Sustainability

No-Go's at Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad:

Instead, we aim to

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Since public events generate large amounts of waste, we have made it our goal to keep waste production as low as possible while ensuring proper waste separation and recycling. The following measures are implemented on-site:

Around 28,500 people visit the Beach Village (including side events), the Center Court, and the Side Courts over the course of five days. Many players benefit from this: hotels, local shops, mountain railways, restaurants, and many more.

As part of a pilot project with the Swiss Federal Offices for Spatial Development (ARE), Environment (BAFU), and Sport (BASPO), the Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad – at that time still known as the Beach Volleyball Gstaad Grand Slam – developed its first sustainability report in accordance with GRI-EOSS guidelines.

GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) provides a framework for comprehensive sustainability reporting, taking into account economic, environmental, and social factors. The EOSS guidelines (Event Organizers Sector Supplement) were published in January 2012 and serve as a guide for sustainability reporting within the event industry.

To reduce plastic waste, we provide water dispensers at central points for volunteers, staff and visitors to the VIP bar. They can fill up their own bottles and actively contribute to environmental protection in this way. The BWT water dispensers filter the local Gstaad water and offer it still, sparkling or chilled.

We use 100% certified green electricity (renewable energy) from BKW, and all event locations are connected to the power grid.

Catering in the Village and along the Promenade at the Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad is provided by local gastronomy partners who primarily use regional products. VIP catering is hosted at the Grand Hotel Bellevue. Additionally, several vegetarian menu options are available.

The tournament venue is used in collaboration with Grand Chelem Management S.A., the organizer of the tennis tournament in Gstaad, allowing for shared use of infrastructure such as the stadium, grandstands, tents, and various construction elements. This approach prevents the need to build certain structures solely for one event and helps to leverage synergies.

No setup or dismantling work is carried out between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

To ensure continuity at the publicly accessible beach volleyball courts, we take responsibility for reusing the tournament sand after the event. The sand from the Center Court is stored at one of the courts managed by Sportzentrum Gstaad AG. This is not only more cost-effective than purchasing new sand each year, but it also reduces environmental impact by avoiding transportation and the associated CO₂ emissions.

Local volunteers and businesses are involved in various tasks (such as construction and cleaning) during the Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad.

To make it easier for people with reduced mobility to attend the tournament and experience the matches live, we offer free wheelchair-accessible seating (a dedicated platform at the edge of the court).
The event grounds (Beach Village) and access to the platform are flat and therefore suitable for wheelchairs. Additionally, parking spaces are available in close proximity to the Beach Village / Center Court.

We encourage the use of public transportation through partnerships with BLS and SBB.

Travelers heading to Gstaad for the Beach Pro Gstaad benefit from a 30% discount on public transport tickets.
More information available at:: bit.ly/AnreiseBeachGstaad
 

The Saanen Bank Zügli operates between the Center Court and the Side Courts.

For VIP guests, a free shuttle service runs from the VIP parking lot (Schulhaus-Rütti) to the Center Court.

Bicycle parking is available, and many local visitors choose to ride their bikes to the matches.
 

Accommodations for players, staff, and volunteers are located close to the event—in Gstaad, Saanen, and Schönried—allowing athletes to walk to the venue. Additionally, all volunteers staying in Saanenmöser receive a free rail pass.
 

Spectators and players are informed about public transportation schedules and routes to nearby stops in the event information documents, on the website, and on-site.
 

Parking is managed, with a daily fee of CHF 10.00.
 

Player transportation is carefully organized to ensure that multiple athletes can be picked up or dropped off together at Geneva or Zurich airports. This requires coordinated flight bookings to align arrival and departure times as efficiently as possible.

Throughout the entire event, our security personnel are present on-site around the clock. Safety is ensured by coordinated efforts between traffic control services, the police, medical services, and private security teams.

Each party operates according to a dedicated safety and security plan, which has been jointly developed and coordinated. This plan outlines the procedures in the event of severe weather, fire, injuries, tribune collapse, riots, vandalism, or terrorist threats.

Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad is a proud partner of the Swiss Sports Aid Foundation.

In the online ticket shop, visitors have the opportunity to donate between one and twenty Swiss francs in addition to their ticket price to support young beach volleyball talent. This contribution provides valuable support for the next generation of Swiss athletes.

Additionally, visitors can choose to donate their reusable dishware deposit on-site.

More information about Swiss Sports Aid can be found here:

Each year, we provide our volunteers with a large amount of clothing – something we’re happy to do. At the same time, we recognize that this makes us part of the global fast fashion movement.

To take a stand against its impact on the climate and environment, we launched the Clothing Carousel in 2023. This initiative ensures that staff clothing is ordered for two tournaments instead of just one.

The new two-year cycle will begin in 2025.
 

Rain Jacket and Hoodie

Volunteers return their rain jackets after the event. These are professionally cleaned and reused the following year. The hoodie can be returned voluntarily. Like the rain jackets, the hoodies are also worn again the following year.

Volunteers who kept their hoodie from the previous year are encouraged to bring and wear it again at the next tournament.

T-Shirt
T-shirts are used for one year in the new cycle, as the 25th edition of the tournament will be celebrated in 2025 and a specially branded T-shirt will be provided to the volunteers. Volunteers may keep their T-shirts or choose to donate them directly.

Clothing Donation

Our former volunteer coordinator, Gabi Thoenen, organizes a clothing shipment every two years to Mpanshya in Zambia. During her visits, she often meets people proudly wearing our beachwear from Gstaad. In this way, the Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad has a positive impact not only in Switzerland but also in Africa.
👉 Learn more about the project in Mpanshya

Additionally, clothing is also donated to a project in Moldova.
👉 Learn more about the project in Moldova

Thanks to personal contacts, the organizing committee knows that the clothing reaches those who truly need it.

The Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad is one of the most important regularly held Swiss sports events. The event is a member of the SwissTopSport association, which includes 21 top sports events in Switzerland. As a member of SwissTopSport, the event is an important partner in promoting general sports and physical activity.

Founded in 2000, SwissTopSport represents a significant group of internationally leading Swiss sports events and advocates for their interests in business, politics, and public opinion. Whether grassroots or elite sports, the association brings together various sports and disciplines to focus on common goals, challenges, and, above all, solutions.

SwissTopSport’s declared mission is to recognize, publicize, and promote the societal contributions—such as general sports and physical activity promotion—as well as the economic and image-enhancing achievements of its members, for the benefit of all of Switzerland. To this end, SwissTopSport actively engages with opinion leaders in politics, business, and the public to advocate for better conditions.

In addition to the discount for youth (ages 6–15), we offer reduced day tickets for young people (ages 16–26) who are members of STUcard (including BEKB). These tickets are available online only.