green at Allianz

To achieve its goal of a 30 percent reduction in the 2012 tournament's carbon footprint, the tournament is: Power: Taking power-using operations totally off the electricity grid to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy by generators using biodiesel fuel (vegetable oil); using energy efficient lighting (LED); reducing energy use with photocells and timers; minimizing trips and average mileage to site by suppliers. Hospitality: Focusing on tents, carpet, flooring, and bleachers with efforts made to evaluate what components are made of; increasing percentage of items that can be reused or recycled signage. Catering: Encouraging vendors to reduce number of suppliers; increasing percentage of local produce and certified sustainably harvested seafood, recyclable or biodegradable plates and utensils, and percentage of imports that are Fair Trade Certified; and reducing water consumption and waste, travel and transportation. Waste Management: Developing and initiating an on-course Zero Waste compliance program to be championed by a Volunteer Green Team made up of eco-friendly advocates led by the City of Boca Ratons Green Task Force stationed throughout the course who will assist spectators with proper waste disposal; recycling all construction materials -- including carpet and floorings, converting food waste by Broken Sounds state-of-the-art food composter into fully sustainable fertilizer with less chemical effect; positioning of green-focused exhibitors and education stations that share the green message to be set up along the spectator trails. Cleaning: Using biodegradable trash bags, Green Seal Certified cleaning supplies. Tournament Office: Reducing total electricity consumption during planning stage, increasing percentage of recyclable supplies, minimizing paper usage and ticket production. Broken Sound Clubhouse: Increasing the percentage of local produce, sustainably harvested seafood and Fair Trade imports; minimizing Styrofoam and water use, recycling all waste. Players and Spectators: Establishing an official tour hotel with group transportation to and from site; providing Lexus hybrids to players; on-course instruction by the Green Team volunteers.

The tournament plans to set green event benchmarks by developing a comprehensive carbon footprint event analysis, taking the initiative to power the event with 100 percent renewable energy, and implementing a zero waste program with education of spectators, players and vendors about the benefits of going green in their daily business and personal spaces.

This initiative is an extension of efforts made at the 2011 Allianz Championship, which was the first PGA Champions Tour event ever played on a GEO-certified course. Broken Sound Club is the first golf facility in Florida and only the second in the United States to achieve the GEO Certified award, an international sustainability assurance from the Golf Environment Organization.

"This is truly a trailblazing, one-of-a-kind collaboration in sustainability," said Allianz Championship Tournament DirectorRyan Dillon. "We're committed to 'greening' this event through a variety of channels including water use, energy and carbon footprint, environmental quality, landscape and ecosystems, and reducing travel and transportation mileage to and from the site for vendor staging, player transportation and event-goer transportation."

As the first tournament on the early-season Florida swing of the PGA Champions Tour, the Allianz Championship is collaborating closely with the International Green Energy Council (IGEC), Golf Environment Organization (GEO), the City of Boca Raton, the PGA Champions Tour and Allianz Life, the tournament's title sponsor and founding sponsor of the 2012 green initiative. The tournament's green initiative is an extension of programs already being conducted by Allianz. For example, Allianz Life was recently recognized for the second straight year with the prestigious Energy Star designation for its campus in Golden Valley, Minn., putting it in the top nine percent of similar-size buildings nationwide. Parent company Allianz SE has developed around 70 products and services that help mitigate climate change or take environmental impact into account.

"Allianz Life and our parent company Allianz SE are committed to green initiatives within our business practices and celebrate the efforts of the Allianz Championship to take the concept of a truly green event to the next level," said Tom Burns, chief distribution officer for Allianz Life. "We hope these actions serve as inspiration to other large events and a blueprint for how environmental sustainability goals can be achieved."

Carbon offset program to make Boca Raton greener

The tournament will use a per-mile carbon offset fee generated from all players, vendors and attendees for travel by air and car to enhance the greening of Boca Raton. The total amount of these carbon offset fees will be used to buy trees for planting throughout the City of Boca Raton.

"There is so much potential to bring real world sustainability initiatives into direct contact with thousands of people through golfing events,' noted Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive of the Golf Environment Organization expressing his support for the initiative. "At the Allianz Championship, we see a precedent-seeking, committed golf event and active venue, engaging with other event stakeholders to generate actions that will make a tangible difference while enhancing the reputations of all involved. We're delighted that this trailblazing initiative will unfold at a GEO Certified"! venue, and that some of the pioneering work we have been undertaking around the Ryder Cup has provided a strong and effective model for the delivery of this exciting leadership program."

The Allianz Championship invites more green partners to launch a legacy

The Allianz Championship is seeking additional partners, vendors, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers that are committed to corporate social responsibility, sustainability, the environment, green technology, corporate governance and community development to share in this groundbreaking collaboration.