Carton House Golf Club has been awarded the ‘Committed to Green Award’ by the international Committed to Green Foundation. Carton House is the first Irish golf club to win this international honour – a distinction which is awarded to European golf clubs that adopt best environmental practice.
The Committed to Green Foundation’s mission is to promote environmental responsibility and sustainability in golf. The Foundation is actively working to encourage more golf courses throughout Europe to adopt best environmental practices. The programme which is supported by the European Commission was launched by EU Commission President Jacques Santer and Valderrama President, Jamie Ortiz- Patino in 1997.
Commenting on the Award, Conor Mallaghan, executive director, Carton House Estate said, “This is a fantastic achievement for the team at Carton House and is the culmination of five years’ hard work by our green and ground staff. All new developments undertaken at Carton, including the construction of two world championship golf courses have been done with great sensitivity to the environment and the existing landscape.
“At Carton we recognise that environmental matters are of utmost importance and our management approach ensures that environmental protection is central to all decisions, policies and practices.”
Commenting on the Carton House Award, Jonathan Smith, chief executive of the Committed to Green Foundation said, “The Foundation is hugely impressed by the environmental policies and practices in place at Carton. The team at Carton has developed a world class golfing and leisure facility whilst demonstrating a deep understanding of, and ability to care for the natural and cultural heritage of the site. The Foundation is delighted to announce that Carton is the first golf club in Ireland to meet all the requirements of the Committed to Green Foundation.”
Committed to Green is the only independent European, golf specific, environmental programme available for Golf Clubs. Twenty six golf courses in six European countries have secured full Committed to Green recognition while many more are actively working to achieve Committed to Green recognition.
The Environmental Programme at Carton House Golf Club has been managed by Course Superintendent, John Plummer. Specific measures undertaken by the team include:
- a five year salmon restocking programme of the Rye River in partnership with the Eastern Fisheries Board
- an extensive tree planting programme to plant 78,000 native oak and beech trees in existing woodland areas
- a commitment to minimise the use of nutrients throughout the estate – to half the recommended EU NPK Directive
- the introduction of a total waste management system and construction of a green waste depot on site
- the introduction of a water resource management system to minimise irrigation and water usage
- the communication of Carton’s environmental policy to all staff and external contractors working on site
- the introduction of regular internal environmental audits to ensure full compliance with existing environmental legislation and the requirements of Committed to Green.
The 1100 acre estate includes 3km of waterways and 100 hectares of woodland. The estate has Special Area of Conservation Status and is home to many rare species including, fresh water lamprey molluscs, crayfish and the vertigo snail. Rare plants found on the Estate include Hairy St. John’s Wort and Figworth. Carton is also home to a herd of red deer, badgers, otters, foxes, owls, buzzards, nightjar, jay, kingfisher, hawks, falcon and bats.
Already acclaimed for its two championship golf courses and venue for the 2006 Irish Open, a €80 million investment at Carton House is driving the development of a 165 bedroom luxury hotel on the Carton House Estate. The hotel will boast three bars, two restaurants, as well as 14 meeting and event facilities and Spa. Carton is also home to the new Golfing Union of Ireland head quarters, golf museum and golf academy which are currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2006.
Carton House www.carton.ie
Committee to Green www.committedtogreen.org