GCSAA is a 22-year member of the U.S. EPA's Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), which is a voluntary program that forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the potential health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies. EPA named GCSAA a 2002 PESP Champion.
In 2006, GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, began funding the development of an IPM template that will guide superintendents in the preparation of written IPM plans for the golf courses they manage. The IPM Planning Guide was launched to the golf industry in July 2010.
In Spring 2008, GCSAA launched the Pesticide Use Survey, the fourth survey of the Golf Course Environmental Profile (GCEP). The overall goal of the GCEP is to develop an environmental profile of golf courses. This survey solicited information regarding pest management and associated practices on golf courses throughout the United States. This information will provide baseline data for documenting changes in environmental practices over time, help GCSAA respond to governmental inquiries, and answer the public’s questions about environmental issues. Data from the Pesticide Use Survey was released in 2012. In 2015, GCSAA launched the Pest Management Practices Survey as part of the second phase of the GCEP. In 2016, GCSAA published the Pest Management Practices Survey as part of the second phase of the GCEP.
GCSAA biannually participates in theEPA Office of Pesticide Program's Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) meetings at EPA HQ in Washington, D.C. The PPDC provides a forum for a diverse group of stakeholders to provide feedback to the pesticide program on various pesticide regulatory, policy and program implementation issues.
In 2012, GCSAA and its government relations and environmental programs staff were featured in two articles in PESPWire, a newsletter from the EPA's PESP program. The articles focused on integrated pest management in the golf industry and how GCSAA can help golf course superintendents learn more about IPM.
In April 2013, GCSAA partnered with RISE and CropLife America to host a tour at the Bethesda Country Club in Maryland for some 60+ RISE-CLA Spring Conference attendees to see first-hand the day-to-day implementation of IPM programs on the course and throughout the facility.
In 2014, GCSAA started attending the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) and State-FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) committee meetings.
In 2014, GCSAA provided an overview of national pesticides issues impacting golf courses at the American Phytopathological Society annual symposium.