Andrew Johnston – General Manager, Director of Agronomy and Resident Golf Course Designer at SGC
Sentosa Golf Club, as the world’s first carbon-neutral golf club, offers valuable insights that can benefit other industries striving for carbon neutrality. With a strong emphasis on measuring carbon footprints, the club ensures informed decision-making and effective environmental management. The club showcases cutting-edge water management practices to conserve this valuable resource and promote sustainability. Collaborating within the Sentosa Carbon Neutral Network, the club gains access to valuable resources and experiences, accelerating their sustainability efforts. To sustain their carbon-neutral status, Sentosa Golf Club plans to prioritise innovation, partnerships, and a sustainability-focused culture. Andrew Johnston, the General Manager, Director of Agronomy, and Resident Golf Course Designer at Sentosa, shares valuable insights on their journey towards carbon neutrality.
In becoming the world’s first carbon neutral golf club, what lessons have Sentosa Golf Club learned that may be applicable to other industries or businesses striving to achieve carbon neutrality?
By becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral golf club, Sentosa Golf Club has gained a number of valuable insights that can be applied to other industries or businesses striving to achieve carbon neutrality. One of the most crucial lessons we’ve learned is the importance of measuring your carbon footprint.
Whether a business is committed to becoming carbon neutral or feels responsible for reducing its carbon emissions, measuring your carbon footprint provides a scorecard and a comprehensive analysis of the business’s environmental performance. It allows for informed decision-making to improve sustainability efforts, while also showcasing progress over time.
In our case, we began operating with a more sustainable approach back in 2010, continually making year-on-year improvements. However, it was not until 2018 that we measured our carbon footprint and developed our first comprehensive report. This measurement process allowed us to truly recognise the impact of our efforts and identify areas where further improvements could be made. It also highlighted that if we had addressed this sooner, the Club could have shown our efforts year on year and may have made better decisions to improve our journey sooner.
By emphasising the importance of measuring and tracking carbon emissions, businesses in any industry can better understand their environmental impact, setting meaningful reduction targets, and working towards achieving carbon neutrality. Whether they are just starting on their sustainability journey or seeking to enhance existing efforts, tracking the carbon footprint provides a solid foundation for progress and effective, sustainable practices.
How does the Club continuously monitor and measure its carbon emission levels throughout its operations?
At Sentosa Golf Club, our journey towards becoming the world’s first carbon neutral golf club has been guided by a steadfast commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. Central to this has been the ongoing monitoring and measurement of our carbon emissions levels across all facets of our operations. Regular and rigorous assessment of our carbon footprint has been fundamental to understanding our environmental impact and identifying areas where improvements could be made.
Sentosa Golf Club was the world’s first golf club to join the UN Sports for Climate
Water management is a vital part of the golf industry. Can you provide details about the state-of-the-art irrigation system that has been implemented at the Club to reduce wastage and improve efficiencies?
We have installed the most advanced irrigation systems available, including the innovative Infinity Head by Toro. This cutting-edge system utilises weather data, soil moisture sensors, and real-time monitoring to optimise water application, ensuring precise irrigation based on actual needs. Our agronomy team can now significantly reduce water waste and conserve this valuable resource by tailoring water distribution to specific areas.
Individual head or station control: To further enhance our water management efforts, we have upgraded both golf courses to utilise single-head control. With each head acting as an individual station, we have gained full control over our irrigation programmes. For instance, areas with higher moisture levels, such as high spots, may receive shorter cycles (around 5 minutes), while low areas may have drastically reduced cycles (possibly around 30 seconds). This level of precision allows us to save up to 40% of our water resources and run the large pump stations less frequently, resulting in considerable energy savings.
Drought-resistant grass varieties: Sentosa Golf Club has also strategically selected drought-resistant grass varieties for the property to reduce water consumption even further, with Zoysia grass dominating the landscape. These grass types are well-suited to the local climate, requiring less water compared to conventional varieties without compromising on course quality.
Rainwater recycling: Water sustainability is a key focus across the property, and we have implemented an innovative approach to irrigation by recycling all rainwater that falls. By harvesting rainwater in our reservoir lakes, the Club has established a self-sustaining water supply for irrigation purposes. This environmentally responsible practice conserves water resources and eliminates the need to purchase water or rely on wells to fill our lakes.
By combining smart irrigation technology, individual station control, drought-resistant grass varieties, and rainwater recycling, we have exemplified how advanced water management practices can be integrated into the golf industry. These measures contribute to water conservation and set a precedent for other golf clubs and businesses to adopt sustainable solutions and minimise their environmental impact.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has also committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Sentosa Golf Club is a member of the Sentosa Carbon Neutral Network. Has this helped to contribute to the Club’s sustainability goals in any way, and are there any ongoing partnerships or initiatives within this network?
As a member of the Sentosa Carbon Neutral Network, we are always benefitting from our relationship with our partners or organisations on the Island. In addition to our own sustainability goals, the Club are also looking to help with Sentosa Development Corporation’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Being part of the network provides access to valuable information, best practices, and experiences from other member organisations, helping to accelerate our own sustainability efforts. The network also helps to facilitate collaborative projects among its members, enabling joint initiatives that lead to a greater sustainability impact across the island.
It also allows for resource pooling to be shared across the other network members, with the Club having access to funding or expertise for implementing sustainable practices. Finally, by participating in the network, we are continuously enhancing our reputation and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, attracting similar-minded partners and stakeholders from across the island to join.
The Serapong’s 5th hole showcases incredible views of the Singapore cityscape
Given the success of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral golf club, does the Club have any plans to share its best practices or collaborate with other golf clubs globally to promote sustainable practices within the industry?
Having achieved the status of the world’s first carbon-neutral golf club, the Club are definitely looking to share our best practices and collaborate with other golf clubs globally to promote sustainable practices within the industry where possible.
It is important that we are involved in the major conversations and offer our expertise by speaking at conferences, workshops, seminars, or webinars around the world to share our ongoing strategies and experiences with other golf clubs.
The Club is also open to partnering with other golf clubs as we can help to collectively address industry-specific challenges and work towards shared sustainability goals, in addition to the UN Sport for Climate Action Initiative that we are involved in.
This is where our GAME ON campaign becomes important as we look to unite the game’s global stakeholders, brands, and golf clubs to implement sustainable practices into their operations for the betterment of the environment. If every club in the world plays their part, golf has the ability to be a catalyst for change in the fight against climate change.
Finally, looking ahead, how does the Club plan to sustain its carbon neutrality status and ensure that its commitment to sustainability remains an integral part of its operations for the long term?
As we continue to move forward, our plan is always to showcase new methods and innovations that will allow us to maintain our carbon neutrality status and ensure a long-term commitment to sustainability.
We hope to maintain these levels through a number of initiatives, including regular re-assessment of our carbon footprint and setting new reduction targets that ensure the relevant levels are forecast every year. The Club will also continue to embrace new technologies and sustainable solutions that can help to keep us at the forefront of carbon-neutral practices.
Club culture is also an important part of our sustainability agenda. Maintaining a strong commitment towards these initiatives and campaigns from Club members, staff, and partners will ensure a continuous collective effort is shown towards sustainability.
For the moment, the Club will also continue investing in carbon offset projects that help to balance any residual emissions that cannot be eliminated. At the same time, we will continue in the development of the Club as a carbon sink. We are currently undergoing a project to establish the Club’s carbon sequestration potential, something that has never been done at a golf club before. To measure and certify the carbon sequestration of a property would be game-changer for the industry.
We also plan to share progress reports and further achievements in the years to come to showcase accountability and encourage transparency in sustainability efforts. Through these measures, we hope to maintain our commitment and position as a leader in sustainable golf operation and help to inspire others in the industry to follow suit.
