Killiney Golf Club is proud to announce that it has become GEO Certified® for commitment and efforts to achieve a credible standard for sustainable golf course operation.

GEO Certification is assured by GEO Foundation – the not-for-profit organisation dedicated to delivering programmes that help people on the ground to evaluate, improve and credibly communicate their sustainability work across the agenda of nature, resources, community and climate action. 

GEO Certified® is a comprehensive modern certification, developed specifically for three key areas of the industry:  golf facility operations, golf development and renovation, and golf tournaments. The distinction shows that we have met a credible standard across nature, resources, climate action and community.

There are just over 300 Golf Clubs globally participating in this programme. Killiney Golf Club is one of only 5 Clubs in Ireland with this accreditation and we are proud and excited about our ongoing sustainability leadership.

GEO Certified is the symbol of a great golf environment, confirming that Killiney Golf Club satisfies all GEO certification criteria; meeting a credible standard in the areas of nature, resources and community, and is committed to continual improvement. The comprehensive Certification Report (*link to your certification report*) provides a detailed account of the continued commitment made to maintain wider sustainability issues.

The club is delighted that this global accolade recognises the outstanding work of the course management team and clubhouse staff involved.

Achieving this certification is just part of an ongoing commitment. Killiney Golf Club is excited to continue striving for excellence in sustainable golf.

Niall Keyes, Secretary Manager commented “We are proud of our association with the GEO Foundation and our commitment to environmental sustainability on behalf of our members and the wider community.”

Nature

The club takes its role as custodian of the land very seriously and is committed to fostering nature. On the course, we have cleared overgrown scrub to create bee and pollinator-friendly areas; introducing flowering gorse has attracted a wide variety of insects, and wildflower areas are being prepared to provide even more biodiversity to the golf course.  

Resources

Conserving resources such as water and energy is important to the club. We have a wider responsibility to ensure we are using as little as possible and trying to be self-sufficient. To support this, the club built a pond feature on the 9th hole with the capacity has doubled the amount of water stored for irrigation purposes. Part of the irrigation project was to redirect rainfall from the adjacent hill into the new pond. In addition, we connected our drainage points from the roof of the clubhouse to the piping that was laid to harvest water from the hill. We estimate that because of this, the club is now harvesting an additional 700,000 litres of water annually.

Climate Action

We take our environmental impact very seriously and have taken several measures to reduce our carbon footprint in and around the course to play our part. Killiney Golf Club produces 550KG of coffee bean waste annually. We are retaining this waste from landfill and spreading it on our bedding areas in front of the clubhouse and on the golf course. This has reduced the costs of our waste disposal service and the amount of fertiliser required for these areas.

Among all sports, golf has a particularly close relationship with the environment and communities, golf facilities can bring many benefits to people and nature – from the protection of greenspace and conservation of biodiversity; health recreation for all ages; local supply chains; and jobs, tourism, and other forms of economic value.

To View the GEO Certification Website please Click Here