Takeaways from the Sustainability Forum at the 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am Presented by SYNNEX Corporation

The 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am Presented by SYNNEX Corporation set a significant milestone for the American professional golf tournament industry on April 1, 2021, when they became just the second professional golf tournament and the first Korn Ferry TOUR event to commit to operating zero waste to landfill.

In partnership with their mission to divert all waste from the landfill, the tournament staff and their sustainability partners created a platform to share their path to zero waste as a way to inspire others to take the sustainability leap of faith with a live webcast of their first-ever forum: “Sustainability and Events: Using the power of your platform.”

At just over an hour, the recorded webinar is well worth your time, especially for those individuals or teams looking to start their own sustainability journey. However, we’ve pinpointed several key Driving the Green takeaways from the forum to share with you.

Each of the points listed here outlines the key steps the BMW Charity Pro-Am Presented by SYNNEX Corporation took to activate their zero-waste initiative in the two months leading up to the opening tee shot of the tournament.

1) Get Started and Make a Plan

Every golfer has had to play their first round of golf just like every chef has had to make their first meal. The same is true for every person who has committed their life’s journey to sustainability, we all had to start at ground zero. 

Starting a sustainability program can seem like a difficult undertaking, especially with excuses like ‘I don’t have the staff’ or ‘It costs too much’ or ‘I just don’t know where to start’. Thankfully there are resources provided by organizations like the Golf Environment Organization and the Council for Responsible Sport to help you get started. There are also companies like Blue Strike Environmental and the Green Sports Alliance that provide guidance with setting goals and metrics as well as developing sustainability action plans.

In other words, no one is alone in this journey and no one sustainability program is perfect. But there are always people and organizations that want to help you see the power and influence your platform provides to make substantive change in your community. Local civic groups focused on environmental and social sustainability and larger organizations like Keep America Beautiful with their over 600 local affiliates are prepared and ready to offer help.

Lastly, it is much easier to start when you can take advantage of the actions you are already doing that fall under the sustainable programming umbrella (e.g., recycling program, charitable giving, community events, etc.) that provide a solid sustainability foundation from which to build upon.

How the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation brought this to life:

Upon making their zero waste to landfill commitment, the tournament staff immediately did two things:

• Got started with the support of 14 sustainability partners including BMW Group, Keep Greenville County Beautiful, Ball Corporation, Furman University, and Atlantic Packaging, to name a few.

• Made a plan by setting goals for sustainability and for the local Upstate community:

  • Zero Waste - implemented a comprehensive recycling and composting program, occupied waste stations across the event to help spectators dispose of food waste and recycling correctly.

  • Resource Management - baselined waste and water consumption and the tournament’s carbon footprint; introduced inaugural e-waste drive.

  • Policies - enforced tournament-specific policies focused on responsible and local purchasing, reduced printed and produced materials.

  • Charity - donated $13.7 million over the tournament’s lifespan as well as unused food donated to local food banks.

  • Impact & Engagement - initiated community clean-up days, donated building materials, shared best practices with area events and sports organizations, and developed partnership with GRAC (Green Ribbon Advisory Committee)

  • Access - hosted a junior golf clinic, provided free access for kids 18 and under, and implemented procurement policies that spotlight minority and women-owned businesses.

2) Know Your Stakeholders & Audience

Understanding who and what is impacted by your event, both internally and externally, (i.e. sponsors, suppliers, employees, municipalities, board members, etc.) will allow you to see your event’s true footprint. As audience preferences change and consumers continue to become more environmentally conscious of the products and services they buy every day, it is vital to understand their psychology to better connect with them and share in your wish to be more sustainable.

Once you’ve identified your key stakeholders and developed a way to connect with your audience, the next step is communicating with them while empowering and educating them to support your mission.  

How the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation brought this to life:

Knowing that your local stakeholders and audience are interested in what goes on in your community the other 51 weeks of the year is equally important and adds to the genuine nature of a partnership when you become focused on the year-round well-being of the community you occupy and share. Getting local stakeholders involved to do the most good every week of the year is the very definition of sustainability. 

The BWM Charity Pro-Am staff took an approach to add and create value to existing and potential corporate and civic partners by offering them an opportunity to join and be a part of the sustainability program learning together. By providing the tournament’s platform for a greater cause such as the Sustainability Village and Sustainability Lunch, the tournament provided a constructive sense of interaction and engagement to a partnership.

3) Be Vulnerable and Communicate Your Message

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. As stated earlier, everyone begins at ground zero. Start the conversation with your existing partners and sponsors and research their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to see where their passions intersect with your mission. If you can’t find their CSR programs, ask if they would be interested in collaborating with you to start a new program. What you will find when initiating sustainability conversations asking for help is that more people will say “Yes, I can help you” instead of “No, I’m not interested.”

The more you communicate your message and your willingness to commit to the first steps of a sustainability program, the easier it will be to build a support network of local community partners that will help to guide you along your journey. You will build more meaningful relationships within your network of stakeholders and uncover additional opportunities to sell more sponsorships, which will help to decrease sustainability program startup costs.

How the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation brought this to life:

The first thing Tournament Director Michael McGovern did was connect with title sponsor, BMW Manufacturing, and their Senior Waste Specialist, Wes Westbrooks. They were able to begin this step together because messaging and programming are stronger when unified.

4) Set Metrics to Track Return on Investment

Whether it be the amount of waste diverted from the landfill, the total energy consumption saved, the number of volunteer hours worked, or the sum of charitable funds donated, metrics will help you set your baseline for measuring success. All successes, even the smallest gains, will help to keep the momentum of your sustainability program going from year to year. A popular saying we’ve heard before goes, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Metrics will also allow you to present the ‘business case’ for sustainability to your sponsors, partners, and board members and show why increased investment will lead to a better reputation in your community, increased brand exposure, decreased costs, and increased revenue-generating opportunities.

How the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation brought this to life:

As noted under takeaway 1 (Get Started and Make a Plan), the tournament set three trackable sustainability goals (zero waste/diversion rate, baselined resource management and policy development) that will provide the baseline for their trek moving forward. Once these metrics are realized, they will be able to report to their partners the impact made and begin the process for building upon that foundation for year two. Quantifiable data helps bring sustainability to life. Without a tangible result, your partners can be left wondering where their efforts are going.