Staff WriterAs the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship signals the start of the DP World Tour Play-Offs from November 6–9, the Tour is making bold strides in its commitment to environmental responsibility.
With a clear focus on DP World Tour sustainability, the global circuit once again proves that high-level golf and green credentials are not mutually exclusive.
For the first time in Rolex Series history, every single event on the schedule will be held at a venue certified under the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation’s GEO Certified® programme, an independently audited recognition of leadership in sustainable golf operations.
That means the Tour’s most prestigious tournaments are not just about birdies and eagles—they’re about habitat, resources, and climate too.
GEO Certified® is built for golf: an external certification that reviews a facility’s performance across four major themes—Nature & Turfgrass, Resource Conservation, People & Communities, and Climate Action.
Geo Foundation+2Golf Course Industry+2 Alongside these themes, there are no less than twelve action areas, all tied directly to the Sustainable Golf Framework. The recognition covers past best practices, current performance and future improvement plans.
Earlier in 2025, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship—played at Emirates Golf Club, The Renaissance Club and Wentworth Club respectively—were already hosted at certified venues. With the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (at Yas Links Abu Dhabi) and the Tour-ending DP World Tour Championship (at Jumeirah Golf Estates) included, the full set of Rolex Series venues this year has achieved the landmark certification.
Yas Links Abu Dhabi became GEO Certified® earlier in 2025, thereby closing the loop and enabling this unprecedented milestone for the Tour.
The venue’s credentials include use of treated wastewater for irrigation, restoration of native dune and mangrove habitats, advanced irrigation audits yielding measurable reductions in water usage, and enhanced biodiversity protections.
This drive underscores the Tour’s long-term aim: to be the only professional golf tour committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2040 through its Golf for Good programme’s Green Drive initiative.
It’s one thing to talk about sustainability. It’s another to put your championship venues on the line.
Maria Grandinetti Milton, Director of Sustainability at the DP World Tour, put it plainly: “As we approach the final two Rolex Series events of 2025, we are immensely proud that this year has seen all five of our most prestigious tournaments hosted at venues that are recognised for their own leading efforts.
This is a testament to the shared commitment between the DP World Tour and our venue partners to lead by example in environmental responsibility. It also echoes the approach of our own agronomists towards responsible turfgrass and golf course management.
The Rolex Series represents the pinnacle of our Tour, and having these championships staged at facilities demonstrating world-class sustainability practices reinforces our values and our determination to ensure golf continues to be a force for positive change.”
Corey Finn, Cluster Director of Agronomy for Viya Golf added: “Achieving GEO Certified® earlier this year was a proud moment for our entire team, and hosting the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as part of this historic Rolex Series milestone makes it even more meaningful.
Sustainability is embedded in everything we do — from protecting native habitats and reducing our water footprint to engaging local communities in environmental education.
We’re honoured to play our part in demonstrating that championship golf and environmental responsibility are not just compatible, but complementary.”
Carole Kerrey, Director of Impacts at the GEO Foundation, congratulated the venues this way: “We are delighted to provide this distinction to such a prominent cohort of golf facilities. Their leadership is vital in showing that every part of golf — from major championship venues to small community courses — carries both a unique responsibility and opportunity within its local landscape.
Collectively, each facility plays a role in a much broader movement for golf to support nature, strengthen communities, and contribute meaningfully to global climate action.”
Turning to event-specific action: this year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will showcase innovation in sustainability across the site. The tournament features a large increase in solar panels and power-storage batteries, including 120 solar panels and a 250 kVa battery in the spectator village — the first time a mid-size battery of this type has been deployed at the event, significantly reducing diesel-generator hours.
Water-walls and mobile water-dispensers will move with crowds around the course, doing away with over 60,000 single-use plastic bottles. Meanwhile, an anaerobic digester will process food waste onsite, stopping tonnes of carbon-emitting landfill disposal in its tracks.
For fans keen to attend, general-admission tickets are free for the first two days of the event; for the final two days tickets start at just AED 100.
In short: the DP World Tour sustainability agenda is no sideshow. It’s front-and-centre.
With every Rolex Series venue now certified under GEO’s exacting framework, the Tour has cemented itself as a driving force in responsible golf.
The question now: can the momentum continue beyond the big events and become embedded culture? If this week in Abu Dhabi is anything to go by, it may already have.
