Carbon Par in the Media

This peer-reviewed technical paper on Carbon Par, by Edwin Roald and Jón Guðmundsson, was accepted for publishing in The International Turfgrass Society Research Journal on 10 February 2022.

Here, Carbon Par project manager and founder, Edwin Roald, speaks with journalist Tom Pilcher. His article includes the following:

"Back in Iceland, the country is measuring the carbon status of all of its 65 golf courses through the Carbon Par project -- the first golfing nation to produce such an account. "The method that is being used to produce this estimate, hopefully, others can use that going forward. To improve, you first have to know where you stand," said Roald.

"Golf courses are sequestering a considerable amount of carbon, which I think few people actually associate with golf. On the flipside, golf is a large land user and bound to be using wetlands in places. Emissions when you drain wetlands are so great."

Forests, peatlands, deserts and tundra can all absorb and hold stocks of CO2. Of all the carbon held in land-based ecosystems, around 34% can be found in grasslands, data from the World Resources Institute shows. That's not much less than the 39% held in forests. So whether a golf course might actually soak up a good amount of carbon-dioxide depends on how it's managed and whether it destroys more valuable land to begin with.

Roald added: "It's only a matter of time before the golf industry will be asked questions about what we can do with those wetlands -- that's where we can have the most impact.""

In our first video, we give you a virtual tour of Iceland's golf courses. Not a bad working environment.