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GEO Certified™
What is the GEO Certified™ ecolabel?
GEO Certified™ is golf’s ecolabel. The international mark of sustainability that golf courses and new developments can promote with absolute confidence, letting members, visitors, and the wider community know that their golf club, renovation, or development has met comprehensive sustainability criteria, specific to golf in their region.
Widely endorsed and supported by a growing number of organizations, GEO Certified™ is trusted for its comprehensive, modern and practical approach; accessible and paper-free online format; and the strongest credibility assurance with transparent sharing of reports and independent on-site verification every three years.
What is the value of the GEO Certified™ ecolabel?
Ecolabels have emerged as a mark of trust, certifying the sustainability commitment and achievements of a business. A credible ecolabel, tailored for a particular industry, can have a powerful effect on progress as well as customer choice and loyalty.
The GEO Certified™ ecolabel is already widely known, highly respected across golf and the environmental communities, and has growing awareness around the world. Supported by many golf and environment organizations, people are writing about, talking about and promoting the ecolabel as the hallmark of sustainable golf.
GEO Certified™ is the only ecolabel available in golf with full transparency, trained and accredited on-site verification, and the most comprehensive approach to continual improvement. It is not a membership programme or award, but rather a highly-credible ecolabel, following the modern day standards to ensure stakeholders and consumers can trust the sustainability assurance that is being presented.
GEO OnCourse™
What is the GEO OnCourse™ Programme?
GEO OnCourse™ is a practical, web-based programme that guides golf clubs toward the GEO Certified™ ecolabel - achieving continually improving sustainability performance.
Registration is quick, and participation is free; individuals or teams within a golf club work through online forms with straightforward guidance, working at their own pace in a dedicated private online workspace.
When all six of the Action Areas have been considered by working through the online guidance, an independent verifier visits the golf club before recommending the facility for the GEO Certified™ ecolabel.
Who should consider GEO OnCourse™?
The programme is for existing golf courses who wish to receive the GEO Certified™ ecolabel. The content is relevant to every kind of golf facility, from 6-hole pay-and-play courses to 6 star resorts and takes into account different regional priorities.
Individual golf clubs go through the programme, often working on the application as a team of people from across the different divisions of a golf facility, from golf course management to catering. There is also special functionality built-in to make it easier for Multi-Course Owners or Management Groups to put through several or all of the clubs in their portfolio.
Eligibility
Who can participate in GEO OnCourse™?
With a few limited exceptions, any operational golf club, anywhere in the world is invited to apply for GEO Certified™. The degree to which a club is currently addressing sustainability does not impact their participation in the programme. Any club can get started; first making an OnCourse Pledge which states publicly that they will be working through the programme, making improvements, until such a time they can apply for the GEO Certified™ ecolabel.
Eligibility criteria include:
- The golf club must be open and operational at the time of registration in the OnCourse™ programme
- The golf club can only be verified, with a view to attaining GEO Certified™ status, one full year after the date of opening
- Golf clubs currently undergoing a renovation can register, but should liaise directly with GEO to discuss the nature of their application, as the site may be subject to significant change and they may be advised to attain GEO Certified™ status through the GEO Legacy™ programme
Very infrequently, GEO may not grant registration in the programme in the following circumstances:
- The owner / developer of the facility is currently involved in any legal dispute or challenge
- The owner / developer is currently being or has been prosecuted or has been prosecuted in a court of law in the last 5 years for relevant environmental and social damage or bad practice
- The development / facility has been subject to legitimate and significant environmental / sustainability bad press or negative commentary – both from the public, but also environmental and community organizations or government agencies
Please also read the OnCourse™ Terms and Conditions at the point you register your club(s) in the OnCourse™ programme.
What type of golf clubs / courses can become GEO Certified?
The OnCourse programme is relevent and practical for all kinds of facilities – from public, private, municipal, resort, members, military or university courses and clubs. It works for those that are run individually, and those operated by a management group or a multi-course owning company.
From the highest profile tournament venues to the grass roots courses - all types of golf facility can, in their own unique way, bring valuable benefits to people and the local environment. Together, all these thousands of courses can play a significant part in Driving the Green in and through golf.
Can a multi-course management group be GEO Certified?
The online programme makes it easy for management groups to start, track, and support GEO Certified applications for multiple clubs through one central OnCourse™ account. In this way, one person, or a central team can administer and support the certification applications of many remote golf facilities.
Golf courses that are physically connected, and run by the same course / club management team, may be GEO Certified™ as a single unit. For example, a 54 hole facility, serviced by one clubhouse and two maintenance facilities, under one decision making group can make a single application. Sites that either geographically separated or have different top level management team decision making require individual applications.
Process
How do I get started in the OnCourse™ programme?
Start by registering for a myGEO workspace. Once in myGEO, select the OnCourse™ programme.
Choose either the ‘Golf Club’ or ‘Management Group’ option. If you’re a management group, and you are only doing one club to start but might want to add another club in the future choose the ‘Management Group’ option.
Next you will create an OnCourse™ Profile for the club or if you are a management group/multi-course owner, create a profile for the group first, then begin adding individual clubs.
The first step into the programme is the OnCourse™ Pledge. This takes only a few minutes – enter the names of two key decision makers for the club and upload a club logo and course image.
GEO will authorize the Pledge and the club will be officially enrolled in the OnCourse™ programme with your participation visible publicly on the GEO website.
Authorization can take 24 hours but you can begin working on your application immediately - with full access to the OnCourse™ programme content and guidance. At any time you can add additional members to the group working on your application as you work at your own pace through the online forms around each of the six action areas.
At any time you might also want to go through the 15-minute OnCourse™ Action Planner. Based on push button responses a customised OnCourse™ Action Plan is created for your club. This tool is perfect for less technical people to gain an immediate understanding of the scope of the subject and also the clubs strengths, weaknesses and areas of risk and opportunity. If you want to give other people in the club an overview of the types of things undertaken as part of the programme, this is a good way to show that.
What will I find in the programme?
The OnCourse™ programme makes it easier to understand, plan, achieve and be recognized for credible sustainability efforts.
Based on a clear and consistent agenda of six topics or Action Areas, the programme content is set in six very clear, fully templated webpage forms.
You check boxes and enter information at your pace, with the ability to save and close the programme, to come back to it at any time.
Each section is supported by straightforward ‘in-line’ guidance – so you can easily find out more about specific issues or better understand how to respond to a topic. The templates and guidance combine to provide a great educational resource that can give all your club’s decision makers a good understanding of the programme requirements, and also practical ideas to pursue in and around the club, out on the course and at the maintenance facility. In addition to the core programme content, you can draw on other tools and resources that appear where you might need them.
The programme makes a complex subject easy and productive to engage in, helping you bring sustainability (social responsibility and environmental stewardship) right to the heart of your business.
How do I submit my application?
You have up to three years to work through the OnCourse guidance to complete your application and any improvements necessary. When you’re satisfied it is complete and accurate, and represents your sustainability work you submit your application, pay an administrative fee to GEO (€180) and select an accredited independent verifier near you from a list provided - all from within the website (although it’s a good idea to call the verifier you select to check availability and fee).
The verifier will accept your request and schedule an on-site visit to evaluate your application and provide a set of ideas for further improvements you can consider over the upcoming three years before re-certification. Is the data in my report public?
The work in your application is private while you’re working on it. Once you submit it for verification, it can be viewed by the verifier and GEO but it is not public. After the verifier you choose completes their on-site evaluation and submits a report, the recommendation is reviewed by GEO and then the GEO Certified™ ecolabel can be awarded. The GEO Certified™ Report, which was created during your application, and the Verifiers Report are then published on your this website with your GEO OnCourse™ profile.
Timescales & Costs
How long does it take to become GEO Certified™?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Depending on what considerations a club has already made, what type of course they operate, environmental policies that may already be in place in the clubhouse, etc. play a part in determining how much time it might take. Some golf clubs have been GEO Certified in little as three weeks - and some are still working on improvements two years after beginning. In addition to how much might need to be addressed, the time it takes also varies obviously by much time is allocated, and over what period of time. Golf clubs can go through the programme at their own pace, fitting it in where they can, or taking it on as a project to focus on over a consolidated period.
Based on experience to date, GEO believes that certification can be achieved by any club with the desire to get engaged in sustainability, within a period of between six and fifteen months.
If an application isn’t submitted for verification within three years of your verification, a club will need to apply to extend their OnCourse™ Pledge, if still interested in achieving the GEO Certified™ ecolabel. GEO will notify clubs well in advance of this deadline.
How much does it all cost?
From October 2011, until published otherwise, the costs for participation and certification through the OnCourse™ programme are:
- Registration and ongoing access to the guidance and templates that make up the programme – Free
- Applying for certification - administration fee to GEO, paid online prior to submitting application of €180, covering three years
- Verification – fee payable to the independent verifier in advance of the site visit, according to a fixed rate that varies by country. Certification is valid for three years. The figures below can help you estimate the costs of verification for your area. Please note travel, subsistence and accommodation are additional.
Support
Is there support available?
The OnCourse™ programme has been created with a great deal of real-world input and consideration to make it as straightforward and practical as possible. However, the programme covers a wide range of technical subjects and depending on experience, expertise, time or specifc requirements for a particular site, it is sometimes helpful to procure additional support.
Specialized support is available in many forms. This website contains a number of resources such as the What is Sustainable Golf? section, with more added all the time. Other websites offer guidance and case studies which can be helpful. Contacting the local government, university, community and environmental organizations can unlock free expertise. Or, expertise might exist within the club membership.
Another option is to commission some consultancy based support. If targeted consultancy input would be useful – in addressing practical issues or speeding up progress - then the ‘golf ready’ expertise in the GEOSA Network will be of interest. Browsing the GEOSA Directory can lead into the outstanding guidance and support to benefit your business. Several of the National Golf Federations who are partners with GEO also provide support to their members and are also listed on the website.
Transparency
What is meant by transparency and why is it important?
GEO Certified™ is a credible sustainability assurance, according to modern standards; transparency is an important criteria. GEO believes this is a good thing. We feel that a well managed golf facility has nothing to hide in terms of its interaction with and contribution to local communities and the local environment.
Carrying the GEO Certified™ ecolabel enables clubs to tell the factual and detailed stories of how they are embracing resource efficiency, ecological richness and community outreach into their decision making.
Transparency is also vital if people are to trust the ecolabel. People need to know simple facts about who has the ecolabel, when did they get it, why did they get it, who verified their performance, are they continually improving and not just resting on their laurels?
We are also finding that GEO Certified™ clubs are are gaining positive feedback from their members, customers and local stakeholders, and of course this proactive reporting will also assist the industry as a whole to demonstrate voluntary best practice and compliance with regulations.
For these reasons, the actions of the club and the opinion of the accredited verifier are published on the website at the time the GEO Certified ecolabel is awarded.
Evaluation
How is the evaluation carried out?
GEO Certified™ is the most credible sustainability assurance in golf in part because it’s awarded based on the evaluation and recommendation of accredited, specially trained third-party verifiers – GEO Sustainability Associates, known as GEOSA; after an on-site evaluation.
All GEOSA are knowledgeable environmental, sustainability and agronomic professionals with strong qualifications and experience, practical understanding of sustainable golf, and trained on GEO programmes.
The first on-site evaluation takes place just after you submit your application, and is a highly constructive, valuable part of the programme. In addition to evaluating your policies, procedures and practices in a positive, pragmatic way, the GEOSA Verifier also points out opportunities and ideas to leave a short Continual Improvement Plan to explore in advance of the re-certification on-site visit in three years.
If the verification report recommends certification and the it is agreed to by GEO, the verification report will be shown on the website – adding value and credibility to your efforts by attesting to your commitment and achievements.
This process meets modern sustainability assurance standards and was adopted following discussion with hundreds of people in golf, science, environment and government.
What criteria are used for evaluation?
The OnCourse™ Evaluation Criteria represent both the minimum requirements that clubs must meet for the attainment of GEO Certified™ alongside the range of sustainability actions that a well managed golf facility should be addressing at the point of a first certification.
Re-certification is based more on the practical issues and actions that the Verifier has identified at each three yearly on site evaluation visit.
The OnCourse Criteria have been developed with input from golf practitioners, scientists, environmentalists and government officials taken over a period of more than ten years. They are presented in a streamlined, easy format as much of the expectations are also set out in the OnCourse™ guidance and templates.
Re-certification & Continual Improvement
Does GEO Certified include re-certification?
Yes. A club can be awarded the GEO Certified™ ecolabel for a period of three years. Before this time, a new application should be prepared and submitted marking changes since the last certification, and another on-site evaluation visit undertaken.
Six months from the expiry of a certification, a club receive an email from GEO as a reminder to return to their OnCourse™ workspace in myGEO to begin updating the forms. All information entered previously still remains in the original OnCourse Report so re-certification is focused more on updating the practical actions you have undertaken, highlighting significant projects that have been initiated or completed, and refreshing the data sets for things like energy, water and chemical consumption.
When a club is successfully re-certified, their updated Certification and Verification Reports will be published on the website.
Why is continual improvement part of the programme?
Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. The GEO OnCourse programme and GEO Certified™ ecolabel have been carefully designed to support and reward golf clubs and management groups that are taking determined and credible steps on that journey. Registration in the programme is a milestone. The first certification is another milestone and every three yearly recertification yet another.
Ongoing participation in GEO OnCourse™ provides incentive, focus and reward to people in clubs who are continually refining and fine tuning their performance. Continuously focusing on practical actions that will make a club ever more resource efficient, ecologically rich, community integrated, and well known... all values that that underpin good sense and profitability.
Languages
Is GEO OnCourse available in multiple languages?
GEO is working to offer programmes in a number of languages with support from national golf federations and other partners. We will also be translating more and more functional areas within the programmes over time. Registering for a myGEO account will let you see how many languages are available today (drop-down list at the bottom of the Registration form). If your language isn’t there we hope it will be soon; if you have ideas on how that can be achieved or want to personally help, please contact us.
