• Filtered water systems, a planting programme and solar panels among the measures being implemented for the Rolex Series event at Emirates Golf Club.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Organisers of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic have today announced a series of environmental measures for the tournament as part of its on-going efforts to protect the planet and promote sustainability.

The Rolex Series event, which is currently taking place at Emirates Golf Club, features  several key initiatives being implemented to help deliver its most eco-friendly event yet.

The measures will aim to reduce waste and emissions, water consumption and conserve energy in an important year for the UAE. With the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan declaring 2023 as the ‘Year of Sustainability’, the UAE Government will look to drive change when the nation hosts the COP 28 Climate Change Conference later this year.

The tournament is focused on becoming a carbon neutral event, following  DP World Tour’s announcement that all five of its Rolex Series events in 2023 will adopt sustainable approaches to help reduce carbon footprint and advance climate mitigation.

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: “With more importance placed on caring for our planet than ever before, the responsibility lies within all of us to ensure we protect the environment for ourselves, our children and future generations and we are committed to do our part in this collective journey.

“By working hand-in-hand with a variety of organisations that are experts in their fields, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic environmental initiatives being implemented will help us deliver a more sustainable tournament, working in line with initiatives like Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to mitigate climate breakdown – all of which will help create a greener city that will benefit residents and citizens.”

Among the initiatives that are being introduced at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic are high-quality filtered water dispenser systems, provided by Liquid of Life and Al Laith. The five dispenser systems  installed around the Majlis Course and in Tournament Town will reduce the use of an estimated 40,000 single use water bottles from players, caddies, officials and spectators across the event.

By installing these systems, the event is supporting Dubai Can, a sustainability initiative that aims to reduce single-use plastic water bottle waste in Dubai and drive awareness on plastic alternatives and sustainability issues.

Dulsco have again collaborated with the event organisers to oversee the waste management process. They will be responsible for collecting, transporting, and disposing of all types of waste throughout the event.

As part of a partnership with Aggreko, the roof of the media centre that will house more than 150 journalists are covered by solar panels, while two 100 metres arrays of solar panels have been installed around the venue.

To help reduce carbon emissions, organisers are encouraging visitors to travel by the Dubai Metro as the tournament has Al Khail Metro Station almost on site – in fact you could probably chip from the station door and make the fairway!

For those who really want to drive, organisers have introduced limited paid on-site car parking at AED 50 per car. The fee will be used towards planting three mangrove trees locally, which during their lifetime will offset 2,000 miles of car travel emissions. As part of the DP World Tour partnership, it will also contribute to fund the Central Mozambique safe water programme, which will provide safe drinking water sources to hundreds of households in rural areas of the country.

Organisers have also partnered with leading UAE social enterprise Goumbook in a bid to achieve its target of planting 2,000 seeds as part of the ‘Give a Ghaf planting programme’.

As the UAE National Tree, the Ghaf tree is drought resistant and possibly the sturdiest plant of the desert environment. The planting programme follows the vision of the UAE’s leadership in raising awareness on the living desert, the Ghaf tree and its values, encouraging people to plant indigenous trees and save water.

At the event, members of the public will be able to take the pots with the seeds home with them and learn how to care for the seeds as they grow into a Ghaf tree.

In addition, the daily newsletters - written and published by Motivate Media Group, a tournament partner, have been printed on sustainable paper that is certified by Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

There are also a number of enjoyable and informative activities at the Sustainability Corner at Tournament Town where adults and children can take part in DIY and urban farming workshops.

As part of the Go for the Green initiative, there will also be an activation stand at the Sustainability Corner where people can pledge to be more eco-friendly – whether it is using reusable bags, recycling more or cutting down on food waste.

The environmental measures reaffirms the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s commitment to sustainability and delivering tournaments with lighter environmental footprints as the organisers work towards achieving GEO certification for the event, aligning its efforts with the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf.

The environmental measures also support the DP World Tour’s Green Drive sustainability initiative, which underlines an intensified approach towards priority issues such as climate change; biodiversity loss; air and ocean pollution; and sustainable and ethical procurement.

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic has already attracted some of the biggest names in golf. World Number One and two-time champion Rory McIlroy headlines the list of players, which also includes Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, and Ryan Fox.

The tournament is renowned as a family-friendly event, packed full of great entertainment for all ages to enjoy.

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For more information contact ddc@sevenmedia.ae

 About Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

The New Delhi (India) headquartered Hero MotoCorp Ltd. is the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles, in terms of unit volumes sold by a single company in a year — the coveted position it has held for the past 21 consecutive years. The Company has sold over 100 million motorcycles and scooters in cumulative sales since its inception. Hero MotoCorp currently sells its products in 43 countries across Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin South & Central America. Hero MotoCorp has eight state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, including six in India, and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh. Hero MotoCorp has two world-class, state-of-the-art R&D facilities — the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in India and Tech Centre Germany (TCG) near Munich. Hero MotoCorp is one of the world’s largest corporate promoters of multiple disciplines of sports, including, Golf, Football, Field Hockey, Cricket and Motorsports. Fifteen-time Major winner Tiger Woods is Hero’s Global Corporate Partner.

About the Hero Dubai Desert Classic

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic, first held in 1989, is the oldest professional golf tournament in the Middle East and has established itself among the most highly anticipated events in the region, showcasing the best talent from around the world and up-and-coming golfers.

Played on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club, the tournament is supported by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), who is a founding partner of the Dubai Desert Classic and the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer as well as the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas. Other partners include DP World, Rolex, BMW, CNN, Emirates NBD, Khaleej Times and Wasl, with Arena, ARN, Dubai Duty Free and Motivate Media Group among the patrons of the event.

The tournament is owned and operated by Falcon and Associates. It aims to help create, deliver, and implement initiatives to increase the understanding of and appreciate the vision of Dubai to achieve specific social, economic, and trade-related goals to help support the long-term strategic positioning of the region.

To learn more about the tournament, visit https://dubaidesertclassic.com/       

About the DP World Tour

The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 39 tournaments in 26 different countries across the 2023 season.

Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2023 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, one World Golf Championship event, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, will be crowned.

DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.

About the Rolex Series

The Rolex Series is the premium category of events on the DP World Tour, comprising five tournaments in 2023, staged in a variety of world-class golfing locations around the globe, each with a minimum prize fund of US$9 million and 9,000 DP World Tour Rankings points available.

Showcasing innovation, enriched media, content and broadcast coverage, and a superior event experience for the world’s top players, the list of Rolex Series Champions includes some of golf’s most distinguished names.

The Rolex Series was launched in 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Rolex’s enduring partnership with the European Tour group.

In 2023, the Rolex Series comprises; the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 19-22), the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 26-29), the Genesis Scottish Open (July 13-16) the BMW PGA Championship (September 14-17) and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 16-19), where the winner of the Race to Dubai in Partnership with Rolex will be crowned.