Verdura Resort is at the forefront of European golf’s increased drive to protecting the environment after adopting an enhanced long-term strategy to improve the top Sicilian venue’s sustainable footprint.
The luxury resort – a Rocco Forte hotel – has developed and implemented a series of forward-thinking initiatives across its array of five-star golf and lifestyle facilities to reduce its impact on the planet – with the areas of water consumption, energy, waste and paper usage all addressed.
As well as improving sustainability on its two 18-hole championship golf courses and nine-hole executive par-three course, Verdura Resort has introduced a range of measures across other sectors of its business including in its bars and restaurants, hotel and villas and award-winning spa.
Giacomo Battafarano, General Manager at Verdura Resort, said: “Having a concerted long-term plan and approach to sustainability has never been more important and we take the responsibility very seriously.
“Here at Verdura Resort, we are constantly striving to improve and develop a strategy so that we can reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment.”
At the heart of the resort’s enhanced approach to conservation are its two 18-hole layouts – the West Course and the East Course, which reopened to widespread acclaim last October following a major upgrade by world-renowned golf architect Kyle Phillips.
With a view to maximising efficiency and reducing the use of non-renewable resources, the resort’s greenkeeping team has installed a selection of more eco-friendly grasses on the tees, fairways, putting surfaces and rough areas.
In addition, Verdura Resort has upgraded its golf-course irrigation practices by drawing water from two sources. Committed to reducing its water consumption and use of pesticides, part of its irrigation needs come the resort’s own sewage treatment plant, with the effluent water mixed in a lake with water pumped out of a nearby river that would otherwise go into the Mediterranean.
The venue’s long-term commitment to protecting the environment has been mirrored away from the fairways, with Verdura Resort’s sustainable strategy featuring an array of measures designed to reduce its carbon footprint.
Improved recycling, individually controlled air-conditioning systems, harvesting rainwater to be reused and offering guests newspapers and restaurant menus to read online are among the initiatives to be introduced.
Verdura Resort’s luxury spa promotes a range of Irene Forte skincare products that are natural, sustainable and vegan-friendly while its choice of bars and restaurants feature seasonal local produce, with suppliers specially selected for their sustainable practices.
Electric buggies and e-bikes for guests to use to explore the surrounding area while, with solar panels already having been installed at the resort, plans are at an advanced stage for Verdura Resort to start producing its own electricity to power some of its infrastructure.
Battafarano added: “There is so much that can be done to become more sustainable. We are delighted with the progress that we have made in improving and strengthening our environmental credentials across all our facilities and will continue to work tirelessly to enhance the guest experience we offer and our relationship with the natural world.”