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GEO Certified™

What is the GEO Certified™ ecolabel?

GEO Certified™ is the most trusted sustainability assurance in golf. It is available for golf development and renovation, and also golf course / club management. These FAQs relate to the GEO Legacy™ – a support and recognition programme tailored to the specific issues and activities that take place during golf development, from conceptualization right through planning, design and construction.

  • Note – operational management of golf facilities is covered by the GEO OnCourse™ programme.

The GEO Certified™ ecolabel is earned by golf developments that demonstrate a comprehensive approach and absolute attention to detail to sustainability issues, as are set out in GEO’s Sustainable Golf action areas, and as are presented in the GEO Legacy™ Guidance and Field Manual.

What is the value of the GEO Certified™ ecolabel?

GEO looked long and hard at identifying the key attributes of credible, trusted and valued certification programs, learning from successes and failures in other sectors. Full transparency, published criteria and third-party verification are essential attributes that bring a certification into the realm of credible and respected sustainability assurance.

Golf developers need 100% confidence in the ecolabel they represent to members, customers, governments and communities. GEO Certified™ develop can be confident they have secured recognition through the world's most credible sustainable golf development ecolabel.

GEO Legacy™

What is GEO Legacy™?

The GEO Legacy™ programme harnesses the unique opportunity for golf development to showcase sustainability—delivering valuable business benefits and prestigious global recognition. Every new development or renovation—from a six-hole short course to six-star resort—can create a legacy of environmental, social and economic excellence.

Integrating seamlessly into real- world golf development, GEO Legacy™ supports development teams from conceptualization to opening day and beyond. The efficient, collaborative process is based around concise, feedback and evaluation reports at each of six milestones—bringing productive outcomes without unnecessary bureaucracy.

At the heart of the process, templated development team statements are constructively evaluated by a GEO Legacy™ Accredited Verifier from the GEOSA Network. Combined, these documents—and the creative thought behind them—carry proof of environmental and social achievement, both internally and publicly.

What are the aims and objectives of the programme?

GEO Legacy™ supports and brings recognition to golf development projects that are committed to attaining world-leading levels of social and environmental performance. The programme scope and content is based on the GEO Legacy™ Guidance for Sustainable Golf Development, with procedures and policies designed reinforce and report on the practical delivery of that guidance in the field, in golf developments.

The broad objectives of the Legacy programme are:

  • Deliver long term social and environmental value through golf developments
  • Bring recognition to sustainability leaders
  • Support development teams in integrating sustainability into all their decision making
  • Promote and share credible examples of comprehensive sustainable golf development

What goals can GEO Legacy™ projects expect to achieve?

Environmental

  • Preservation of existing ecological values. Ecological enhancement of sites and their surroundings. Functioning ecosystems and increased biodiversity.
  • Landscape protection and enhancement.
  • Improved hydrological and watershed function. Improved water quality. Absolute minimization of water consumption. Avoidance of potable water use, except for human consumption.
  • Zero waste – where all construction and operational materials are reused and recycled.
  • Carbon neutral – where functioning ecosystems store carbon in a way that outweighs carbon emissions from development.
  • Optimized energy efficiency through design and technology. Use of renewable energy supplies, including fuel sources for equipment.

Social

  • Respect of the rights and values of existing landowners and neighbours. Provision of access onto and across land that satisfies the needs of local people.
  • Maximize the economic value of the development to local people.
  • Maximize the recreational and social value of the development for local people.
  • Mitigate unavoidable negative impacts on local communities with projects that bring real, long term benefits.
  • Attain a status within the community as an ethical and responsible developer. Provide well-paid, skilled and safe employment to local people.

These lists are not exhaustive but serve to indicate the kinds of social and environmental outcomes that define GEO Legacy™ projects. See the GEO Legacy™ Guidance for more detailed explanation.

Project Classification & Costs

How are GEO Legacy™ projects classified?

All Legacy™ projects are classified according to the scale and complexity of the development. This is evaluated during an initial Screening Visit and defined in the Screening Report. The classifications are:

  • Low Complexity – typically involving 6-18 holes, small clubhouse and maintenance facilities, small practice area
  • Mid Complexity – typically an ‘average’ size golf facility development featuring 18-27 holes, clubhouse, driving range and maintenance facility. Possibly a small accommodation component
  • High Complexity – typically integrated golf and leisure resorts with housing, often with upwards of 27 holes
  • Renovation – typically an existing facility under-going alterations to the course itself. GEO reserves the right to customise programme processes and costs for renovations that are large and complex. Published costs are for standard renovations of existing courses

What factors influence the complexity of a golf development?

Complexity of a GEO Legacy™ project is determined by evaluation of the physical and social context of the site, and takes into account factors such as:

  • Climate
  • Existing land use and land use pressures
  • Ecological sensitivity
  • Landscape quality
  • Location to aquifers and sensitive watersheds
  • Provision of energy infrastructure
  • Type, proximity and significance of cultural issues
  • Proximity to local communities

How are certification costs calculated?

Depending on the scale and complexity of your project, your investment scales appropriately. With a renovation starting at €15.5k and a 36-hole resort at €49k, GEO Legacy™ is customized to suit each and every project. On-site or desk-based verification typically accounts for 60% of this fee, with 40% paid to GEO for programme management and administration.

An initial classification is determined in the Screening Report but this can be revised if new components are added to the development, or unexpected complexities arise during masterplanning or design.

Eligibility

What kind of golf developments are eligible for GEO Legacy™?

All kinds of golf based development projects are eligible to apply to participate in the programme. No project is too big, nor too small to participate.

Can a project be deemed ineligible for GEO Legacy™?

There are circumstances where proposals to build golf facilities and golf based resorts can have potentially damaging social and environmental impacts. GEO does not assume or try to pre-judge which projects will or will not have impacts, nor the level that those impacts might be. This is why all GEO Legacy projects are Screened, prior to their participation in the programme, so that GEO is in a position to offer programme participation to developments based on specific understanding of each and every project.

Screening enables GEO to gain an accurate picture of the projects opportunities and constraints, and to evaluate, albeit at a very early stage, the potential for the development to bring positive and negative sustainability impacts.

On occasion, GEO may deem a project to be too impacting to be permitted to participate in the programme. If this situation is likely to arise following a Screening Visit and our receipt of the Screening Report, we will take one of the following actions:

  • Write to the developer and inform them that the project is not suitable for participation in the programme

Or:

  • Contact the developer and explain that we have concerns about the overall sustainability of the project and that we’d like to explore ways the project might be adapted to become eligible to participate.

GEO reserves the right to refuse participation in the programme, based on the professional opinion of qualified GEO staff and organizational officers, and taking into account the specific professional findings and opinion of the GEO Sustainability Associate that carried out the project screening.

What key factors can affect eligibility?

Some of the reasons GEO may deem a site too sensitive, or a project as potentially detrimental to the host site and local community include:

  • The site is, in its totality, an ecologically sensitive area.
  • The site is within a recognised ecologically sensitive area, be it protected through some legal convention or not.
  • The project is planned within a particularly sensitive and fragile watershed.
  • The project will inevitably result in the loss of particularly valuable agricultural land (for example the only areas of productive land available to the local community).
  • The project will inevitably result in the removal of traditional access routes and rights to local people.
  • The project is in an arid environment with significant water resource pressures, and yet cannot or will not access reclaimed water for irrigation.
  • The development, as currently conceptualised, is too dense thus leaving insufficient space for viable ecosystems to function.
  • The visual impact of the development will unavoidably and significantly damage an area of great landscape value or important scenic area.
  • The site’s ecosystems are particularly fragile or rare and it is deemed likely that the ecosystem would not be able to absorb the impact of the development
  • The development’s social and environmental impacts, when accumulated with the impacts of other forms of development in the area, mean that overall development pressure is deemed to have the potential to be unsustainable due to the scale of impact on the host environment and culture.

Certification Process

How do I enroll my project in the GEO Legacy™ programme?

To enter the main phases of GEO Legacy™, all projects must complete four initial steps:

  • Registration of interest: Contact GEO and express interest in participating in the programme, 
  • Screening: An on-site fact find by a Legacy Accredited GEOSA, to establish levels of interest and understand the developments sustainability context and potential
  • Screening Report: Recommendation by GEOSA to GEO, advising on the eligibility and potential of the project, containing a templated review of the project and its context;
  • Activation: Based on review of the Screening Report, GEO will write to inform the development team of the project classification, that their participation in GEO Legacy has been approved, and that participation in the programme can now be activated. Activation is enabled when GEO establishes a private and password protected ‘Project Space’ at www.golfenvironment.org, through which the entire programme content can be accessed. Activation is dependent on payment of the appropriate administration fee (see costs).

To arrange a screening visit, an official representatives from your project must create a myGEO account complete the GEO Legacy™ Screening Request form. Please note that the myGEO area of the website is encrypted, and any details submitted via the screening request form are treated with 100% confidentiality.

What are the key phases of the GEO Legacy™ programme?

  • Conceptualization & Masterplanning – matching site and locality with appropriate development model, optimal land use and infrastructure
  • Design – integrating the details of project components in a cohesive package; painting a clear and powerful picture of your project’s sustainability
  • Construction – sensitive realization of planning and design, retaining the opportunity for creativity and refinements that enhance product quality
  • Management Planning – ensuring a legacy of continual management improvement. A roadmap to the GEO Certified™ award

How does my project progress to certification?

Depending on the scale and complexity of the project that is established during screening, the development team complete the appropriate Legacy output documents, as the project commences through conceptualisation and masterplanning, design, construction and management. All Legacy Reports are based on provided templates and supported by guidance.

  • Third-party Verification – According to the scale and complexity of your project, a Legacy™ Accredited Verifier from the GEOSA Network will visit the site at strategic milestones to review and discuss Legacy Reports. They will also provide constructive guidance regarding any critical refinements to plans and designs, while advising on next steps. At the end of the four main phases the GEOSA submits a Verification Report to GEO. The report and verifier recommendations will be assessed by GEO before approval is confirmed through a formal written response to the development team.
  • Certification – Once all project milestones have been completed, a final GEO Legacy Site Visit will be undertaken and and official GEO Certified™ Report produced by the GEOSA. Based on the information and recommendations contained in this report, GEO will communicate with the developer to notify of the decision to award GEO Certified™ status to the project. As soon as the facility has become operational, GEO will announce the certification and present the GEO Certified™ awards to the owners.

Reporting

Who produces Legacy Reports for the development team?

The GEO Legacy™ programme supports development teams in articulating and promoting the step-by-step sustainability decisions they make, and the outcomes they achieve. Projects frame and report these using GEO Legacy™ milestone templates and guidelines.

In many projects, these Legacy Reports will be compiled by the environmental and/or sustainability consultants commissioned as advisers to the project. In other cases, core members of the project team may take the lead in coordinating and overseeing their preparation.

It is most likely that this will be the Golf Course Architect, who, by the very nature and breadth of their outlook, will have a strong overview of the project as a whole. It is also possible that Planing Consultants might be charged with the role of overseeing report preparation.

What is the most effective way to prepare Legacy Reports?

The coordinator responsible for project reporting should adhere to the following key guidelines:

  • Report preparation should be a team exercise, requiring all development team members to input.
  • Those charged with coordination and preparation of Legacy Reports should allocate time and budget to do so – making it a clear and recognised part of their overall contribution to the development.

Legacy reports that are rushed due to lack of clarity over responsibility, and through lack of resources being allocated, will be weaker and more likely to result in queries and follow-up work being required after verifier feedback and critique.

Third-party Verification

Who carries out on-site evaluation of applicant projects?

All GEO Legacy™ verification is carried out by 'Legacy™ Accredited' Verifiers from the GEOSA Network. These sustainable golf professionals are the only people officially recognized by GEO as competent to carry out Legacy™ verification, in accordance with the policies, protocols and processes of the programme.

Legacy™ Accredited GEOSA represent a sub-set of the larger GEOSA Network, all of whom are accredited for verification of the GEO OnCourse™ programme.

Legacy™ Accredited GEOSA have the greatest levels of golf development experience and academic achievement, equipping them to undertake verification of golf developments.

Obtaining Legacy Accreditation requires GEOSA to have:

  • Additional real world, practical field experience in golf developments.
  • Specific training and continuing professional development in sustainable golf development.
  • Specific training and continuing professional development in GEO Legacy guidance and programming.

GEO is proud to have some of the world’s leading sustainable golf development experts accredited to verify the GEO Legacy™ programme.

How are sustainability outcomes weighted and evaluated?

The role of Legacy™ Accredited verifiers is carefully crafted to ensure their input to projects, and interaction with golf development teams, is constructive and yet at all times remains open, honest, objective and credible.

Specifically, GEO’s Legacy™ verifiers are not advisers to the project. We encourage all golf development to commission appropriate sustainability advice. Development teams cannot use their GEO Legacy™ verifier as a source of detailed and technical sustainability advice.

That said, Legacy™ Accredited GEOSA have a great deal of knowledge and insight, and we want their interaction with the development team to be positive and in a spirit of shared identification of challenges, ideas and solutions. For this reason, Legacy verifiers are encouraged to engage in project team dialogue and to offer strategic and practical ideas for sustainability priorities and how they could be addressed.

In this way, the GEO Legacy™ verifier is collaborating rather than ‘policing’ the development. The Legacy verifier can also act as a useful companion to project advisers – sharing ideas and helping to shed light on opportunities, and drawing on and sharing their wider experiences in golf development projects.

GEO expressly states that Legacy verifiers are not to be considered, for any legal, moral or practical purposes as an adviser to the development.

Promotion & Marketing

When can we promote our GEO Legacy™ status?

The nature and timing of GEO Legacy™ promotion is an important issue to get right – both for GEO and the developer. The desire to talk openly about sustainability commitments and project components varies greatly from project to project.

For example, some small scale, community based developments may feel more inclined to proactively talk about sustainability right at the outset. Other developments may, for good partnership, community relation, commercial and political reasons decide to advance their proposals more fully before becoming vocal about the nature of their sustainability work.

For these reasons GEO allows some flexibility over the timing of Legacy participation announcements.

However, the earliest point at which a development can promote its involvement in GEO Legacy is immediately when the projects ‘Sustainability Blueprint’ has been approved by the GEO Legacy verifier.

A Sustainability Blueprint is the first thing a participating development has to produce. It can be put together in the immediate weeks or months following Screening and approval of participation from GEO. All reporting templates can be downloaded from your official Legacy™ project space in the GEO website. This means that within a relatively short period of time after participation has been activated, GEO and the developer can plan and make an announcement relating to the projects participation and which touches upon some of the outlined sustainability strategy now framed in the project’s Sustainability Blueprint.

This means the initial announcement will coincide with the publication of the Sustainability Blueprint, as the development’s public profile is turned on at www.golfenvironment.org. This creates a very meaningful and credible initial announcement and a clear indication that this project is determined and committed to deliver the most sustainable development possible.

On the basis of this platform of credible first announcement, GEO will provide participants with logo, boilerplate text, stylish web-presence at golfenvironment.org and other marketing collateral to enable the development and its team to talk about the project’s relationship with GEO through the Legacy programme.

Does any documentation enter the public domain?

As mentioned above, GEO believes the greatest vulnerability and risks of ‘green-wash’ lie when sustainability statements and claims are not backed up by the provision of accessible information. All GEO’s work and programming is based on high levels of transparency – to ensure our participants sustainability efforts are fully recognised, to ensure their credible efforts are not undermined by smoke and mirrors allegations, and of course to protect and enhance the credibility of GEO.

GEO believes that it is better if people know what commitments and decisions have been made, what outcomes were attained and what sustainability trade-offs may have been made as golf developments gradually progress from conceptualisation to completion.

Ongoing Certification

What is the duration of GEO Certified™ status?

GEO Legacy™ certification covers the duration of the development process, from concept to construction and launch. To retain Legacy™ status all developments must secure the GEO Certified™ ecolabel for sustainable golf management within 3 years of opening day. Failure to do so means that Legacy™ Certified status will expire. This will be represented on the GEO Map alongside all GEO OnCourse™ programme expiries. All facilities can ask GEO, in writing, to have their expired account fully deleted, which GEO will do upon correct authority from authorised golf facility administrators.