Climate Positive Turf: ‘You Play. We Plant’

Tokyo 2020 Hockey Credit: Polytan/Getty images

James Croll explores how a pioneering sports surface developed for the Tokyo Games, is not only a game changer in sustainable sports surfacing but is also supporting African communities with the creation of a forest in rural Kenya

The Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020 was unusual for a number of reasons. Not just because it was the first crowd-free games as a result of the pandemic but also due to a number of ground-breaking targets the organising committee set which were subsequently achieved. Perhaps the most ambitious and impressive of these was the objective of being the world’s first carbon neutral games.

This objective became a key factor in the preparations for the games, in particular the planning and preparations surrounding venues and surfaces. As a result, it became the main focus for Sport Group, the world’s largest business dedicated to sports surfaces, who have developed and installed the hockey pitches at ten Olympic Games, including Tokyo.

Paul Kamphuis, General Manager of Polytan Asia Pacific and global head of hockey for Sport Group, explains “the objectives of the organising committee for the Tokyo Games fell very much in line with our current focus on Green Technology (GT) and the development of Climate Positive Turf.

“Our vision for some time has been to develop a ‘totally green supply chain’ for sports surfaces that enables us to create climate-positive products for turf and athletic tracks.”

This focus has seen Sport Group transform the sports surface sector with the acquisition and development of a comprehensive number of company brands including AstroTurf, Melos, Polytan and APT as well as world-leading product brands such as SynLawn (landscaping) Laykold (courts), LigaTurf (football turf), Poligras (hockey turf) and Rekortan (tracks). The Group’s reputation across all its brands has largely been built on its unique business model of covering the complete value chain, including R&D, chemicals, manufacturing, and installation.

To help realise the organising committee’s vision for the Tokyo Games, Sport Group spent two years developing Poligras® Tokyo GT®; the world’s first climate positive turf. Poligras® Tokyo GT® was proof that the field of play can have a positive impact, not just on the game, but also the planet.

Sport Group Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer, Jim Tritt advises “the transformation requires a material science driven by a technical process development along the whole value chain of turf production.

“By creating the industry’s only fully integrated global supply chain we can deliver unmatched quality control looking at sustainability in all its dimensions, including its sport technical performance, long-term value for the customers, ecological footprint, and compliance. We also look for products with positive effects like reduction of fertilisers, pesticides, and water. We invest in the supply chain to create value for the customers and a sustainable future for sport.”

Breakthroughs like Poligras® Tokyo GT® often require a wide range of internal and external experts and strong, committed partners. Internally Sport Group invested in their in-house knowledge, with research teams and resources from their global research and development network. Externally they conducted a worldwide search for responsible partners and suppliers. This resulted in a network of expert partners such as polymer and materials scientists, testing institutes and universities. But why hockey? Kamphuis advises that ultimately, there were three reasons, commenting “firstly, the hockey community has a long tradition with synthetic turf which means they are very conscious of sustainability and long-term value, and they are always seeking a better product.

“Secondly, we chose hockey turf because it is a complex texturised product with high fine-tuned performance requirements. As such it was the ‘acid test’; if we can create an elite Green Technology hockey turf then we could make Green Technology turfs for all other sports, too.

“Finally, we wanted to support Tokyo’s ambition for carbon neutral Olympic Games. We wanted to contribute to this important message and increase environmental consciousness in product development. “

Poligras® Tokyo GT® was made by Sport Group’s manufacturing arm - APT, in conjunction with the Group’s design and installation company - Polytan Asia Pacific to align with both Tokyo 2020’s progressive sustainability policies and the stringent performance requirements of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Tritt notes “the turf itself features filaments made from over 60% re-growable raw materials, specifically sugar cane. Using Bio-based PE results in a sustainable dimension being added to the playing properties of the tried-and-tested polyethylene monofilament fibres. This aligned with the company’s focus on products with positive effects for the sustainability yet still retaining precise performance for elite sport.”

Bio-based materials reduce the amount of carbon used in the manufacturing process. By using 60% bio-based materials, Poligras® Tokyo GT® saved 28 tonnes of CO2 per turf when compared to manufacturing a traditional hockey turf. With four Poligras Tokyo GT turfs in use at the Tokyo Olympics the saving amounted to 112 tonnes of CO2; the same amount of CO2 that is stored in a typical 8.5-hectare forest, or the equivalent area of 14 hockey fields.

Tritt adds “we chose sugar cane-based PE technology since it gave us the highest yield of renewable content matching to all technical performance requirements.

“Our PE used is based on more than 85% on sugar cane and just 15% being based on standard petro-chemistry. Our partners were able to provide a product that we could further develop to create a bio-based PE formulation that met our needs of a high-performance turf yarn.” What else is important for Green Technology? Tritt continues “it is not just the raw materials but also what energy source has been used to create it. You need to consider where the energy is coming from that is used to create the polymer and to produce the yarn and finally the turf. Is it wind, solar or waterpower? Where possible, we used only wind and non-fossil based energy to manufacture the Tokyo GT turf. This is very important when you make the total CO2 balance.”

Other sustainable features of Poligras® Tokyo GT® include a shock pad that sits underneath the surface which uses fully recycled rubber and a binder that has been produced with CO2. This world-first component called Cardyon® - a polyol containing CO2 captured from factory emissions, reduces both emissions and the amount of crude oil required in the binder by 20%. This is a huge advancement in making the chemical and plastics manufacturing industries greener, by reducing emissions and bringing CO2 back into the value chain in the process.

Aside from Green Technology used to develop Poligras® Tokyo GT®, the surface also offers first-class playability and performance for hockey players and has been tested and certified by the FIH. Ball speeds have increased by 15% compared to Poligras Platinum which was used at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Produced in Green factories Sport Group was also keen to ensure there was a strong focus on the sustainable way that Poligras® Tokyo GT® was produced for the Games. The turf was manufactured in Germany and Australia in ISO certified factories. These factories adopt many environmentally friendly manufacturing practices, including using green electricity and recycling rainwater. By adopting green technology across everything they did, APT minimised the negative effects on the environment from every feasible angle. The award-winning Melbourne plant, in particular, has played a large part in establishing APT’s reputation as the leading global manufacturer of polyurethane-based surfaces, and for providing safe, reliable, and high-performing sports and recreational surfaces worldwide.

Tritt goes on to say “our Melbourne plant is the largest sports and recreational distribution facility in the southern hemisphere. It supplies local and international markets with Australian Made products that support the Australian economy and communities.

“Our commitment to environmental sustainability means that we are continually developing products and processes to reduce the sporting sector’s footprint and lessen the impact on the environment. APT products are made with renewable resources and their systems are comprised of both renewable and recycled materials. In fact, many APT products are used by organisations including schools, clubs, parks, and even homeowners around the world, to improve their green ratings and practices whilst reducing operation costs.” You play, we plant As a further statement to its commitment to sustainability, Sport Group has developed an initiative with Treedom and created the Polytan Forest in Kenya. For every Poligras® Tokyo GT® turf laid, they plant the equivalent of a hockey team in trees. Over the course of their lives all planted trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and benefit the whole planet. The Polytan Forest also promotes biodiversity and reforestation, enabling small farmers to create and maintain their livelihoods and grow fruit as a source of food and income for local communities.

Kamphuis concludes “to date 54 hockey venues in 14 countries have installed Poligras Tokyo GT turfs.

“This saves 1,512 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere, which is the amount of CO2 stored in a forest the size of 196 hockey turfs. The figures speak for themselves.” James Croll manages client and partner relations for Australasian Leisure Management.

Credit: Polytan