Syngenta Professional Products has become the first Technical Member of Golf Environment Europe and the first sponsor of GEE’s Environmental Innovation and Technology Network.
Through these agreements, Syngenta sets out its commitment to support environmental education and information exchange within European golf. Syngenta’s support of the Innovation and Technology Network will facilitate practical projects across a wide range of environmental topics.
In the first instance Syngenta will provide a practical overview of the registration and approval process for pesticides in European countries, outlining the extensive research and development which is required today to develop a new plant protection product. This will offer those involved in golf course management with access to an improved understanding of these processes and the efforts taken to protect the environment.
In addition, Syngenta will assist in the collation of information on integrated turf management programmes on European golf courses. In parallel to these projects, Syngenta also will sponsor events and help produce materials to support golf-course superintendents in responsible chemical use.
Turf maintenance is a critical element of every golf facility’s environmental management programme. Pesticides selected for use on golf courses have always passed successfully through a compulsory government controlled regulatory process ensuring they comply with specific requirements. In practice pesticide application must be carefully targeted according to well considered thresholds, applied at the recommended dose on the product label using properly calibrated equipment, applied as per label instructions by qualified operators, and should be stored, handled and disposed of according to legal and best practice requirements.
“We are delighted to support this initiative,” said Austen Sutton, of Syngenta Professional Products. “We strive to be active stewards of the golf industry and the environment.” The Innovation and Technology Network is undertaking important work to make sure practitioners across Europe are properly informed on environmental issues. Syngenta is keen to support the industry in this way. Initiatives such as this one are an important component of ensuring a more sustainable future for golf.”
“Syngenta is an organization that is looking to play an important part in improving the environmental performance of golf.” said Jonathan Smith of Golf Environment Europe. “They invest heavily in research and development to ensure all products reaching the market have undergone rigorous testing and they devote considerable attention to product support to ensure most effective and efficient usage. By supporting this aspect of GEE’s work, they are helping golf to better understand environmental issues and the practical measures that can be taken to improve environmental practices within golf facilities.”
The Innovation and Technology Network was formed by Golf Environment Europe in partnership with the Sports Turf Research Institute, the Scandinavian Turfgrass Foundation and the University of Pisa in Italy. It cooperates with other researchers and educators in Europe and North Carolina State University. The Network serves to help coordinate and disseminate technical environmental information within the European golf sector.
The Network will collate and disseminate information across a wide range of environmental issues, including; turfgrass management, pollution prevention, water resource management, ecology, waste management, energy efficiency, renewable energies, climate change, landscape and cultural heritage conservation.
Technical information sheets and data will be posted to a central web-based information centre during 2007. In the interim, a number of sources of technical information can be obtained from the Technical Library at www.golfenvironmenteurope.org
For more information about the Innovation and Technology Network, please contact Jonathan Smith, Golf Environmental Europe, at 0044 (0) 1620 850 659, or at jonathan@golfenvironmenteurope.org.
Syngenta www.syngenta.com