Our sustainability approach to our courses also varies by destination. Driftwood Golf and Ranch Club, outside Austin, Texas, designed its Fazio golf course to use treated wastewater for irrigation, eventually eliminating the need to use municipal water.
How is sustainability built into the planning phase?
First, you must comply with local regulations. Some regions have regulations that focus on the coastal environment, others prioritize stormwater drainage, and others prioritize site disturbance mitigation. We want the house to look like it has been dropped rather than forced into it.
Discovery is also bringing alternative energy to the community. can you explain how?
Different regions of the world procure energy from different sources and we analyze geography, soil and weather when strategizing our energy plans.
For example, much of Costa Rica already has hydroelectricity, so it doesn’t need solar panels even though it’s sunny all year round.in the troubadour [Golf & Field Club] This location near Nashville is the perfect place for geothermal heating and cooling, so we go after it.
Overall, most of our community have the ability to pursue electric transportation. Almost all on-site transportation is done by golf cart and can be solar charged. They also offer shuttles and are about to acquire a fleet of electric vans. We also propose solar power generation in our design guidelines for custom homes.
How does Discovery minimize its use of plastic?
We have eliminated almost all plastic. Water bottles and straws were the biggest culprits. We now use straws made from biodegradable agave. We also provided all homeowners with reusable water bottles and installed water stations throughout the community. If you need to provide water in single-use bottles, we work with a company called Zen. All bottles are made from recycled ocean plastic.