DP World Tour stars Wil Besseling and Connor Syme have taken part in a beach clean ahead of this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as part of the Tour's Green Drive initiative.
Following on from the announcement that all Rolex Series events in 2023 will be carbon neutral, the duo headed down to Yas North Beach with some local children to help pick up litter.
Besseling and Syme were joined by West Yas Academy students and staff plus representatives from Miral, Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the DP World Tour.
Miral, Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and the Tour organised the beach clean on the eve of the tournament at the beach local to Yas Links.
During the clean, over 72 bags of litter were removed by more than 20 volunteers from West Yas School, ADSC volunteers, Tour volunteers and the two players.
"It's insane how much plastic there is out here, plastic bottle caps and stuff like that," said Syme. "It's good to see the effects of recycling and how much of a difference it can make."
Besseling added: "I think it's hard to actually solve all of the problem but this is a good start and everybody has their own input in the world and in helping to tackle climate change."
Green Drive is a strengthened commitment and approach towards priority issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, air and ocean pollution and sustainable and ethical procurement.
The Tour are committed to reducing our carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 and being fully net zero carbon by 2040. We are signatories to the United Nations Sport for Climate Action Framework, and the United Nations Race to Zero pledge.
DP World Tour Deputy Chief Executive Officer Guy Kinnings said: "All Rolex Series events this year will be carbon neutral and it starts here in Abu Dhabi. The goal is to make tournaments more sustainable but also leave a mark in the communities we visit around the world for DP World Tour events.”
Richard Bunn, Managing Director, European Tour Productions added: “Today is just another example of how the DP World Tour is pushing its Green Drive initiative, and our wider Golf for Good programme, by working with local communities. Whether it is recycling materials used to stage the tournament, cleaning local beaches, or using less water to prepare the golf course – tournaments like this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship can help set new standards for sustainability.”
The beach clean is just one of a range of green initiatives taking place at Yas Links this week which include:
• Having over 500sqm of solar power on site helping to power some of the temporary structures - saving over 3500 litres of fuel
• All generators being powered by biofuel or using an additive, reducing emissions by up to 90% in comparison to diesel
• A minimum 70% of waste being diverted from landfill
• No plastic bottles on site and multiple water stations
• All temporary structures have LED lighting and almost all structures will be re-used or recycled, including wood, vinyl and carpet
• A food digester will turn all food waste into compost, diverting it from landfill, and all used cooking will be turned into European grade biofuel
• All the water used on the course is recycled
