Jockey Club trial environmental sustainability initiatives at Cheltenham Showcase

21 Oct 2022

The October Showcase at Cheltenham is best known for being the the curtain raiser of the Cheltenham race season, but this year the Jockey Club used it as an opportunity to showcase a trial of sustainable practices throughout the racecourse. 

The Jockey Club, who have been ‘Going Green’ since 2012, have a designated Sustainability and Corporate Social Values Manager in Kirstin McEvoy who masterminded the event. 

“This is the first time we’ve had a race day completely focused on sustainability,” said McEvoy. 

“Through our sustainable practices on the Jockey Club racecourses we can help racegoers understand what they can do differently.” 

These practices include separating waste, a scheme to enable more customers to be able to charge their electric vehicles, and serving racegoers their drinks in paper cups rather than ones made of single-use plastic. 

“The cups we’re using for our pints and half-pints are paper and this is the first time we’ve tried it at any of our racecourses.” McEvoy added. 

“It’s an opportunity to put them out there and see what our customers think. 

“Hopefully they’ll be understanding that beer tastes the same whether it’s drunk from a paper cup, plastic cup or a glass. 

“We think this is our best way forward to address environmental impact. These cups are 100 per cent recyclable but if they don’t end up in the right bin, they are completely biodegradable as well. So they are still a better product even if we aren’t able to capture all of the cups today. But we are trying our best!” 

As well as leading by example with their green initiatives, a number of Green Champions, responsible for championing sustainability across the Jockey Club racecourses, hosted a marquee where racegoers were invited to discuss their own sustainability goals. 

“It’s not about imposing green practises on racegoers but instead making them think about them a little bit more and think, ‘Well if the Jockey Club can do it, then I can do it,’’ explained McEvoy. 

“If you just ask the question: ‘How do you plan to get to Cheltenham today?’ people might just stop and think ‘Well, actually, it’s not that great: I’m going to be travelling by car by myself’. 

“Perhaps they might then think: ‘Who else is going? Can I car share with them? Is there good public transport? Are there going to be electric vehicle charge points when I get there that I can use?’ 

“I think racing, and sport in general, has a real opportunity to engage with people who are passionate about their sport and if everyone just makes a tiny change, overall we can have a really big impact.”