LIV Golf has launched a new social impact and sustainability strategy titled ‘Potential, Unleashed’.
Created in collaboration with social impact and sustainability consultancy thinkBeyond, according to a statement by the Saudi Arabian-backed golf tour, ‘the new initiative reflects LIV Golf’s commitment to enable and inspire a better tomorrow through the game of golf’ and will focus on two key ambitions – positively impacting the lives of 5.4 million young people across the world and becoming climate positive by 2030.
To achieve these goals, LIV Golf has announced the creation of four new programmes:
• LIV To Learn: LIV Golf will work in partnership with local and global organisations to increase opportunities for education, employment or training for young people, particularly refugees or internally displaced people, who are not in work, training or school.
• LIV Green: LIV Golf will focus on measuring and reducing the environmental impact of its events, and investing in climate-related research and technology, enabling the golf industry to reduce its impact on the planet and to respond positively to climate challenges. Innovation challenges will be hosted in the run-up to events, to create and share ideas and to encourage collaboration between the golf sector and beyond.
• Transform The Game: LIV Golf will lead the game to provide better access to play and work in golf for women and girls and for those from ethnically diverse communities. The league will deliver paid training and employment opportunities and will support its teams and help them expand opportunities to participate in the game.
• The Way We LIV: LIV Golf can only achieve these objectives if it is a world-class organisation with sustainability rooted in the way it runs its business. The Way We LIV encompasses every process on a day-to-day basis. It is how LIV Golf will reach the highest standards, including sustainable event delivery, diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas, and support of the local communities in which the league works and plays.
Greg Norman, LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO, said,
“LIV Golf has added value and injected major new excitement to the global game of golf we all love, but we don’t want to stop there.
“We believe golf has incredible potential to create significant positive social and environmental change, potential that LIV is focused on unlocking. ‘Potential, Unleashed’ reflects our big ambitions and ideas to address the challenges facing our society and our planet. Our vision is a bold one, but we are committed to working in collaboration with our fans, teams, players and partners to give back to our communities and our planet and use the game of golf that we love to bring positive change.”
Sam Shave, Managing Partner, thinkBeyond, added, “thinkBeyond supports leaders and organisations to make a positive impact both in, and through, sport. We are committed to supporting any organisation that demonstrates a genuine desire to embed and champion sustainability and impact. We have been impressed with the authentic and ambitious approach that LIV Golf and its leadership team has taken in doing this through the development of Potential, Unleashed. We look forward to seeing its impact in action.”
Earlier in the month it was announced that The PGA Tour and DP World Tour had agreed a merger with Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf in a deal that, subject to an investigation by the US Senate, has potentially ended the huge division within golf.
The next event on the LIV Golf 2023 season will take place in Andalucía on 2nd July and carries a cash prize for the winner of $5m (£4m)
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