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GEO Sustainability Associates

Who are GEO Sustainability Associates?

GEOSA are highly qualified and experienced technical experts who specialize in the business of sustainable golf and are trained in GEO’s sustainable golf philosophy, guidance and certification programming.

GEOSA are accredited by the Golf Environment Organization to undertake, third party, on-site and publicly reported verification visits for all applicants for the GEO Certified™ ecolabel.

While official GEO verification work is their primary and accredited function, GEOSA provide other extremely valuable services in support of sustainable golf - including: support, advocacy and education. All GEOSA understand:

  • What can be expected of golf clubs in terms of credible environmental stewardship and ethical behavior.
  • The range of environmental issues related to golf facility management.
  • The external and internal factors (processes and influences) that effect golf facility management decision making.

GEOSA share the belief that sustainable golf is great golf: a better product, a better experience for the golfer, and an expression of the valuable social and environmental role that golf plays in communities around the world.

What qualifications and experience are typical of GEOSA?

All GEOSA carry at least one recognised academic and/or vocational qualification in an environmental or sustainability focussed field. These include:

  • Physical, biological and social sciences
  • Environmental Management Systems
  • Conservation and Countryside Management
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Urban and Land Planning
  • Resource Management
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Corporate Responsibility based business administration
  • Agronomy, irrigation and drainage

All GEOSA have at least 4 years practical experience in at least one of the following working environments:

  • Environmental and sustainability based consultancy / NGO / education and research institutions
  • Corporate responsibility focussed duties in business
  • Land management, including estate management, forestry and countryside protection
  • Government agencies with relevant environmental and sustainability focus

The GEOSA Network

What does the GEOSA Network do?

Verification – evaluating the sustainability performance of golf clubs:

  • Undertaking on-site evaluation visits (as per the established policies, processes and procedures for each GEO programme) for all GEO Certified™ applicants.
  • Producing public evaluation reports and recommendations for all GEO Certified™ applicants.
  • Provide OnCourse™ programme participants with streamlined 3-year Continual Improvement Plans after all verification visits (covering issues identified as ‘improvable’ during verification).
  • Transparent public representation of all golf clubs verified and any golf clubs that have been officially supported, to demonstrate 3-year separation between any support and verification of the same site.
  • Legacy™ Accredited GEOSA providing milestone based verification and reporting of registered golf developments.

Support – helping golf clubs and and golf industry professionals to perform better:

  • Available to provide relevant and practical sustainability advice to golf clubs, golf developments and golf events.
  • Provide cost-effective, targeted advice, on the ground or on-line, via GEO’s highly automated and efficient on line programming.
  • Guiding progression through GEO programmes and towards GEO Certified™ status.
  • Broader technical advice, supported by GEO published CV’s and promoted areas of expertise.
  • Assisting in team-building & sustainability planning.

Advocacy – inspiring and motivating:

  • Providing a positive and knowledgeable voice in advocating sustainable golf.
  • Stimulating action through face-to-face contact with people, thus bringing momentum to key issues.
  • Bringing greater cohesion to people’s movement from awareness to understanding to delivery to recognition.
  • Helping practitioners become stronger and more credible advocates themselves.
  • Writing, blogging, tweeting, and representing their action as part of an expanding and strengthening sustainability movement in, and through, golf.

Education – sharing knowledge:

  • Bringing diverse new knowledge and experience to golf practitioners.
  • Providing practitioner associations with fresh perspective and greater power in sustainability initiatives.
  • Speaking at technical seminars and workshops, plugging into association training and education programmes.
  • Making local and regional links to associations.
  • Training the trainers - delivering insight to formal educators in colleges and universities.

Third-party Verification

What is the verification process for GEO OnCourse™?

Once your GEO OnCourse™ application is complete you must go through the following steps to appoint a Verifier and arrange an On-site Evaluation visit:

  • Identify the nearest eligible verifier (i.e. has not advised your club during the previous 3 years) by browsing the GEOSA Directory.
  • Contact them by phone or email to confirm availability.
  • Appoint the Verifier on line, which automatically provides them with 'read' access to your GEO OnCourse™ Application.
  • Confirm the appointment by paying your Application Fee via the website (credit or debit card).

The Verifier will then travel to your club to complete the On-site Evaluation. The average duration for verification is one full day for an 18 hole course with clubhouse and maintenance facility, although this may take longer depending on scale and complexity of the site.

The Verifier will then prepare and submit a written report for GEO. This report will contain a recommendation for GEO to either:

  • Award the GEO Certified™ ecolabel
  • Assign a ‘Pending’ status to the applicant golf club, if further efforts are necessary to meet the mandatory requirements for the award.

Whilst preparing the On-site Evaluation report, verifiers can liaise directly with GEO, or with other members of the GEOSA Network, should they need to gain clarification on GEO policy or process, or to gain guidance on the evaluation of technical issues.

GEO will make the final confirmation of GEO Certified™ status to each club, simultaneously publishing a GEO Certified™ report along with the Verifier report in the GEO OnCourse™ Directory.

If a ‘Pending’ status is recommended by the verifier and accepted by GEO, the applicant club will be expected to respond to the issues as highlighted in verifiers report, and address them through written and photographic evidence. Note - in certain extreme circumstances (such as multiple areas of non-compliance with local, national or international legisation), a further verification visit may be required.

How do I appoint a GEOSA to verify my GEO OnCourse™ application?

Once your GEO OnCourse™ application is complete and you’ve paid the on-line application fee, you must officially appoint a member of the GEOSA Network via this website.

The award of the GEO Certified™ ecolabel is based on informed, objective and publicly reported third party evaluation. GEO programmes have this designed into their structure and processes. It is mandatory that all applicants are visited and evaluated on-site by an accredited member of the GEOSA network. The full GEOSA directory [can be found here]. You can find this list again in myGEO when you come to arrange your On-site Evaluation Visit.

Are there any restrictions on the GEOSA that can verify my application?

All verifications must conform to the following protocols, and Verifiers must be open with both GEO and participants about any conflicts of interest that they identify, or discuss with GEO any potential conflicts of interest they might foresee:

  • Verifiers must not verify any site that they have advised in the previous three years.
  • Verifiers should not verify the same golf facility on more than three consecutive occasions.
  • Sites that are determined, by GEO, to be of “large scale and high sensitivity” may require one or more of the following: shadowing by another verifier; a second opinion by a second verifier; the verifier to undertake consultation with other local stakeholders to seek additional context and opinion.
  • Verifiers must be open with both GEO and participants about any conflicts of interest that they identify, or discuss with GEO any potential conflicts of interest they might foresee.

Support

What types of support can the GEOSA Network provide?

Whilst GEO does not establish support relationships between the GEOSA Network and golf clubs, we do believe that the individual expertise among this group can be usefully drawn upon to benefit the business and environmental performance. That support could come in a number of forms:

  • General - harnessing broad general knowledge of sustainability issues, which can help improve decision maker professional development and increase understanding of the overall relevance of sustainability issues to a golf development or facility.
  • Planning – developing management plans, action plans, policies and proposals for day-to-day activities and/or the management of land or other resources – comprehensive environmental and sustainability action planning for golf facilities.
  • Specific and Technical – serving as a reliable source of technical knowledge to design and oversee practical delivery of sustainability projects, according to the GEOSA’s specific qualifications and experience in given technical fields.

How can my golf club work with a GEOSA?

GEOSA are able to provide on-site and online support services, including:

  • Technical – site visits, project design, specific area by area recommendations and management prescriptions, habitat and vegetation identification and classifications etc.
  • Sustainability planning – team meetings, workshops, planning sessions, educational seminars. Contributing to staff CPD and motivation, clarifying roles and responsibilities and empowering people.
  • Telephone – usually follow up to discuss reports and recommendations, to review and support progress and resolve obstacles.
  • Through your myGEO account – golf clubs using the GEO OnCourse™ programme can grant read (and optionally write) access that enables members of the GEOSA Network to provide direct input to their application. Many clubs will find this offer attractive given that GEOSA support is directly connected to a comprehensive and yet streamlined framework of practical sustainability issues. GEOSA can help decision makers in the club better understand, document, record and articulate the entire golf facilities sustainability efforts – efficiently and without need for expensive, time-consuming and carbon-emitting travel.

Reporting & Costs

What is in the Verification Reports produced by GEOSA?

Concise, professional, quantified and robust reporting is a key strength of GEO programming, and conversely long-winded, vague and unbalanced reporting will be seen as a weakness. Thus, effective GEOSA reporting requires reports to be:

  • Clear and succinct
  • Full of concise detailed, and specific observations
  • Carrying, wherever possible, clearly referenced data that demonstrates quantifiable improvements in performance
  • Focussed on real and tangible actions and results
  • Acknowledging any significant limiting factors
  • Noting future targets

How much does it cost to have my GEO OnCourse™ application verified?

The costs for verification are defined for each country that has a representative in the GEOSA Network. These costs scale depending on the number of holes at a golf course. Guideline fees can be established using the GEO OnCourse™ Cost Calculator.

How much does it cost to receive support from a member of the GEOSA Network?

GEO has no influence in the the establishment of support costs between golf clubs and members of the GEOSA Network. Those agreements are made directly between the involved parties.

Each network member has a unique skillset and will likely have varying levels of experience relating to sustainable golf course and club management, renovation or the development of new golf facilities. There’s only one way to find out, and every individual listed in the GEOSA Directory will be delighted to receive a call from you to talk about how they might be able to support with business-benefiting sustainability support.

Accreditation

Are there different levels of GEOSA accreditation?

Yes - the two levels are bound to the verification function of GEO’s programming:

GEO OnCourse™ is the base level of GEOSA accreditation. All network members have this distinction by default. They can be easily identified by their gold-coloured GEOSA accreditation mark.

A select group of highly experienced GEOSA have a ‘specialized’ accredited that enables them to evaluate GEO Legacy™ applications. They can be easily identified by their blue-coloured GEOSA accreditation mark. Given the levels of complexity inherent to golf development, it can be considered that a GEOSA with the GEO Legacy™ accreditation is a ‘senior’ member of the network.

GEOSA that hold the GEO Legacy™ accreditation are also available to evaluate applicants coming through the GEO OnCourse™ program me.

GEOSA that are accredited to evaluate GEO OnCourse™ applicants only cannot verify GEO Legacy™ projects.

Do the levels of GEOSA accreditation also apply to support services?

The support services that can be provided by GEOSA are not directly bound to their official level of accreditation. While you can logically conclude that a GEOSA who is accredited to evaluate candidates in the GEO Legacy™ programme will have vast understanding and experience of golf development, there are many GEOSA with the GEO OnCourse™ accreditation that are also able to play a highly valuable role in supporting golf development teams.

Are GEOSA employees of GEO?

No. GEOSA are independent Sustainability Associates accredited by GEO to carry out On-site Evaluation visits and to report on the suitability of applicant golf clubs and developments for the GEO Certified™ ecolabel.

What details can be found in GEOSA profiles?

All GEOSA Profiles can be easily located in the support]section of this website. Each profile features:

  • The name / company / country / address / contact / phone / website of the GEOSA.
  • Languages spoken and areas of expertise. Duration of GEOSA accreditation. Golf Clubs Verified, including auto-generated links to: OnCourse™ Profiles; GEO Certified™ Reports; Verification Reports.
  • Golf Clubs Advised, including auto-generated links to: OnCourse™ Profiles; GEO Certified™ Reports; Verification Reports.

Joining the Network

How can I achieve the GEOSA accreditation?

If you are a sustainability professional that meets the experience and qualifications to achieve GEOSA accreditation, you can submit an application through the myGEO area of this website.

Based on meeting eligibility requirements, applicants will be placed on the GEOSA Candidate list, and notified as such.

Applicants that have been approved as GEOSA Candidates will be invited to attend an official two day GEOSA Accreditation Workshop within 12 months of the submission of their application.

Workshops will be regionally located across Europe, Asia and The Americas:

  • Applicants will be expected to pay for all personal travel, accommodation and subsistence costs to attend GEOSA Accreditation Workshops.
  • Applicants pay a further €200 fee to GEO to support workshop delivery costs.
  • Application and Workshop fees to be paid by credit card via the GEO website.

What happens if my application is not accepted?

If an applicant is deemed ineligible to become a GEOSA Candidate, they will receive a written GEOSA Refusal Letter explaining why their application is has not been accepted. They will have the right to reapply, but not until after a three-month period from distribution of the GEOSA Refusal Letter.

If the applicant is unsuccessful on a second occasion they will have the right to a third party review of their application, which will be undertaken by a member of the GEO Technical Commission. An administration fee of €100 is required to be paid in advance of this review taking place. The opinion of the third party reviewer is final.

Applicants can then continue to apply to become candidate GEOSA every six months, subject to the same third party review process.

In every event, GEO will constructively highlight deficiencies in qualifications and experience and seek to support the applicant with ideas and guidance on how they can come to meet the GEOSA eligibility criteria.

Do I have to be a member of a national / international auditing body?

No. But it is preferable if you are.

Do I have to be working full time in the golf industry?

Many GEOSA are environmental and sustainability professionals that are either practicing in the field as advisers, consultants and project managers, or are educators in a university or college environment. GEOSA could also be working for environmental and sustainability based NGO’s.

Many GEOSA do work full time in golf, but a number of them apply their sustainability expertise to wider fields and academic pursuits.

Can GEOSA be employees of golf federations or industry associations?

GEOSA cannot be directly employed (on the payroll) by a national golf federation or other golfing association or governing body. However:

  • It is allowable for GEOSA to fulfil part time, consultancy based advisory / supporting roles with golf federations and other golfing bodies.
  • In such cases GEOSA have to be extremely careful not to verify any golf clubs to which they have provided support in the previous three years.

Performance Standards & Indemnity

What performance standards are expected from GEOSA?

GEO expects the following from all accredited GEOSA:

  • GEOSA shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and environment.
  • GEOSA shall issue public statements that are objective, truthful and substantiated by fact.
  • GEOSA shall avoid conflicts of interest with other GEOSA Network members and golf facilities whilst carrying out the duties of the Network.
  • GEOSA shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honour, integrity, and dignity of the Network and shall act with zero-tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption.
  • GEOSA shall continue their professional development throughout their duration as Network members.
  • When working as verifiers, GEOSA are expected to dress and present themselves appropriately, being polite, respectful and professional in manner and appearance.

Are GEOSA verification and support services covered by professional indemnity?

It is the responsibility of all GEOSA to cover themselves with appropriate professional indemnity insurance. GEO accepts no responsibility for claims relating to health, safety or other personal liability matters to GEOSA.

GEO’s responsibility to GEOSA and programme participant is to create a framework that ensures that quality assured verification can take place.

GEO and the GEOSA Network will not provide indemnity, liability or health insurance coverage of any kind nor be responsible for any legal liability arising from the contracting of a GEOSA for any advisory, educational or advocacy.