Sustainable Use of Materials

How sustainable is the use of materials on turfgrass surfaces? Sustainability focuses on the enduring nature of materials: If materials used on turfgrass surfaces are not from renewable resources, it can be difficult to justify calling the consumption of these materials sustainable because the net result is a gradual reduction of limited supplies.

  Technical Environmental Quality

An Environmental Sustainability Indicator. • Brief Description: This can show how well a service complies with objective and operational product standards.

  The Natural Step

Four basic rules, or sustainability principles, which can be contextualised to turf management: • Reduce the use of artificial materials and do not pollute the environment; • Reduce natural resource consumption and use, including CO2 emissions, and increase the use of renewables; • Do not degrade nature by physical means, including reducing erosion and water consumption; • Encourage the health, well-being and development of self and others. (https://thenaturalstep.org/approach/)

  Total Maintenance Input

An Economic Sustainability Indicator • Brief Description: The total physical effort required to provide a service. For example, the maintenance work involved in the upkeep of an amenity park.

  Total Net Service Cost

An Economic Sustainability Indicator. • Brief Description: This can be reported as either a profit or a loss. Some services may be operated at a loss for a number of reasons; for example, as a means to encourage more people to use a service, to introduce a new service to customers, to maintain a diversity of services, etc.

  Turf Zero

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to either zero or net zero, or very close to these targets, in the provision of a turfgrass surface or facility. This can be used as a contributory factor or indicator in determining the sustainability of a surface or site, although there are some reservations about its use as given below. The entire grounds environment could be used within the calculation of turf zero as surrounding greenspace might absorb additional carbon dioxide which is emitted from the maintenance of a turfgrass surface, even after significant reductions within the maintenance

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  UN Sustainable Development Goals

An international framework which responds to global health and well-being issues, and which has 17 goals: Goal 1. No poverty Goal 2. Zero hunger Goal 3. Good health and well-being

  Unit Charges

An Economic Sustainability Indicator. • Brief Description: A 'unit' can be anything that is desired, however, it needs to cover the service being provided. There may be a user charge or a charge for the provision of the service, irrespective of the potential number of users.

  Unit Costs

An Economic Sustainability Indicator. Brief Description: This can be used to reflect the efficiency of the service being provided, as well as the true cost of service provision.

  Unsustainability

Desired and actual outcomes exceed the ability of available resource inputs, so that over time a continual and often irreversible decline in the quality of the outcomes occurs. It is the opposite of sustainability, with an example being a degraded playing surface that provides a potential unsafe and low-quality playing experience, resulting in reducing demand for the surface, reducing income generated from fees and ultimately closure of the sporting facility.