Evaluation of the Golf&Natur Environmental Certificate From an Ecological-Economic Perspective

Abstract

Outdoor sport is often criticized by the general public for misusing nature for its own purposes. In response to this criticism, the German Golf Association has implemented an environmental certificate called Golf&Natur to force the issue of environmental and nature conservation in golf clubs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ecological and economic benefits of the Golf&Natur certificate from golf clubs’ point of view. The primary empirical study explores whether and to what extent Golf&Natur certified and non-certified golf clubs differ from one another. The results show that certified clubs rated the importance of the Golf&Natur certificate for all selected club objectives higher than non-certified clubs did. Overall, it can be stated that an environmental certificate can create value, and therefore, similar initiatives should be even more strongly considered in other golf markets, in other outdoor sports and in the context of mega events.