The Open Championship is celebrating ten years of its Greenlinks sustainability programme this week at Royal Birkdale, with the R&A marking a decade of environmental progress across golf’s oldest major.
Since launching in 2016, Greenlinks has become the sustainability framework for the Open and the AIG Women’s Open, helping the R&A cut emissions, embrace circular economy principles, protect nature and create lasting benefits for host communities.
The numbers are significant. On-site emissions have dropped by more than 93 per cent through the switch to solar energy and hydrotreated vegetable oil, and the Open has achieved zero waste to landfill for the past five years. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, emissions from the tournament were reduced by nearly 11,800 tonnes of CO2e.
The R&A’s Sustainable Golf Development team will host a special anniversary seminar at Royal Birkdale on Tuesday, bringing together figures from sport and sustainability to discuss how major events can drive environmental change.
“For ten years, Greenlinks has helped us continually improve how we stage our championships and reinforcing our ongoing commitment to finding better ways of delivering world-class sporting events,” said Daniel Lightfoot, the R&A’s director of sustainable golf development.
“As we work towards our purpose of opening golf to the world, we want the Open to inspire not only through the golf that fans experience, but through the positive impact it can have on communities, the environment and the future of our sport.”
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A solar-powered Sustainable Golf Hub returns to the Spectator Village this year, alongside a new Nature Trail developed in collaboration with Hilton Head Island, encouraging fans to explore the biodiversity around the course.
The Open Water Initiative, run in partnership with Mastercard and the Priceless Planet Coalition, has prevented more than 750,000 single-use plastic water bottles from being used since its introduction, while contributing to the restoration of more than 110,000 trees globally.
More than 10,000 personalised travel journeys have already been planned through a dedicated travel planner to encourage sustainable transport to the course, while compostable food packaging, expanded solar installations, locally sourced food and a bench made from recycled materials round out the initiatives on show this week.
Ecological surveys around Open venues have recorded 2,145 species over the past four years, helping build a clearer picture of the habitats that make links golf unique.
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Beyond tournament week, Greenlinks has delivered more than AU$1.9 million (£1 million) in local community investment through the Open Legacy Fund over the past decade, alongside a 25 per cent reduction in water use across hospitality structures since 2019 and more than 65 per cent of food served at last year’s Open sourced from within 150 miles of the venue.
As Royal Birkdale prepares to host the world’s best players from Thursday, the sustainability push behind the scenes is now as much a part of the Open’s identity as the Claret Jug itself.
